The Connecticut Package Stores Association (CPSA) is seeking to counter Gov. Ned Lamont”™s proposed 25-cent deposit charge for recycling medium and large liquor bottles with a 10-cent recycling fee. The trade group also proposed a 10-cent fee on 50 milliliter “nip” bottles, which would allow consumers to return those bottles to claim a nickel deposit.
CPSA Executive director Carroll Hughes noted in a memo to the governor that liquor bottles are already go through recycling through private and municipal recycling programs, adding that “singling out wine and liquor bottles instead of all glass containers used in the home is inappropriate.” Carroll also pointed out that most of Connecticut”™s package stores are small and lack the space to collect and store bottles returned for recycling.
The governor’s office did not issue a public comment on the CPSA suggestion. Lamont”™s proposal estimated that the state could raise $6 million through a 25-cent deposit charge for recycling liquor bottles by fiscal year 2020.
Improving recycling-related revenue was also on the agenda of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which recently published a report calling for the creation of new in-state recycling facilities and the expansion of the list of glass and plastic deposit containers to be recycled for profit.
