House rejects bottle bill

BOSTON (WWLP) - You won't be paying a deposit on water, sports drink or juice containers any time soon in Massachusetts. A proposed expansion of the bottle bill was quietly eliminated in the House Wednesday.

The proposal would have expanded the state's existing law, which adds a 5-cent cost to carbonated beverages that are redeemable when those bottles are recycled at local redemption centers.

Cameron Jerome, an employee at Spirit Haus in Amherst told 22News, the expansion would have been beneficial because it would encourage more people to recycle. "People would be more motivated to return something that they can get paid for as opposed to just... a lot of people would figure why would I recycle this or take the time out to do this when I'm not getting anything for it."

Jerome also told 22News, they also host fundraising events where the money they collect through redemption center goes to a local cancer society.