REDWOOD NEEDLES Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES Return to Article Menu Redwood Needles April 1999   Recycling Update Water bottles How many of you are drinking single-serve bottled water? How many of you are recycling those containers? Even though these containers are made from PET plastic and are identical to the plastic soda bottles, they are not included in the current California Redemption Value (CRV) program because the liquids in them are not carbonated. State Senator Byron Sher recently introduced Senate Bill 332. SB 332 would expand the current Bottle Bill program to include all glass, PET plastic and metal containers for non-carbonated, non-alcoholic drinks. When the bill is passed into law, all water, tea, Snapple, and juice containers will be labeled for buyback just like the beer and soda containers today. The law would take effect on January 1, 2000. SB 332 also proposes to up the refund value on all plastic containters of 20 ounces or more from 2 1/2 cents to 5 cents-a refund which currently applies only to containers of 24 ounces or more. With 20-ounce bottles the fastest-growing segment of the soft drink market, the greater refund value could prove a significant incentive for more recycling. Now is your chance to get involved with the legislative process and write to your State Senator (State Capitol, Sacramento 95814) and urge him/her to pass SB 332. For a detailed summary of SB 332, please contact Californians Against Waste at (916) 443-5422 or murray@cawrecycles.org.   1999 Trash Award goes to . . . Miller Brewing Company is brewing up a lot of angst in the Los Angeles basin. They are test-marketing a PET plastic beer bottle. Their designers have no regard for current recycling programs because they designed a bottle with amber tint (current PET bottles are clear or green), which has a new interior barrier material, metal cap and metallic label. And they are using only virgin plastic. The technology exists to use recycled PET resin in new bottles and Miller Brewing Company along with Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola should be using it. What should we do? Write or call Miller Brewing Company to protest their new PET bottle. Write or call Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola and ask them to use recycled PET in their plastic bottles. Check out CALIFORNIANS AGAINST WASTE @ www.cawrecycles.org Jane Bogner is a Solano Group member who represents the Sierra Club on the board of directors of a grass-roots recycling center (VALCORE Recycling) in Vallejo. She writes "A Sorted Affair" that is published bi-weekly in the Vallejo Times-Herald. You can e-mail her questions about recycling, reducing waste, and composting at jabogner@juno.com.   Return to Article Menu Last updated on 3/02/99 Comments or suggestions? Drop us a line at heyneedles@aol.com