Maine lawmakers are set to debate a proposal that would direct $4 million in unclaimed bottle deposits to farm and lake conservation.
The measure faces stiff opposition from the state’s beverage companies including the craft beer industry.
Sarah Bryan, executive director of the Maine Brewers’ Guild trade group said its membership was “deeply conflicted” by the bill.
Although the goal aligns with their environmental priorities, breweries are worried that redirecting unclaimed deposits that now support the redemption system could increase costs for breweries and consumers.
“This isn’t about whether environmental protection is important,” Bryan said. “We think that’s self-evident. For us, it’s about how we fund it; is this the right time to potentially impact small businesses?”
In Maine, consumers have to pay a 5 cent or 15 cent deposit on most beverage containers and can reclaim the deposit by later returning the bottles and cans to a redemption center.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection estimates there are about $16 million a year in unclaimed redemptions. Currently, those funds are directed to help pay for the state’s redemption system.
Major beverage distributors in Maine earlier this year testified that the process costs far more than the value of unclaimed deposits. And they warned that redirecting funds could put strain on the program, especially as the industry implements an overhaul of the redemption system passed three years ago.
But Peter Didisheim, senior advocacy director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said the industry’s concerns were “exaggerated”
“I think there is a lot of alarmism that I hope lawmakers will see as such and that we can put in place what would be one of the most significant environmental bills of this legislative session,” Didisheim said.
If successful, the bill would create some of the only regular, ongoing funding to pay for conserving farmland and maintaining water quality in Maine lakes and ponds, according to Didisheim.
Maine farmland has been shrinking for years as farmers age and properties are sold to developers. Meanwhile, water quality and clarity in Maine lakes has been deteriorating, partially due to climate change.
The measure would allocated just some of the unclaimed money, Didsheim added. Other states will bottle bills such as Vermont, Massachusetts and New York direct most or all of the unredeemed funds to environmental programs he added.
“Although it’s not a lot of money, it’s a significant investment in addressing two big problems we face,” Didisheim said.
“We’re losing farmland and we’re losing the water quality in our lakes. And if we don’t do anything, that decline will continue and the economic impacts will be pretty significant.”
The bill, LD 2141 was voted ought to pass by a majority of the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee. It is scheduled for debate in the full house and senate this week.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
