When I learned that the bottle bill does not include all bottles, my first reaction was, "Why not?" The bill is Connecticut's most effective recycling tool, with 70 percent of the bottles covered by the five-cent redeemable deposit recycled. However, for bottles that are not covered by the bill, only 25 percent of those containers are recycled. Updating the bottle bill to include all single-serving beverage containers, such as teas and sports drinks, can help to increase overall recycling and decrease litter.

It turns out, many residents are also surprised and disappointed to learn that the five-cent deposit does not include all beverage containers. For many of these people, updating the bottle bill is seen as a sensible, proven way to increase recycling and to decrease litter. These opinions were made clear this Valentine's Day, when over 4,000 petitions were dropped off by ConnPIRG to the state legislature urging it to update the bottle bill. Every legislator received petitions from everyday people in their districts, including those from right here in southeastern Connecticut.

All these petitions were a big show of support and I urge our legislators to update the bottle bill this year.