Sen. Moore Files Legislation to Get Rid of Bottle Bill

Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, is supporting a group's effort to phase out the bottle bill by filing legislation that would replace the 5-cent deposit on cans and bottles with a one cent fee that would be paid by the bottlers, reported the Worcester Business Journal.

Chris Flynn, president of the Massachusetts Food Association, told WBJ, "Ninety percent of the cities and towns have available to them either curbside or drop-off programs for their recyclables. Why are we segregating recyclables, some of the recyclables and bringing them back to a food store? One, it's not the environment we should be bringing back our trash. And two, it's at a significant increased cost. It's about three to four times more expensive."

Moore said he welcomed a debate about recycling, and hoped to increase the rate of recycling throughout the state.

The bottle bill went into effect in January of 1983 in Massachusetts.