AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A bill that supporters hope will rid the landscape of many of the millions of miniature alcohol bottles sold each year is heading to the Maine Senate.
The Maine House voted 111-34 Tuesday to make Maine’s bottle deposit laws apply to 50 milliliter and smaller wine or spirits bottles.
Maine is one of 10 states with bottle deposit systems, and is one of three states whose laws include distilled spirits like vodka and whisky. But Maine and Vermont have long exempted tiny containers.
Maine Audubon says the bill will reduce litter, while alcohol industry lobbyists call the 15-cent deposit anti-business and impractical. The state’s alcoholic beverages and lottery bureau opposed the bill and said increased redemption could cost the state $1 million each year.
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