FW: Bottle Bill language is out!

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Teresa Gallagher

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Mar 11, 2021, 2:47:10 PM3/11/21

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See attached. I think the Litter Committee should send a letter of support.

From: bottle-bill-gras...@googlegroups.com <bottle-bill-gras...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Lou Rosado Burch
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2021 11:27 AM
To: bottle-bill-gras...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Bottle Bill language is out!
Importance: High

CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or on clicking links from unknown senders.

Dear Friends of Connecticut’s Bottle Bill,

I’m writing to inform you that the Environment Committee has released SB 1037: An Act Concerning Solid Waste Management, which is the vehicle for this year’s bottle bill modernization package. Here are a few highlights:

Raises the handling fee on covered containers to 3.5 cents across the board, effective July of 2021
Increases the deposit on covered containers from 5 to 10 cents, effective January 2022
Expands the program to cover non-carbonated beverages incl. juices, teas, sports drinks, kombucha, hard cider and LIQUOR NIPS, effective July 2022
Brings wine and liquor into the program in 2024, UNLESS DEEP certifies that more than 80% of wine and liquor beverage containers sold in CT during the 2023 calendar year were processed into furnace-ready cullet for use in glass or fiberglass products
Requires chain stores with more than 40K sq ft of retail space to provide RVMs for convenient redemption access, effective July 2021
Allows beverage distributor to keep 18% of the unclaimed nickels, to offset the cost of the handling fee raise
Includes a series of technical changes to update/modernize the existing statute to reflect current market practices.

Please note that the bill also contains a provision requiring DEEP to establish an incentive program for municipalities seeking to adopt a Unit Based Pricing model for solid waste management, no later than January of 2022.

See attached for a PDF of the bill language, in addition to the coalition’s most recent statement in support of the bill. We believe the public hearing will be announced within a few days, so we are encouraging everyone to review the language and begin preparing your testimony. We have prepared a 4 page primer document, which contains some helpful background on CT’s bottle bill.

PLEASE CONSIDER SUBMITTING TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF THIS BILL. Please also feel free to share this message with your networks. CCE will be sending out sample testimony before the weekend to help folks prepare. We’ll also be sending a sign-on letter in support of the bill in the next week or so.

Folks, this is the moment we have been preparing you for! Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns.

Stay tuned,

Lou

Louis Rosado Burch

Connecticut Program Director

Citizens Campaign for the Environment

2404 Whitney Ave. 2nd Floor

Hamden, CT 06518

Office: 203.821.7050

Fax: 203.821.7057

www.citizenscampaign.org

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