E-Malt.com News article: US, NV: Assembly panel discusses an anti-litter bill that may result in an increase in beer prices

A bill which could help reduce the litter in Nevada’s deserts and also lead to an increase in beer prices was discussed on April, 5 by an Assembly panel, Las Vegas Sun reports.

Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, told the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining that AB429 would help cut down on trash he sees piled up in the desert and would be an incentive the state needs to begin taking recycling seriously.

The bill would add a 5-cent deposit to fizzy drinks and beer and may be extended to include energy drinks and non-carbonated water.

Ohrenschall outlined a program that mimics those in 10 other states: Consumers pay the 5-cent deposit at the time of purchase and get the money back when they return the empty containers.

Money from unredeemed deposits would go toward environmental education. Ohrenschall said California averages around $120 million in unclaimed deposits a year.

Committee member John Ellison, R-Elko, and Lea Tauchen who represents the Nevada Association of Retailers said the bill would be a considerable burden for mom-and-pop stores, which would have to find a place to store the recyclables.

"I believe in recycling. And I believe in keeping the environment clean. But at a point in time somebody's going to have to collect this stuff. Somebody is going to have to keep inventory of this stuff," Ellison said.

Lesley Pittman, who spoke on behalf of brewer Miller-Coors, questioned whether AB429 was more about raising money for the state general fund or improving recycling rates. If the goal is the latter, Pittman said, recycling programs that allow citizens to place all their recyclables in one place are more effective.

Pittman told the committee that the bill causes additional problems for her client. "They would have to brew, package and ship these packages that would be bound for Nevada or create a Nevada UPC code," she said.

Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, said Miller-Coors "does business in states with bottle deposit bills," and requested a list of the ones Miller-Coors considered easiest to navigate.

Committee members considered questions of fraud and whether people from neighboring states would bring in cans from non-deposit neighbors to cash in, and asked if it would encourage people to steal cans and bottles from curbside recycling to make money.

Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley, said that his father-in-law in Illinois crosses state lines to take advantage of Michigan's 10-cent deposit policy instead of settling for Illinois' 5-cent return.

Goedhart said that despite such activity, Michigan's redemption rate is 96 percent. "If you had a lot of fraud it would be 120 percent or 130 percent," he said.

Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, said she had no problem with people taking recyclables from her curbside bin. "People aren't stealing bottles from me and throwing them in the desert. They're returning them somewhere" she said.

Kyle Davis, with the Nevada Conservation League, was clear on reasons to support the bill.

"They work. They help with the water stream and they increase recycling rates," he said, noting that beverage containers make up between 40 percent and 60 percent of litter and that half of all containers recycled in the U.S. come from places with bottle bills.

No action was taken on the bill.


06 April, 2011