[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E934-E935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BOTTLE RECYCLING CLIMATE PROTECTION ACT OF 2009

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                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2009

  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, today, on Earth Day, I am 
re-introducing the Bottle Recycling Climate Protection Act of 2009, 
which would create a national beverage container recycling program. 
This national Bottle Bill would build on the success of existing state 
bottle laws and promote recycling by offering a 5 cent deposit on 
beverage containers, including plastic water bottles that have become 
more prevalent in recent years. Recycling these products saves energy 
and money, cuts global warming pollution, and reduces landfill waste.
  Twenty-seven years ago, my state of Massachusetts became one of the 
first states to adopt a state bottle law in order to encourage the 
recycling of cans and bottles. Since its inception, Massachusetts' 
bottle law has been a tremendous success. In 2006, over 2 billion 
beverage containers were sold in Massachusetts and nearly 70 percent of 
them were recycled rather than littered or incinerated.
  Recycling and reusing these bottles not only reduces the amount of 
trash that ends up in our landfills, it also dramatically reduces the 
amount of global warming pollution that ends up in our atmosphere. 
American consumers purchase nearly 600 million beverage bottles and 
cans, on average, every day. Roughly 385 million of them are 
landfilled, incinerated or littered. Nine of ten plastic water bottles 
end

[[Page E935]]

up as garbage or litter where they take up to 1,000 years to 
biodegrade. A national bottle bill will help us turn this trend around.
  A national bottle recycling program would have profound economic 
benefits from energy savings for American businesses. The energy use 
associated with manufacturing these containers from virgin materials is 
far greater than the cost of using recycled materials. In fact, making 
an aluminum can from recycled materials requires 95 percent less energy 
than to make it from scratch.
  I am proud to introduce this important bill today on Earth Day. 
Passing this bill would send a clean energy message in a bottle to 
American consumers and businesses. A national Bottle Bill can help 
America quench its thirst for imported oil and will allow us to have 
carbon dioxide in our fizzy drinks, while cutting down on heat-trapping 
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

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