Bigger, Better Bottle Bill Good for Allegany Parks/
(12/26/2008)

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Carol Ash urged support for the “bigger, better bottle bill”, saying that it would have many positive benefits in the Allegany Region.

“Updating our state’s bottle bill law to include non-carbonated beverage containers will help us achieve two important goals: make our communities cleaner, and generate necessary funding to help support our parks. Today, many bottles and cans are littering our parks and trails and polluting our state’s rivers and streams because they cannot be claimed for deposit. In addition to reducing litter and beautifying our streets, parks and playgrounds, the bigger, better bottle bill would add funding to provide direct support for the operation and improvement of our state parks,” Commissioner Ash said.

Ash noted that the bottle bill calls for a 5-cent deposit to non-carbonated beverages such as iced-teas, and sports drinks. The proposal also provides that the state recover unclaimed deposits from the beverage industry for use in New York’s Environmental Protection Fund, to support parks and other environmental programs.

“The bigger, better bottle bill would not only help our local state parks meet the tough fiscal challenges we currently face, but also help keep our parks cleaner. Too many plastic and glass bottles end up as trash in our park’s trails, playgrounds, and waters. This problem continues to grow as people consume more water and sports drinks. Modernizing the bottle bill makes not only good economic sense, but will help keep our parks safe and clean for all our patrons,” said Michael Miecznikowski, Allegany Region Director.

Governor Paterson has proposed the bigger, better bottle bill in his 2009-10 Executive Budget. It is estimated that expansion of the bottle bill would generate $207 million in new revenue. For more information about the proposal, visit www.budget.state.ny.us.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 178 state parks, 35 historic sites, and 77 developed beaches. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com.