Emails to our Maryland State Delegates are needed to support the HB-839 bottle bill that will receive a General Assembly hearing on March 7th. The proposed bill would require a 5-cent deposit on disposable plastic, aluminum, and glass beverage containers, adding an incentive to return them and reduce littering in our streets and streams. Tossed beverage bottles are the main source of litter in our streets, roadsides, and public lands and parks and in Sligo Creek, the Anacostia, and the Potomac. The cleanups by Friends of Sligo Creek and other watershed groups can only raise awareness of the ongoing crisis. We Sweep the Creek only to find more trash beginning to accumulate immediately. Curbside recycling is definitely not enough to keep people from littering beverage cans and bottles.
The aim of the bottle bill is to reduce litter blight and landfilling, help keep toxins out of our water, create jobs, and actually save taxpayers money (less for disposal, recycling, and cleanup costs). Click here for more information on the bill.
Here is a sample letter to send. Personalized letters are the most effective tool. Please send the email before March 7th.
Sample Advocacy Letter for the Maryland Bottle Bill
The site below is good for quickly finding what district you are in:
Type in your street address and city for House of Delegates option:
mdelect.net/electedofficials/
Then use this website to find the email addresses for your delegates.
You can address one email to the multiple delegates in your district:
www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/hsedist.html