Hello all,

One high priority identified across the state in our Environmental Caucuses
is continuation and expansion of Iowa's bottle recycling bill.  If reducing,
reusing and recycling to protect our natural resources for future
generations is an issue close to your heart, now is the time to speak out in
support of a bill to strengthen the program.  See below.

Thank you for everything you do!

Carrie La Seur
President
Plains Justice

Action Alert!

Governor Culver's bottle bill legislation will be introduced this week. It
is facing stiff, well-organized opposition from private interests. Their
efforts may kill this critically important legislation if we don't take
action. A rally will be held at the Capitol as a show of support for the
legislation.  It's a critical time and we must show legislators there is
support for strengthening the Bottle Bill. Please make every effort to
attend, bring friends and car pool.  We will provide the date and time for
the rally as soon as it is finalized.

Governor Culver is proposing expanding the bottle bill to include water, tea
and sports drinks. He is advocating for a nickel deposit and for returning
the full deposit to the customer when containers are redeemed. Finally, the
Governor is proposing an increase for the redemption centers and retailers
for sorting the containers.  Currently, they are receiving a penny per
container and haven't had an increase since 1979.

Whether you are able to attend the rally or not, contact your legislators
and the leadership, urge support of the Governor's legislation that will
strengthen the bottle bill.

Pat Murphy, Speaker of the House  pat.mur...@legis.state.ia.us

Jack Kibbie, President of the Senate  john.kib...@legis.state.ia.us

Representative Kevin Mc Carthy, Majority Leader
Kevin.McCar...@legis.state.ia.us

Senator Mike Gronstal, Majority Leader michael.grons...@legis.state.ia.us

Talking Points
Iowans redeem 86% of containers sold, or 1.65 billion containers. There are
an estimated 235 million non-deposit containers consumed in Iowa each year.
By including these containers with a deposit there will be less litter in
our ditches and landfills. Valuable waste can be recycled; aluminum cans are
recycled and back on the shelf in as little as 60 days.

Redemption centers or retailers are paid a penny to sort redeemed containers
before they are picked up by the distributor, this is known as the handling
fee. They have not had a pay increase since 1979, when the bill became law.
They must pay employees minimum wage, which has increased from $2.79 in 1979
to $7.25 in 2008.  Many redemption centers have closed due to the low
payment for sorting containers.

Curbside recycling is not an alternative to the Bottle Bill. Curbside
recycling is not available universally in Iowa. It requires tax revenue to
finance. Curbside recycling bins are not available away from home, where
many beverages are consumed. Curbside recycling programs and the container
deposit law exist together to strengthen recycling efforts.

Contact your state legislators and urge them to support strengthening the
Bottle Bill. Our representatives need to know this effort has grassroots
support. Watch your inbox for details about the rally.