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Thank you to all who testified in person, submitted online testimony (over 120 people!), or signed the letter of support for LD 2141. Your voices made a difference in getting the bill through the committee. Now your voices are needed to get the bill over the finish line.
Contact your legislators today to urge them to vote in support of LD 2141
The Maine Legislature has an opportunity to protect the water quality of our lakes and the long-term viability of farmland. LD 2141 follows the lead of other states with beverage container redemption programs where unredeemed bottle deposits are invested in high-priority conservation programs.
LD 2141 will bring $4 million dollars annually to lake and farmland protection programming ($2 million each).
The bill will be up for a floor vote and debate any day now. The beverage industry is out in force and lobbying hard against this bill since they currently keep unredeemed bottle deposits to offset recycling costs.
Your legislators need to hear from you!
This bill will protect lakes and farms while leaving substantial funds to maintain a robust Bottle Bill Redemption and Recycling program – a model that we know works well in other states.
Four Action Steps to take TODAY:
1) Find your legislators.
Find contact information on the Natural Resource Council of Maine’s page here. Enter your address and look at the bottom of the list that is generated to find your state senator and representative.
2) Craft a short and personal message.
You only need a few sentences. Share the work you do for lakes and the needs you see for funding a clean lakes future. Other points to highlight are listed below:
- Unredeemed bottle deposits are public funds that belong to the people of Maine – these funds are not the property of the bottlers.
- The bottling industry is a valuable Maine employer, but its economic benefits don’t come close to those that our clean lakes and healthy farmlands provide.
- Risks to lake health are growing. Investing in lake health today will save us billions of dollars in future restoration costs.
- Other states (MA, MI, and NY) use unredeemed deposits to support both environmental programs and recycling costs. Vermont dedicates all unredeemed deposits to environmental needs.
- This bill is wildly popular with everyday Mainers. More than 120 pieces of testimony have been submitted and more than 1,400 individuals signed a letter of support. The only opposing testimony is from the beverage industry.
- We all need clean water – especially those in the bottling industry. The original intent of the bottle redemption program was to protect our environment. If lakes are not protected today, clean water will become a scarce and expensive commodity.
3) Send your message.
Email or call your legislator. Calling may have the biggest impact. If you email, be sure to include "Support LD 2141" in the subject line. Also include in your message the Maine town where you live, own property, or spend time.
4) Amplify your impact.
Urge friends and family to contact their legislators. If everyone who receives this call to action reaches out to just a couple more people, we will triple our impact and make a different when this bill comes up for a floor vote.
Thank you for reaching out to your legislators, and for all you do to protect Maine's lakes.
Additional Resources:
Thank you for all you do for Maine’s lakes and for
speaking up to support lake funding.
Questions? Email sgallo@lakes.me
Note: Maine Lakes is part of the Lake Protection Coalition, which is also sending this alert to the lakes community. Apologies for any repeat messaging.
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