bill
8yMic J 0
Capital News Service
I
SURGEON GE ERAt'S AR 1 G: Cigarette
S moe Con t ai n sea r bon M 0 n 0 x ide ·
. LA SING - Any action
on a proposed $6 car battery
deposit bill may have to it
until the fall legislative ses­
sion.
The bill, idl passed the
Senate 36-2, w referred to
th House Conservation and
Environment Co ittee.
Chairman TomAlley, D-West
Branch, said the committee
has not yet it
. "We probably won' pick it
up until fall," AUey sai
Sen. Vernon Ehl rs, R­
Grand Rapi the bill s spon­
sor, said motorists wo Id pay
a $6 deposit on a attery.
The money uld be r turned
when they exchange t e bat­
tery for a new one.
The goal of the bill is to
recycle batteries in 0 der to
remov any toxic lea from
waste systems.
Ehle said lead been
removed from gasoli e and
paint, but car batteri are the
No.1 source of lead\ in the
waste system.
In large do s, Ie d can'
damage the brain, dneys,
nervous system and re blood
ce . Lead poi ning can mo t
severely affect young chil�en,
pregnant 'NOmen, and lniddle
age m n with bigh bl pres­
sure.'
Anne Woiw de, conserva­
lion representative fur t e
ierra Club' M dina Chap­
ter, id the propo bill is
good beca it covers 0 f­
Ierent route of wed -
po sal, incinerator d
landfills.
Sixty percent of
found in municipal soli e
sy tems are from lea add
batter' • Woiwode d,
Woiwode id posit
plan is the best w y to handle
the problem.
"It's a fairly easy way to go, "
Wo· od sid.·It provides
and extra incentive for the
consumer to get the de t
back,"
The collected funds could
be u ed to help recyclia
eeeters create collection
tems.
Although the auto repai
industry claims that 80 pe -
cent of car batte i are
recycled per year, one millio
arc still dumped in Michigan'
landfills.
Woiwode i d although the
proposed bill will ba,e a si -
nificant impact on removal of
lead from w e syste it .
not aD e d to the' ue.
I\n even greater problem
lies in the amount of lead in in­
cinerator . Un ,ways are
found to reduce lead coateat,
iDci:nerator oper 0 't be
� to put leftover . in