Increase in beverage container tax mulled

The House of Representatives yesterday tossed back to the natural resources committee a proposal that seeks to allocate 50 percent of revenues from the Beverage Container Tax to the government’s solid waste management program.

The lower chamber decided to send House Bill 12-041 back to the committee level following contentions by Rep. Heinz Hofschneider that re-channeling money from the general fund to another program is impractical during these days of hard economic times.

Instead, Mr. Hofschneider suggested that the Legislature move to increase the Beverage Container Tax by at least .025 cents, which should then be earmarked for the proposed tin can recycling program.

He said the Northern Marianas imports about 56,000 cases of canned drinks or about 17 million cans of beverages each year.

Increasing the Beverage Container Tax by .025 may translate to over $400,000 in additional revenues for the government, which may be enough to jumpstart the proposed recycling program.

Mr. Hofschneider is apparently hoping to hit two birds in one stone with his arguments, noting that soda and beers are generally unhealthy drinks.

He pointed out that increased prices of canned drinks would help discourage consumers from taking soda and beer as much as they do now, thereby, helping them stay fit.

The government will be able to do this while, at the same time, generating additional revenues for its solid waste management program, said Mr. Hofschneider.

HB 12-041 was originally thrown at the lower chamber’s floor for first and final reading but legislators were compelled to make further studies to address the concerns raised by Mr. Hofschneider.

Earlier, the Department of Lands and Natural Resources backed the passage of HB 12-041 which intends to designate a portion of the existing Beverage Container Tax for recycling efforts that will be administered by the Division of Solid Waste Management.

Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Joaquin A. Tenorio said DLNR will rally behind the passage of this proposed measure primarily because it will back up efforts to properly address waste disposal concerns in the Northern Marianas.

He pointed out that some of these containers end up in boonies, backyards, illegal dumpsites and other out of the way places. More importantly, these non-biodegradables, particularly bottles and cans, also end up filled with water that become breeding sites for mosquitoes that are noxious or are vectors of human and other animal disease.

“There is a definite need to provide more support to existing and new recycling and waste management private businesses. We are hopeful that this bill will help energize a comprehensive market driven recycling and waste management program, which will extend the life of our sanitary landfill,” said Mr. Tenorio.

He added that once beverage container recycling is solidly established, businesses will hopefully have the incentive for recycling other economically feasible materials such as paper products and cardboards.

In 1999, the CNMI government moved to legislate recycling in attempts to seek the life span of the new landfill that will be constructed in Marpi.

The Commonwealth Recycling Act of 1999 which became Public Law 11-122 seeks to divert toxic and hazardous materials from the new dumpsite in Marpi.

The government’s solid waste and recycling program will focus at reducing the amount of waste generated by both residents and commercial and industrial establishments in the Northern Marianas by advancing the merits of recycling.

Under the solid waste management program, public education will be initiated to encourage the public to recycle metal, plastic and paper wastes, while promoting the value of composting biodegradable wastes.

Works are already underway to identify off-island markets which may be interested to buy recyclable wastes which may be used in the manufacturing of new products.

Composting green wastes is also feasible in the Northern Marianas. Construction of recycling processing stations in the islands are also being considered to address solid waste woes. (Aldwin R. Fajardo)