Modernize the Bottle Bill!

Help Increase Recycling in Connecticut
Tell Hartford Lawmakers to Modernize Connecticut’s Bottle Bill!

Connecticut’s Container Deposit Law (aka “the Bottle Bill) is a proven, effective way to incentive recycling and keep our communities clean and litter free. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s container recycling program has not been updated in over 30 years and as a result, our redemption rate is now the lowest of any Bottle Bill state!

The CGA Finance, Revenue & Bonding committee recently advanced legislation (HB 7294) that would help modernize the Bottle Bill, by expanding the program to include juices, teas and other non-carbonated beverages not currently covered by the law. Additionally, the bill would better incentive recycling by raising the deposit value on covered containers from 5 to 10 cents.

This is an important step forward, but now we need you to contact House leadership and urge them to bring this important legislation out for a vote as soon as possible!

Modernizing the CT Bottle Bill would benefit our communities and the environment:

• States that have container deposit programs recycle PET plastic, glass and aluminum at more than twice the rate of states that do not.

• The container deposit saves taxpayers money on recycling, at a time when municipal recycling costs are skyrocketing out of control. Experts estimate the Bottle Bill saves CT municipalities more than $2 million/year in recycling costs.

• By expanding the Bottle Bill to include juices, teas and other non-carbonated soft drinks, Connecticut could increase container recycling by more than 100 million bottles and cans each year.

• Expanding the Bottle Bill program helps create green jobs in our state!

Thank you for taking action.

Sincerely,
All of us at CCE

Please Join Us: “Keeping Plastics Out of Long Island Sound”

Learn About the Impact of Plastics on our Marine Environment & What We Can Do to Prevent Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is a growing threat to our waterways globally and to our marine life locally.  An estimated 267 species of marine and avian life—including including whales, turtles, seals, shorebirds, and dolphins that populate the Long Island Sound and surrounding NY waters—are  impacted by our addiction to throw-away plastics.

What we can we do to protect marine life and keep plastics out of Long Island Sound?

Join us for a free educational forum to hear leading experts in the field discuss impacts of  plastic pollution on our wildlife, water, and communities.  Find out how you can get involved in the fight against plastic pollution.

RSVP for “Keeping Plastics out of Long Island Sound” here.

When: Thursday, April 25, from 7:00-9:00pm

Where: Huntington Town Hall, 100 Main Street, Huntington, NY

Speakers:      

• Introduction by Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci

• Rob DiGiovanni, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society

• Christina Manto, Wildlife Conservation Society

• Adrienne Esposito, Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Thank you for joining us!  Together we make a difference.

 Your friends at CCE

Help Combat Plastic Pollution in Connecticut

Tell Hartford lawmakers to ban single-use plastic bags for good!

Connecticut, like many places across our nation and the globe, has a growing concern about pollution caused by single-use plastic bags. Plastic shopping bags are costly, environmentally harmful, and completely unnecessary. They are typically used for an average of 12 minutes, but have impacts on our environment that last for generations.

It is estimated that nearly a billion plastic bags are used in Connecticut every year! The free distribution of single-use checkout bags comes with significant economic and environmental costs to Connecticut:

1. Littering our Communities: Plastic bags litter in our parks, beaches, roads, and waterways; costing taxpayers millions each year to clean them up.

2. Polluting Waterways and Harming Wildlife: Plastic bags never fully break down. Instead, they break up into tiny microplastics, which are frequently mistaken for food by aquatic wildlife. At least 267 marine and avian species are adversely impacted by pollution from plastic bags!

3. Damaging Municipal Infrastructure: Plastic bags are easily swept into storm drains where they lead to severe blockages, causing infrastructure damage and localized flooding. Plastic bags also frequently end up in the curbside recycling bin, where they become entangled in recycling equipment, creating costly delays for municipal recyclers and wasting taxpayer money.

Paper Bags Are Not the Solution

Unfortunately, paper bags also carry their own adverse impacts on our environment. Paper bags require cutting down approximately 14 million trees annually in the U.S., and they require large amounts of energy and fresh water to produce. Additionally, they take up more space in the municipal solid waste stream than plastic bags, and do nothing to change the throw-away culture that plastic bags perpetuate. Connecticut needs a policy that does not replace one disposable bag with another, but instead encourages consumers to bring their own bags!

Tell Hartford Lawmakers to Pass a Bag Ban for the 21st Century!

Proposed legislation in CT (SB 1003) would ban plastic checkout bags in Connecticut, without addressing paper bags. This is a good first step, but it can create an unintended consequence—encouraging consumers to switch to paper bag use, which also adversely impacts our environment. The goal is not to switch from plastic to paper; the goal is to switch from single-use bags to reusable bags!We need you to tell legislative leaders to ban plastic bags and also include a charge on paper bags.

Join Us to Celebrate 34 Years of Grassroots Advocacy!

CCE's Board of Directors Invites You to Our Annual Gala
Join Us to Celebrate 34 Years of Grassroots Advocacy!

Join us for our Environmental Equinox Awards Gala to celebrate more than three decades of grassroots accomplishments and our special honorees:

Estee Lauder

CCE is honoring Estee Lauder for their dedication in fighting climate change by investing in clean, renewable energy.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone

CCE is honoring County Executive Bellone for his dedication to protecting our drinking water and our harbors, beaches, and bays.

• When: Thursday, May 16, 2019, 6:30pm–10:30pm

• Where: The Piermont, 494 Fire Island Avenue, Babylon, NY

Individual tickets are $175. Sponsorships are also available. Please contact Maureen at 516-390-7150, or download the registration form for registration information.

The equinox is the time of year when the sun crosses the equator and the length of the day equals the length of the night on all parts of the earth. The equinox is a symbol of achieving environmental and societal harmony.

Thank you for your support. Together we make a difference!

Sincerely,

All of Us at CCE