State Environmental Commissioner Pete Grannis is leading the charge to expand New York's bottle deposit law.

Under the law passed in 1982, a 5-cent deposit is added to carbonated beverage bottles. Bottled water, sports drinks and fruit juices now comprise 25 percent of the beverage market, but do not have a recycling deposit attached to them.

The "Bigger Better Bottle Bill" would change that.

"We'll have cleaner waterways, cleaner beaches, cleaner parks," said Adrienne Esposito of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

When a consumer doesn't recycle a bottle, the unredeemed deposits are currently credited to the product manufacturers. If approved, the state would take those funds for environmental projects. Some estimate $100 million could be generated for green projects by the unredeemed deposits on non-carbonated beverages.

State Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Oyster Bay) has sponsored a competing bill in the Senate. Marcellino said the unredeemed deposits shouldn't be taken away from the distributors. New Yorkers for Real Recycling Reform, which represents the supermarkets, agrees, saying Grannis' bill would be too costly.

Lawmakers have until June 21, when the legislative session ends, to pass a new bottle bill. Related Information: New York Bigger, Better Bottle Bill Campaign NYBottleBill.org Real Recycling Reform