Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/479398
www.CTGreenGuide.com Fall 2014 • Connecticut Green Guide 9 Simsbury, New Haven Top Bike-Friendly List Simsbury and new haven are the Connecti- cut communities most friendly to cyclists and walkers, according to a report by advocacy group Bike Walk Connecticut. The rankings were based on an online sur- vey and on community engagement efforts, such as where cities had bicycle master plans, outreach programs, citizen advisory groups, or complete street policies. Bike Walk Connecticut expects to put out new rankings annually as part of its five-year plan to advocate for complete streets. Com- plete streets make walking and biking safer and easier by offering paths for walkers and bikers with access to public transportation. Prominent communities not in the top 10 or bottom 10 include hartford (no. 15), Stratford (25), Wethersfield (30), Windsor (43), Wallingford (66), West hartford (83), Stamford (115), and Bridgeport (116). News Cycle Most Biker/Walker Friendly CT Cities Top 10 BoTTom 10 1. Simsbury 1. Voluntown 2. new haven 2. Thomaston 3. new Britain 3. Sharon 4. Glastonbury 4. Seymour 5. Middletown 5. Scotland 6. Canton 6. oxford 7. Weston 7. Middlebury 8. hamden 8. hartland 9. Plainville 9. Colebrook 10. South Windsor 10. Bozrah SourCE: BikE WALk ConnECTiCuT have the best chance of passing it," said Tom Metzner, DEEP environmental analyst. The battery proposal comes after Connecticut last year became the first state to pass a mattress recycling law and the third state to adopt a paint recycling law. Both these and the battery law follow the principal of product stewardship where the cost of recycling the good is included in the retail price and the manufacturers and sell- ers of those goods set up special programs to collect them from consumers. Other states have battery laws that cover rechargeable batteries only or single-use batteries only, but Con- necticut would be the first to have a law that covers all types of batteries, ranging from the little disks for watch- es to the standard alkaline batteries to the larger ones for computers, etc. The Connecticut law will have a size limit, so car batteries won't be included, although they already have a disposal program. "All the parties here want to see a good piece of legislation passed in Connecticut," said Scott Cassel, CEO and founder of the Product Stewardship Institute, which is headquartered in Boston. The battery group — led by companies Energizer, Duracell, Panasonic, and the industry group Rechargeable Battery Association — wants the law passed because it will level the playing field in terms of what companies are paying for battery recycling, Cassel said. Currently, with recycling programs being voluntary, some companies are covering the costs while others are not, and consumers don't discriminate who participates when recycling their batteries. All the parties still are hammering out the details of the Connecticut bill, including how many product stewardship organizations are needed to fulfill the legislation's require- ments, how companies will be reimbursed for handling a larger portion of the recycling load, and whether the companies will offer collection sites, transfer stations, or another method, said Metzner. The passage of the bill is not very likely to lead to the creation of new battery recycling companies in Connecticut, at least not right away, Metzner said, the way the mattress recy- cling law saw the creation of new companies in Bridgeport and Bloomfield. The nearest battery recycling facilities are in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Canada, but a new business coming online closer to Connecticut will depend on how many batteries are recycled. "If another state passes a law like New York or Massa- chusetts, then you might see some more regional process- ing," Metzner said. "There just isn't the volume right now." The passage of a Connecticut battery recycling law is unlikely to lead to a specific charge on the purchase of batteries in the state, unlike the mattress and paint laws, Metzner said. The cost per unit is too low to create even a 1 cent per battery charge, so the manufacturers will pass the expense along through their pricing.