Supporters of the expanded bottle bill got a boost last week when the Senate unexpectedly voted to include it in the legislature’s Jobs bill. This is the first time the expanded bottle bill has passed a branch of the Legislature.
The bottle bill expands a five-cent bottle deposit to include bottled water, iced tea, and other non-carbonated sports drinks that have grown in popularity since the original bottle bill was passed in 1983.
A January 2011 poll by MassINC showed that 77 percent of respondents supported expanding the bottle bill.