Mark Hatfield: “as the Senate discusses the difficult issue of solid waste management, I would like to point out to my colleagues that…”

“as the Senate discusses the difficult issue of solid waste management, I would like to point out to my colleagues that 10 States have achieved great success by implementing some form of beverage container deposit system. My home State of Oregon, for example, has had remarkable success with its own bottle bill for over 20 years. Consequently, I am offering the National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act as an amendment to the interstate waste bill. So often, States serve as laboratories for what later emerges as successful national policies. The State of Oregon and other bottle-bill States have proven that deposit programs are an effective method to deal with beverage containers, which make up the single largest component of waste systems. According to the General Accounting Office, deposit-law States, which account for only 18 percent of the population, recycle 65 percent of all glass and 98 percent of all PET plastic nationwide. That means 82 percent of the population is recycling less than 25 percent of our Nation's beverage container waste. The amendment I have placed before the Senate today will accomplish national objectives to meet our Nation's massive waste management difficulties. A national deposit system will reduce solid waste and litter, save natural resources and energy, and create a much needed partnership between consumers, industry, and local governments for the betterment of our communities.”