Our recycling system is failing us. But there’s good news. We have an easy solution that can help us effectively collect, process, and recycle our beverage containers: modernizing our state's bottle bill.
Bottle bills place a refundable deposit on bottles and cans that consumers get back when they return their empty containers. The best part? The program costs nothing to consumers or cities. But our bottle bill is outdated – that’s a huge problem.
Massachusetts passed its first bottle bill more than 40 years ago. And the types of drinks on our shelves have drastically changed. Today, we have energy drinks, iced teas, and many beverages that did not exist in 1983 – like bottled water. So, our bottle return program doesn’t cover these drinks – it barely covers 42% of all containers. With your help, we can change that.
Urge your legislators to support a better bottle bill for Massachusetts by expanding the types of beverages accepted under our current bottle return program.
