Delaware Current Campaigns
Update: Delaware's bottle bill has been repealed and replaced with a temporary tax as a result of Governor Markell's signature of SB 234. Implementation of the repeal has been challenged.
Bottle Bill: Senate Bill 234 - Oppose Unless Amended
Summary:
SB 234 proposes to repeal the Delaware Bottle Bill and replace it with a temporary flat fee on beverage containers to fund recycling programs. The bill also calls for Universal Recycling and diversion goals.
Primary Sponsor: Senator David B. McBride
Status: SB 234 passed the Delaware Senate on April 29, 2010 and the Delaware House on May 11. Governor Markell signed SB 234 on June 8th, 2010.
Details:
Currently, Delaware has a 5-cent refund value on non-aluminum beverage containers. SB 234 proposes to repeal the Delaware Bottle Bill and replace it with a 4-cent fee on non-aluminum beverage containers that would last for 4 years or until it produces $22 million, whichever comes first. The money would mainly be used to fund start-up costs associated with recycling programs, primarily single-stream curbside recycling.
The bill also calls for a comprehensive statewide recycling program to maximize the quantity of solid waste materials which can be recovered, reused, or converted to beneficial use. SB 234 proposes these diversion goals:
By January 1, 2015: 72% diversion of solid waste; 50% diversion of municipal solid waste.
By January 1, 2020: 85% diversion of solid waste; 60% diversion of municipal solid waste.
Text of the Bill: SB 234 text
Campaign for Recycling's Position:
We are very supportive of SB 234's proposal for increased recycling and high diversion rates. However, repealing the Bottle Bill is not the way to do this. Rather, provisions of SB 234 will inadvertently result in lower recycling rates and less funding for recycling than a market-based 'reform and update' of the Delaware Bottle Bill.
As the Delaware Bottle Bill is currently written, retailers are required to collect the used beverage containers from consumers and refund the consumers with their 5-cent deposit. This is inconvenient for retailers and consumers, and does not promote high recycling levels. And, the law allows beverage manufacturers to keep the unredeemed deposits from those people who pay the 5-cent fee on beverage containers but do not bring them back to get recycled. This set-up rewards manufacturers for poor recycling and fails to provide any funding for state recycling programs that encourage higher diversion rates, such as curbside recycling. These provisions in the current law contribute to the fact that Delaware's Bottle Bill has not been as successful as other state bottle bills.
Amending the Delaware Bottle Bill could provide the state with the funding and ability to reach the diversion goals proposed in SB 234 in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than repealing it in the manner that SB 234 suggests.
We believe SB 234 should have beeen amended so as to:
1. Maintain the Universal Recycling provisions of the bill with the goal of bringing curbside recycling to every household in Delaware.
2. Maintain the current 5-cent consumer refund on all existing beverage containers.
3. Require distributors to pay the 'refund value' collected from consumers into a Delaware Recycling Fund to be managed by either the Department of Natural Resources or a 3rd party entity.
4. Phase out the requirement that all dealers take back containers inside the store and replace it with a network of 40-60 multi-material redemption centers. A well organized redemption center system is more cost-effective and convenient for consumers, and eliminates costs and concerns of retailers.This system is self-funded from unredeemed deposits with handling fees and recycling payments.
5. Allow operators of curbside recycling programs to receive their share of redemption value for containers collected at curbside using a simple, weight-based formula. Unlike the temporary beverage tax and grant system proposed in sB 234, this redemption system will provide a performance-based and ongoing revenue source for curbside recycling.
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