Bottle Bill Resource Guide

To gain the interest (and hopefully support) of a newspaper's editorial board, you can send them a packet of materials explaining and promoting your campaign.  These materials may include statistics, fact sheets, copies of the legislation, and more (examples of all of these may be found in the resources section of the Toolkit), but should always be topped off with a good cover letter that explains it all.

Container Recycling Institute
Environmental Advocates of New York
Natural Resources Defense Council
New York Public Interest Research Group

June 23, 2004

«Editor»
«Paper»
«Add1»
«City» , «State» «Zip»

Dear __________,

We are pleased to share with you the results of a public opinion poll that our groups released today on voter attitudes about New York's "bottle bill" and current proposals to reform it. The poll was conducted by Public Policy Associates, an independent national research firm.

The results show that there is overwhelming support among New York voters for the current law and for the two reforms proposed in the "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill," A.3922-A/S.1696-A, sponsored by Assemblyman Thomas P. DiNapoli and Senator Kenneth LaValle. Some of the key findings of the enclosed report are the following:

• 84% of New York voters support the current bottle-deposit law;
• 70% support expanding the law to include non-carbonated beverages (such as bottled water, juice, sports drinks and iced tea); and,
• 86% support the state taking back the unclaimed deposits from the beverage industry to fund environmental programs.

This support is robust and widespread across all measured sub-groups, regardless of age, gender, race, political party, income level, or geography.

According to CRI, the "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill" would capture up to 2.6 billion additional bottles and cans a year, and the unclaimed deposits from an expanded bottle bill would provide more than $179 million a year to fund the State Environmental Protection Fund. Despite its obvious environmental benefits and the strong public support it enjoys, this bill faces an uphill battle in Albany due to the political clout of the powerful beverage and supermarket lobbies.

We encourage you to review the enclosed materials and to call on the State Legislature and Governor Pataki to pass the Bigger, Better Bottle Bill this year.

Sincerely,