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  • Home
  • About
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Community Organizing
    • News
    • Clean School Buses
    • Grassroots Committees
    • Voting Rights
  • Resources
    • Briefing Papers
    • Clean Energy for All
    • Transportation Guide
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    • Clean Energy
    • Gas Pipelines
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  • Get Involved
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PLASTICS

Plastic bags, straws, bottles, and other waste present a significant threat to the ecosystems in the Long Island Sound and across Connecticut. Turtles can mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, and when they ingest them, the bags can lodge in their stomachs. Plastic can also cause intestinal blockages in whales and dolphins.

​The United Nations has estimated that 
more than 8 million tons of plastic wind up in our oceans each year. Connecticut uses more than 400 million plastic bags each year. Many of these end up in the Connecticut River and eventually in our oceans.

In Connecticut, Greenwich and Westport have banned single-use plastic bags to help turn the tide against this wave of pollution. Towns including Guilford, Mansfield, Norwich, Stamford, and Waterford are also considering similar legislation, and the town of 
Stonington is considering bans on both bags and straws.

Nationally, some large retailers and restaurant companies have recently announced initiatives to curb plastic consumption. Starbucks and McDonalds have both announced they will be phasing out plastic straws, while Krogers has announced it will stop providing single-use plastic bags.

At the state level, plastic bag bans and fees have been proposed in the Connecticut General Assembly, but none have made it to the Governor's desk. Some lawmakers have also proposed fixes to strengthen our recycling program, also known as the "Bottle Bill." The last attempt to modernize our recycling program died in the House in 2018.

CURRENT LEGISLATION

Connecticut's "Bottle Bill" is a landmark recycling program that unfortunately fails to account for the wide array of juices, sports drinks, and other beverage containers that have grown in popularity over the years. In 2018, the Environment Committee considered HB 5457: An Act Concerning Bottle Redemption Centers. 

HB 5457 sought to modernize the Bottle Bill. Currently, recycling "handlers" that collect and recycle bottles and cans are going out of business. Connecticut has not properly adjusted the compensation these redemption centers receive for 34 years, even as handling costs have risen sharply. Compensation still stands at just 1.5 cents for beer cans and 2 cents for soda and other beverages. 

Four years ago, there were 21 redemption centers across Connecticut. Now there are only 16. These remaining handlers face high overhead and operation costs. As recycling centers continue to close, more Connecticut residents will be left without convenient locations to return their plastic bottles, resulting in more plastics in landfills and waterways.

HB 5457 sought to find a solution to this challenge, but unfortunately it was badly rewritten before being voted out of the Environment Committee. No further action was taken by the House.

In 2019, CTLCV anticipates new actions on the Bottle Bill and proposals to address plastic bags and perhaps straws at the state level.

MORE INFORMATION

  • CTLCV BRIEFING PAPER: The Bottle Bill (PDF)
  • CTLCV BRIEFING PAPER: Plastic Pollution (PDF)

IMPACT OF PLASTICS

  • More than 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans each year. If this pace continues, plastic will outnumber fish by 2050.
  • Sea turtles are now consuming twice as much plastic now as they did 25 years ago.
  • More than 200 species have been found entangled in plastic, causing injury and even death to many specimens.
  • 91% of plastic is not recycled. Only 12% of plastics have been incinerated.
  • Because plastic takes 400 years to break down, the bottles, bags, straws, and other waste we toss away will be here for a long time to come.
  • Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every 5 seconds. 
  • More than 1 billion plastic bags are consumed in the United States each year.
  • Connecticut uses more than 400 million plastic bags each year.
  • A 5-cent tax on plastic bags in Connecticut could generate more than $20 million in revenue. This revenue could be used to fund our parks program or other important initiatives.  

MORE INFORMATION

  • ​Container Recycling Institute - Plastic Facts
  • PlasticBagLaws.org
  • Long Island Sound Study 
  • Plastic tide threatens Long Island Sound (CT Post)
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