BIDDEFORD — Several bills will likely be introduced in the Maine Legislature during the current session to attempt to change the way Mainers recycle their redeemable cans and bottles.

A debate is underway between those who believe Maine may be able to recycle these containers more efficiently using a different system and those who say the bill is working well and should be left alone.

Maine’s bottle bill was passed with overwhelming support by voters in 1976. It is one of only 10 states in the nation to have a bottle bill. Under the Maine system, consumers pay a deposit on bottles and cans ranging between 5 to 15 cents per container, which they can get back upon redemption. The containers are collected at more than 800 redemption centers in the state.

One of the main reasons for the law was to reduce roadside litter on Maine highways, but the bill also reduces the amount of trash going into the state’s waste stream, said Matt Prindiville with the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

There are several proposals being bandied about the halls of Augusta: One is to limit truck traffic associated with the bottle bill; another would limit the size of containers that can be redeemed to less than 24 ounces; there is also one to create a stakeholder’s committee to review the system.

It’s been a long time since Maine passed the bottle bill and recycling technology has improved considerably, said Newell Augur, with the Maine Beverage association, which represents the state’s beverage distributors. For instance, he said, single stream recycling has been introduced.

The redemption of bottles and cans needs to be discussed in the context of all recycling, said Augur.

He acknowledged that a large portion of containers ”“ 75 percent ”“ are redeemed in Maine. However, he said, the state’s recycling rate overall is below that of many states. According the Maine State Planning Office, only 39 percent of the state’s solid waste was recycled in 2009.

Prindiville said the current bottle system is efficient and noted that a number of states have both a bottle bill and single stream recycling. What’s going on in Maine is part of a national effort to rescind the bottle bill, said Prindiville.

“They (the distributors) don’t like spending the money they do for administration,” he said, and there has been talk about putting the bottles and cans now being redeemed into the general waste and recycling stream, he said. The cost of recycling these containers would then be passed on to municipalities.

Not only would this be an additional cost to property taxpayers, said Prindiville, without the financial incentive it would most likely lead to a reduction in the number of containers recycled.

As new attacks on the bottle bill are taking place, some redemption center owners also fear distributors are trying to do away with the bottle bill.

Recent publicity about fraud at redemption centers is being used to give the current system a black eye, said Diana McKee, who together with her husband John Marcotte owns Biddeford Bottle and Can Redemption Center on Alfred Street.

In February, the State’s Attorney General Office filed criminal charges against Thomas and Megan Woodard, who run Green Bee Redemption in Kittery, and allegedly passed off more than $10,000 worth of out-of-state containers as being purchased in Maine.

Peter Prybot, 62, from Gloucester, Mass. was indicted with redeeming more than $1,000 worth of containers in Maine that weren’t eligible for redemption.

The investigation is ongoing and more arrests could be made, said Augur. He said there is a big problem with people from out of state returning their bottles in Maine, which is illegal.

The value of the fraud was $8 million, said Augur, as based on a report by the Maine Department of Agriculture.

According to a 2006 report by that department, there wasn’t enough information to make an accurate estimation of the amount of fraud being committed in the state.

“In my eyes, they’re trying to bait the public,” said McKee, after the Maine Beverage Association and the Maine Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association held a news conference when the fraud indictments were made.

Since the beginning, said McKee, the beverage industry has battled against the bottle bill. The issue of fraud, she said, is just the latest justification being used to limit or even dismantle the system that is in place.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com