A legislative committee has endorsed a suite of changes aimed at modernizing and increasing the efficiency of Maine's bottle bill.
Thursday marked the 45th anniversary of the implementation of the law that uses a deposit system to encourage Maine residents to recycle their beer and soda containers. Maine's so-called "bottle bill" has been tweaked multiple times since 1978. But on Thursday, members of the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted to overhaul the way returnable containers are sorted and collected.
The bill would mean that redemption centers would have to do much less sorting than they do today. And a new, nonprofit cooperative would manage the collection program statewide.
The bill was the result of negotiations between lawmakers, redemption centers, beverage companies, breweries and environmental groups. Peter Welch from Forest Avenue Redemption Center in Portland was part of those discussions.
"I think the evolution that has taken place with this committee and stakeholders, while a little difficult at times, is with the effort and intent to seek a better future and a more functional future that takes care of and embraces the environment in a way that was envisioned exactly 45 years ago today," Welch said.
The bill received unanimous, bipartisan support among committee members. It will now head to the full House and Senate for consideration.
