Several years after failing at the ballot box, a proposal to update the state’s 5-cent “bottle bill” has resurfaced on Beacon Hill, where environmental and consumer advocates are pushing again to expand the decades-old law. A new proposal heard by the Legislature’s Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy on Monday would increase the deposit on cans and bottles from 5 to 10 cents and include other plastic and glass containers for wine, hard cider, water and sports drinks, as well as miniature liquor bottles called “nips.”

Janet Domenitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, said the country is getting “buried” under single-use plastic bottles and other waste. She said the problem has gotten worse during the pandemic. “It’s never been more urgent to do everything we can to reduce what we use, set a goal of zero waste, and create a more sustainable society,” she told the panel.

The proposals are backed by more than 40 lawmakers including Reps. Paul Tucker, D-Salem, Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, Andy Vargas, D-Haverhill and Tram Nguyen, D-Andover. A similar, bipartisan proposal also heard by the committee on Monday, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, would extend the bottle deposit for wine and liquor bottles but would exclude dairy products and juice drinks. A bill filed by Rep. Michelle Ciccolo, D-Lexington, would require plastic manufacturers to incrementally increase the amount of materials they recycle.

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