Kentucky Would Benefit From Bottle Bill, Both Economically And Environmentally

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 1999

Contact: Pat Franklin, (703) 276-9800

Kentucky Would Benefit From Bottle Bill, Both Economically And Environmentally

Frankfort, KY - Experience in states that require deposits on beverage containers to cut waste and boost recycling shows Kentucky would benefit both economically and environmentally from adopting a bottle bill, the Container Recycling Institute (CRI) said today.

"Research undertaken by states with bottle bills shows a range of economic and environmental benefits result from applying deposits to beverage containers," CRI Executive Director Pat Franklin told Kentucky House Majority Leader Greg Stumbo in a letter today.

Representative Stumbo asked the Container Recycling Institute for comments on the recent University of Kentucky report to be discussed at the Task Force evaluating the beverage container deposit system proposed by Stumbo.

CRI examined a range of government and industry funded studies conducted over the last twenty years before providing comments and advised Representative Stumbo that "any credible economic analysis should include both positive and negative impacts. The University of Kentucky study ignores the positive impacts of a container deposit law which are numerous and well documented."

Preliminary analysis by CRI indicates that Kentucky would realize significant economic benefits from a bottle bill, including:

• Creating an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs based upon the experience of other states, many of which are high-wage, high-skill positions;
• Savings of millions of taxpayer or ratepayer dollars annually in "avoided disposal costs", by not having to collect and dispose of beverage containers in landfills; and,
• Reducing litter related costs for local government, farmers and businesses.

CRI also advised that while "some costs for industry to comply with the deposit law will occur, there are trade-offs between the present waste of containers paid for by local government or taxpayers, and a deposit system holding product manufacturers and consumers responsible for the waste."

Kentucky would realize immediate benefits from a deposit system providing public benefits which go beyond the economic impacts, including:

• Recycling an estimated 80 percent or more of the estimated 2.4 billion
  beverage containers sold in Kentucky each year;
• Reducing beverage container litter by 40 to 60 percent; and,
• Reducing energy consumption and pollution associated with making new beverage containers from raw materials such as aluminum, plastic or glass.

The Container Recycling Institute is a non-profit research and education organization located in Arlington, Virginia, which serves as a national clearinghouse for information on container recycling and packaging waste issues.