NONRETURNABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINER PROHIBITION ACT 93-2 HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE NINETY-THIRD CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 2062 TO PROHIBIT THE INTRODUCTION INTO INTERSTATE COM- Chokola, Peter T., president, Chokola Beverage Co--- Goldberg, Ronald C. executive secretary, Vermont Retail Grocers Association, Inc___. Prepared statement.. Hatfield, Hon. Mark O., U.S. Senator from Oregon. Mudd, Sidney, chairman of the board, New York 7-Up, on behalf of the Norton, N. E., president, Crusade for a Cleaner Environment.. 67 97 104 Prepared statement.. 107 Piacentini, John, Plaid Pantry Markets, Oregon; accompanied by Henry Sellinger, Frank, vice president, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.; accompanied by Dr. Webster, Donald, director, Environmental Protection Agency on Environmental Conservation, State of Vermont_. Prepared statement__ MAY 7, 1974 Opening statement by Senator Moss___ 131 Dellenback, Hon. John, U.S. Representative from the Fourth District of 160 Prepared statement_ 162 Holland, John D., immediate past president, National Liquor Store Asso- 147 153 Kimball, Thomas, executive vice president, National Wildlife Federation; accompanied by Dr. Charles M. Gudger, professor, School of Business and Technology, Oregon State University; and Dr. Priscilla W. Laws, Department of Physics, Dickinson College. 163 Prepared statement of Mr. Kimball. 167 178 Prepared statement_ May, William, chairman of the board, American Can Co.; accompanieu Page 192 203 Quarles, Hon. John R., Jr., Deputy Administrator, Environmental Protec- tion Agency; accompanied by Arsen J. Darnay, Deputy Assistant Ad- An Ecological Approach to Solid Waste Management: A Case for Govern- George, W. H. Khrome, Aluminum Co. of America, letter of May 17, 1974__ Gilbert, Elizabeth Anne, School District of Haverford Township, letter of Jensen, M. W., president, Can Manufacturers Institute, letter of Feb- 185 Korody, Paul A., Jr., director, Governmental Affairs, National Association 157 Laws, Dr. Priscilla W., associate professor of physics, Dickinson College, 186 Roberts, Betty, Oregon State Senator, letter of May 10, 1974__ 217 Schreiber, G. Richard, president, National Automatic Merchandising As- 226 Shepard, Robert, article in the Capital Journal_ 309 Train, Russell E., chairman, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive 252 Tucker, Charles R., president, Chesapeake Environmental Protection As- 217 Uncanny Stretch to Medford, article_- 308 235 Waggoner, Don, president, Oregon Environmental Council, statement_. 240 The subcommittee met at 9:42 a.m. in room 1318 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Frank E. Moss presiding. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR MOSS Senator Moss. The hearing will come to order. This is the first of 2 scheduled days of hearings on S. 2062, a bill which would prohibit the sale and distribution in interstate commerce of the nonreturnable containers we use for malt liquor and other carbonated beverages. The bill would not ban nonrefillable containers but instead, would require that a 5-percent refundable deposit be imposed upon all beer and soda containers except those suitable for use by more than one bottler; for these a 2-cent deposit would be required. We also have before us for consideration an amendment to S. 2062 which would make discretionary the duty of the administrator to certify standardized containers for the 2-cent deposit. The purpose of these hearings is to build a record upon which the Subcommittee on the Environment can evaluate the merits of the proposed legislation. S. 2062 has been proposed as a means of first, reducing litter and other solid waste; second, limiting allegedly unnecessary uses of energy and other scarce resources such as steel and aluminum, and finally of lowering consumer prices for beer and soft drinks. Opponents of the legislation claim that opposite results will occur: that energy use will increase, that beverage sales will fall, and that any potential benefits that may occur are not worth the possible industrial and employment dislocations that could result from the imposition of a returnable container system. This committee must attempt to resolve these competing claims. Until recently, most of the arguments concerning the benefits of a returnable beverage container system have been speculative. Fortunately we now have the experience of two States, Oregon and Vermont, to provide an indication of what might happen if S. 2062 were adopted. Staff member assigned to these hearings: Paul A. Cunningham. (1) |