On the Air Against the Bottle Bill

ALBANY—A group lobbying against an expansion of the state's bottle bill is going on the air with the ad below.

The group of bottlers -- called New Yorkers for Real Recycling Reform -- said in a press release that the ad will air in the Capital Region and around the state starting this week. The message is that an expansion of  the bottle bill to include water and juice in addition to beer and soda would make those drinks more costly for consumers.

Jon Pierce, a spokesman for the group, said they will spend in the "mid-six figures" to put the air on cable and broadcast T.V. in Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and maybe New York City.

David Paterson proposed expanding the bottle bill in his budget. Similar measures have gotten through the State Assembly in years past, but have never been brought to the floor of the State Senate. That chamber is now under the control of Democrats, and State Senator Antoine Thompson has led the Environmental Conservation Committee is holding hearings on the issue.

Thompson told me yesterday that "because Connecticut just passed the measure, I think there's some momentum."

The final public hearing on the measure -- which Thompson supports -- is scheduled for Friday. Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has been non-committal on the bill.

Laura Haight, a NYPIRG lobbyist who has long argued that the bill is good for the environment, said by phone that "they've never done T.V. or radio before, so we must be getting close."

Her group is not planning any similar push on the airwaves.