Maryland Sierra Club trying to find traction for “Bottle Bill”

MARYLAND – The Lower Eastern Shore Group of the Maryland Sierra Club recently presented potential state legislation to the Berlin City Council.

The environmental advocacy group is trying to garner support from local municipalities for its “Bottle Bill” ahead of the Maryland General Assembly’s session in January.

“There’s no time to keep waiting for this. This really needs to happen. Maryland needs this…5.2 billion containers, beverage containers are purchased every year in Maryland. And the biggest problem is that only a quarter of those are actually returned for recycling.”

Executive Committee Member of the Lower Eastern Shore Group of the Maryland Sierra Club, Cindy Dillon said that Maryland’s plastic pollution problem is nothing short of urgent. The Maryland Sierra Club is lobbying for support of an incentive bill that would have consumers and business put down a 10-15 cent deposit on plastic beverage containers, receiving that money back when they return the containers for recycling.

“It certainly isn’t a tax. They’re kind of borrowing the container, if you think about it. They’re sort of renting it, and so they will use it and then they will return it,” Dillon said.

She added that lawmakers and environmental advocates have taken the best parts of similar legislation in other states around the country: “They’ve learned from the mistakes that have been made and the other bills and consequently have developed what we think is a very effective bill.”

Dillon says there are currently 10 other states with similar legislation in place. One of those states, Michigan, recycles nearly 90% of its plastic beverage containers.