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By PATRICK SKAHILL - June 14, 2021
If TCI was a big disappointment, upgrades to the state’s “bottle bill” are being hailed as a big win by environmentalists.
The bill, S.B. 1037, passed by lawmakers will raise the refundable deposit on certain beverage containers from 5 to 10 cents beginning in January 2024. It expands refundable deposits to include noncarbonated beverages like juices, teas and sports drinks while also increasing the number of spots to recycle such containers.
“In other words, opening stand-alone redemption centers in more areas, as well as requiring large chain retailers to install bottle machines in places like CVS and Family Dollar,” said Lou Rosado Burch, Connecticut program director with Citizens Campaign for the Environment, which advocated for the bill.
“The idea is to significantly expand the number of convenient options that people have to get their deposit back,” Burch said. “So that’s a huge win … the legislature passed some long overdue updates to the bottle bill.”
The bill will also gradually decrease the amount of unclaimed bottle deposits that are remitted back to the state’s General Fund.
But Burch said the bill isn’t perfect. He noted updates to the bottle bill do not include a deposit on liquor nips. Instead, lawmakers opted for a nonrefundable 5-cent surcharge on those containers.
Lawmakers said that money would be sent back to communities for litter control. But Burch said that idea might not work as intended.
“We view this as, essentially, a sin tax,” Burch said. “Without [a] refundable deposit on nips, there’s nothing to guarantee that those little bottles we see everywhere will actually get picked up and recycled.”