Keller @ Large: Bottle Battle Bill
BOSTON (CBS) – Next month, voters will decide whether to expand the bottle deposit law in Massachusetts.
After years of failure to get the bottle law expanded on Beacon Hill, proponents have turned to the ballot, and ran into television ads from the beverage, supermarket and restaurant industries.
Advocates say the No On 2 ads are a pack of "lies." They also claim that the opponents are trying to mislead voters into thinking the expanded law will include dairy products. While a graphic in a commercial includes what looks like dairy containers, the No On 2 ads never mentions those products.
The ad also claims that politicians will keep money from bottles that are not returned to the store. Yes On 2 says those claims are false, but a review shows those funds will be controlled by the legislature for vaguely-defined environmental uses.
No On 2 said 90 percent of Massachusetts residents have curbside recycling right in their communities, while state officials say the correct number is 64 percent. A spokeswoman from No On 2 acknowledged their number included drop-off recycling.
Neither side seems to dispute that the 32-year-old bottle deposit law took a lot of recyclable bottles and cans out of the waste stream. But are voters ready to expand the law further? The opponents are spending millions to persuade them to say no.
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