Number: 1980-28
WHEREAS, legislation requiring mandatory deposits on carbonated and non-carbonated soft drink and malt beverage containers has been recognized as a means to significantly reduce litter, conserve non-renewable natural resources, save energy, reduce solid waste and promote a general conservation ethic; and
WHEREAS, the legislatures of the states of Oregon, Vermont, South Dakota, Connecticut and Iowa have passed “deposit” laws and the states of Michigan and Maine have successfully passed “deposit” laws by the referendum process, and
WHEREAS, the overwhelming approval in Michigan of “Proposal A” on the 1976 general election ballot proved that such legislation is acceptable when presented to the public, even in a large industrial state, and
WHEREAS, “deposit” laws continue to be introduced in states without such legislation, and
WHEREAS, voter approval has shown that expensive efforts by industry to defeat “deposit” legislation can be successfully countered by effective organization and strategy, and
WHEREAS, there is a lack of effective leadership and coordination at the national level to assist state and national efforts for deposit legislation, and
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 20-23, 1980, in Miami Beach, Fla., hereby urges the U.S. Congress and, in lieu of federal action, appropriate state legislatures to enact legislation requiring mandatory deposits on carbonated and non-carbonated soft drink and malt beverage containers throughout the nation, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation serve as a clearinghouse for “deposit” law information, to provide assistance to individual states working for deposit legislation, and to coordinate efforts for national “deposit” legislation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization calls on all Americans to support a comprehensive solid waste management policy which maximizes source reduction measures and encourages resource recovery practices and the disposal of unavoidable solid waste under environmentally sound and regulated conditions.