A new report shows Massachusetts' bottle bill creates nearly 1,500 jobs and adds between $85 million and $151 million to the state gross domestic product.
The report, commissioned by the Container Recycling Institute, comes out as lawmakers are scheduled to consider a proposal June 13 to repeal or revise the state's beverage container deposit return system, CRI said.
A total of 1.2 billion containers, with a commodity value of about $19 million, were collected in 2015. And $62.3 million was returned to consumers at redemption locations that year, CRI indicated.
The system also directly employs 1,480 workers who collected, transported and processed bottles and cans.
The report estimates cities and towns save some $20 million by not having the containers in the waste stream.
"Overall, the job creation and other financial benefits enjoyed under the bottle bill in Massachusetts are considerable, and an alternative system would appear to be costly, with no significant or obvious advantages. A repeal of the bottle bill clearly would set Massachusetts back in terms of employment and the economy," CRI President Susan V. Collins said in a statement.
The report was prepared by Industrial Economics Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., for CRI.
CRI has scheduled a webinar to discuss the report for 11 a.m. Pacific time June 14 with Collins and officials from Industrial Economics. The cost is $59 basic members and non-members of the group.
More information, including the report titled "Massachusetts Container Deposit Return System: 2016 Employment and Economic Impacts in the Commonwealth," is available at www.container-recycling.org.