INDIANA BOTTLE BILL PROPOSAL:

(Please click on “petition”, print a copy, get it filled out then send to the address listed on the page. Our goal is 30,000 signatures by January 2007.)

Out of the 50 states in America, 11 have established a bottle deposit law. On average, 75% of the bottles sold in those states get returned and therefore recycled! That percentage compared to the other 39 states in our union is up nearly 40%! 11 states, Great Job! With this proposed law, we would see several changes in Indiana. We will see changes from environmental wellness, to economic growth for Indiana!

"We the People", have the responsibility to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Indiana's waterways, lakes, roads, and neighborhoods will see drastic changes in their appearance. As a reduction of solid waste, we might be able to slow the process of digging more landfills, which would reduce the tax money it takes building them. Most important, we will be acting on one of the many environmental changes we have to make!

Our world needs our help. We are its caretakers. The natural environment that we grew up in is being depleted of its resources and is going extinct. We have turned a blind eye for far too long. It's our responsibility to change our habits, not our children's. "We the People", of today, of right now. We have to start the process of rejuvenation, so our kids will follow.

As mentioned this bottle bill will bring economic growth to Indiana! Jobs will be added to handle the amount of bottles coming to the stores and drop off centers. People will be needed to transport the bottles from the stores to the recycling centers. From there they will have to be handled and shipped to be processed. This bill will bring about 20,000 jobs to Indiana's recycling industry.

This bill will generate money for our state. With approximately 75% of bottles getting returned, that leaves 25% not getting returned. That means one nickel for every unreturned bottle would go back to our state! Every year, that adds up to be a lot of nickels Indiana! According to the U.S. Census Bureau, we have 6,271,973 Hoosiers. The state of Massachusetts (which has a bottle deposit law) has about the same number of people 6,398,743. They bring in an annual profit of 30-40 million dollars on unclaimed bottles! This 30-40 million that would be coming into our state only includes beer and cola bottles. With a deposit on water and other non carbonated containers we can generate another 6-10 million! As a combined effort to increase recycling we also continue to collect from curbside recycling programs, at one nickel a bottle we could bring even more millions into our state! With a possible amount of about 50+ million dollars every year, the ways in which our money can be spent are endless! What is proposed in this bill is (using the low amount of 30 million) that, 20 % (6million) go to the retailers. They would be responsible for putting the recycling machines in their store's, and taking the bottles to the local recycling center's, in which the state could make more money selling the recycled material i.e.- aluminum.

The remaining 80% (24million) could be split in two ways:

30% (7million) each year could be put into an account solely for this and other environmental efforts in Indiana. These would include programs for clean-up acts, environmental protection, and other recycling programs. This 7 million a year would dramatically help our state towards becoming an environmentally friendly state!

70% (16.8 million) each year would be put into an account directly for three specific areas of our Indiana Public School systems. The money would be divided evenly (5.6million each), into three groups:

1.) Providing healthier, higher quality school lunches. Kids just need to start eating healthier. Most kids (especially teenagers) don’t get the nutrition they need to be healthy functioning people.

2.) KEEPING THE "FINE ARTS" PROGRAMS IN OUR SCHOOLS. These include music class, choir, drawing, ceramic classes, and recess for our youngster's, and more. Keeping these programs as an active part of our school systems is a must. Left brain-Right brain cross over is vital for developing minds. Right now in Indiana these programs and others are being threatened to be cut from the school budget. This would be a great loss for our children. If we can't give our children the tools they need to develop their minds in healthy functioning ways, we will be the ones responsible for not letting them grow in ways in which they, we, and this world needs. Cutting funding will be a great injustice to our kids.

Children need to have healthy creative fun.

3.) Better pay for our teacher's dedication to our children. Elementary and High school teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals in our state. They, and we, are responsible for their inspiration and education of our children. With better pay, teachers will be getting the support and credit they deserve. “THE HEART OF A TEACHER IS A MOST AWESOME LOVE.”

WE NEED THIS BILL NOW INDIANA!

No matter how you decide to dispose the containers you consume, it would be benefiting our community, country, and world as a whole. As a beer, water and soda drinker myself, I will pay a nickel a can. The question is, will you?

THIS IS A BILL PROPOSAL COMPOSED
"OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE."