Bottle bill advocates ready plan B

By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling

Should Massachusetts lawmakers fail to pass legislation that would expand the commonwealth's bottle bill, advocates of a broader container-deposit system are ramping up to take their case directly to voters.

Expanding the Bay State's nearly-30-year-old bottle bill to encompass bottled waters, teas, juices, sports drinks and other beverages that have has long been a priority for environmentalists. Although a legislative panel last month considered bills that would extend the container deposit law, bottle bill boosters have taken preliminary steps to put the measure on the 2012 ballot, reports the State House News Service via The Boston Herald.

According to the wire service, proponents of the ballot initiative have filed paperwork with Attorney General Martha Coakley that included 16 signatures that included those of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, former Gov. Michael Dukakis and Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong. If Coakley gives the language of the measure the green light, supporters will need to gather 69,811 signatures by mid-November to get it on the ballot a year from then. If enough signatures are gathered, the legislature would have until May 2012 to pass a bottle bill expansion, an alternative or allow the measure to go to voters.

A poll conducted earlier this year by Mass INC found that 77 percent of residents of the state support and expansion.

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