Support NC House Bill 978, the Litter Reduction Act of 2024

North Carolina General Assembly

The Litter Reduction Act of 2024 would significantly reduce litter in North Carolina, dramatically increase recycling rates, generate millions in revenue for the state with increased material recovery, free up valuable landfill capacity, and contribute to the economy of North Carolina.

This proposed Act is known as a Bottle Deposit Bill, and would require consumers to pay a 10-cent deposit on beverage container purchases, which would be refunded upon return and give consumers financial incentive to recycle. Since 1971, these types of laws have been passed in 10 states and have reduced beverage container litter by at least 70%, more than doubled recycling rates, gained public bipartisan support, and have made state governments tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions, in economic gains from valuable material recovery.

Please sign this petition and contact your Representatives (https://ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators) to tell the General Assembly that North Carolinians care about both our environment and our economy.

*Note that H.B. 978 is just the first draft of a potential Bottle Deposit Bill in North Carolina. This Petition is intended to show support for the idea of a Bottle Deposit Bill, but we recognize that improvements to the Bill may be needed. We welcome and encourage feedback in the comments*

This petition is co-sponsored by Waterkeepers Carolina, Haw River Assembly, Cape Fear River Watch, MountainTrue, PlasticFreeWNC, NC Sierra Club, Toward Zero Waste, NC Bottle Bill Project, North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, Environment North Carolina, Plastic Ocean Project, and Beyond Plastics Greensboro.

Please share and reach out to Madison Haley (madisonclaiire@gmail.com) for questions or inquiries.

To: North Carolina General Assembly
From: [Your Name]

Please support House Bill 978, the Litter Reduction Act of 2024.

The Litter Reduction Act of 2024 would significantly reduce litter in North Carolina, dramatically increase recycling rates, generate millions in revenue for the state with increased material recovery, free up valuable landfill capacity, and contribute to the economy of North Carolina.

This proposed Act is known as a Bottle Deposit Bill, and would require consumers to pay a 10-cent deposit on beverage container purchases, which would be refunded upon return and give consumers financial incentive to recycle. Since 1971, these types of laws have been passed in 10 states and have reduced beverage container litter by at least 70%, more than doubled recycling rates, and have made state governments millions in economic gains from valuable material recovery.

Please support House Bill 978, the Litter Reduction Act of 2024, for the following reasons:

1) It would reduce beverage container litter in our communities by 70-80%, and total litter by up to 30%. Litter threatens the well-being of our communities, endangers wildlife, and releases microplastics and chemicals into our drinking water sources - but beyond that, it’s costly. In 2023, the NCDOT spent over $25M removing litter from state routes; a value that doesn’t include all the work of municipalities and counties, tens of millions of volunteer hours, and the dozens of nonprofits across the state.

2) It would double our recycling rates, increase valuable material recovery, and free up expensive landfill capacity. Landfills in North Carolina are filling up with valuable material, and NCDEQ warns that landfill capacity “could quickly become the Achilles heel in certain parts of the state.” At present, our recycling rates are low and falling. NCDEQ has found that we recycle only 30% of PET plastic bottles and throw away more than $41M in plastic each year.

3) We already have bipartisan public support for a Bottle Bill due to its proven benefits. National polling in 2022 found that over 80% of Americans support bottle deposit laws, and 2024 polling in North Carolina found that 91% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans supported state government action regarding single-use plastics.

To clean up litter in our environment, improve material recovery, free up landfill space, and contribute to the economy, please support H.B. 978, the Litter Reduction Act of 2024.
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