Every time we pick up a bottle of iced tea and chug the remains of the refreshing, cold drink in a sweltering, summer day, we fail to think about our action’s long term impacts. In fact, each year in Massachusetts, we send almost six million tons of waste to landfills and incinerators that pollute our air, water, and environment. Fourteen percent of all litter comes from beverage containers, which litter our parks, clog our streets, and pollute our oceans. However daunting these numbers may seem, we know that there is a viable solution to this problem.
We can reduce our waste step by step through a bill at the state Legislature. The Better Bottle Bill (SB 2149 & HB 3289) will increase the type of containers covered including items like water bottles, vitamin drinks nips and other containers that did not exist when the original bottle bill was passed in the 80s. The deposit amount will increase from 5 cents to 10 cents. This bill will also make redeeming community members’ deposits easier.
However, activists like those in MASSPIRG, a statewide, public interest group, cannot do it alone. I call on my own state legislators, Michael Rush and Ed Coppinger to pass the Better Bottle Bill. Doing so will ensure the health, preservation and safety of our environment.
Caroline Sunuwar, UMass sophomore
Amherst