The 2009 West Virginia Campaign

West Virginia Citizen Action Group is at the forefront of the campaign to introduce deposit legislation in West Virginia. 2009 is the 7th year for the campaign. The introduced bill is a carry-over from last year, but it was referred to different committees than before. An additional bill with a lower, 5¢ deposit, was also introduced.
Bill Number and Name Senate Bill 237, House Bill 2602 Bill text
Primary Sponsor McCabe, Foster, White and Wells (Senate)
Fleischauer, Poling (Mary), Hatfield, Hamilton, Brown, Tabb and Beach (House)
Beverages Covered All beverages except dairy
Containers Covered All sealed containers of metal, glass, plastic, or a combination, up to one gallon
Deposits 10¢
Handling Fees 3¢, Paid by the DEP to redemption center (2¢ if redemption rate is 70% or greater)
Other Fees / Taxes  
Reclamation System Return to redemption centers
Unredeemed Deposits Retained by the Department of Environmental Protection to administer the program and maintain the Community Litter Control Fund.
Alternative Bill
Bill Number and Name House Bill 3037 Bill text
Primary Sponsor Delegates Fleischauer, Manypenny, Brown, Beach, Susman, M. Poling, Hampton, Staggers, Talbot, Tabb and Hatfield
Beverages Covered All beverages except dairy
Containers Covered All sealed containers of metal, glass, plastic, or a combination, up to one gallon
Deposits 5¢
Handling Fees 1¢, Paid by the DEP to redemption center
Other Fees / Taxes Container recovery fee paid by distributor to DEP
  • Until March 31, 2011, 0.25¢ per deposit beverage container.
  • Beginning on April 1, 2011, 0.5¢) per deposit beverage container.
Reclamation System Return to redemption centers
Unredeemed Deposits Retained by the Department of Environmental Protection to administer the program and maintain the Community Litter Control Fund.

 

Details

Here is an excerpt from the most recent Bottle Bill Action Alert:

We also kicked-off the session with a presentation to the House Judiciary and Finance Committees in the House Chambers.  John Ferrari from NexCycle in California returned to West Virginia and Tennessee to lend his expertise to our lobbying efforts.  With about 30 legislators, 20 or more citizens and several industry lobbyists watching it, his presentation included the basics on how a bottle bill works, along with information on how his business operates and makes a profit in California.  We met one-on-one with many legislators who were especially interested to hear about the number of jobs that the Bottle Bill will create in the recycling industry including processors and truck drivers. 

John’s been in the recycling business for years and notes that the coalition opposing our bill is the same in every state he visits and has the same arguments.  Lobbyists opposing our bill are still telling legislators that retailers will be burdened with the empty containers, when this was changed in the bill years ago.  Our bill relies on redemption centers that are either privately run or part of the existing infrastructure of our Solid Waste Authorities. 

John was on Hoppy Kercheval’s radio program and as I am writing this article I am listening to today’s follow-up program.  My unscientific count has callers supporting the bottle bill outnumbering opponents by a 5:1 margin.

Progress

February 12, 2009: Senate Bill 237 introduced, referred to Natural Resources, Judiciary, Finance, and back to Natural Resources Committee.

February 18, 2009: HB 2602 Introduced, referred to Energy, Industry and Labor, then Economic Development and Small Business committee.

February 19, 2009: A public meeting was held at the Capitol for a Presentation to the Joint House Judiciary and Finance Committees.

March 10, 2009: HB 3037 introduced and referred to House Judiciary Committee

March 24, 2009: House Judiciary Subcommittee A passed out HB 3037 to the full House Judiciary Committee with recommendation that it pass.

April 1, 2009: HB 3037 was not considered by the full Judiciary committee and died by default. SB 237 and HB 2602 also died in committee.

Contacts

Linda Frame
Linda Frame
WV-Citizen Action Group
1500 Dixie Street
Charleston, WV 25311
www.wvcag.org
[email protected]
304-346-5891

Sponsors of the 2008 bottle bill:

Delegate Barbara Fleischauer
304-340-3169

Senator Brooks McCabe
304-357-7990