Here we’ll keep you up to date on the latest beverage news.
Recycling
From our industry perspective, recycling is an economic and environmental imperative. We believe our members are leaders in packaging, design and recycling program support and implementation. Our members are working with various partners in many different states to ensure recycling programs are effective and efficient. The beverage industry membership (non-alcoholic, non-dairy beverages) products produce approximately 1.6 percent of all solid waste produced in the country today. While that amount is small compared to other forms of waste we...
read moreObesity
The soda industry has long been the target of the anti-obesity campaign. Our industry and its members have continued to take steps to educate our consumers on healthy choices. We are always seeking new ways to meet the changing needs of our customers. While we’re working to improve, it’s important that we continue to communicate accurate information on obesity. Below are important facts that have often gotten missed in media coverage on the obesity debate: Calories from soda and other regular sweetened beverages are declining: Full...
read moreHealthy Choices in Texas Schools: Legislation Enjoys TBA Support
Once again, Texas has shown itself to be a model for the nation when it comes to collaborative solutions to promote children’s health while respecting families and consumer choice. This week, the Texas Legislature adopted HB 217, which aligns with TBA’s commitment to healthy choices for young people and supports the industry’s efforts to deliver healthy choices in Texas schools. The Texas Beverage Association supports the final version of HB 217 and appreciates the opportunity to work with the bill’s author Rep. Carol Alvarado...
read moreAustin Business Journal: TxDot messes with ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’
A story in the Austin Business Journal yesterday reported on the makeover to the 25-year old anti-litter campaign ‘Don’t Mess with Texas.’ We eagerly await the unveiling of the updated campaign and pledge our support to this and all anti-litter efforts across our state. TxDOT messes with ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ They’re messing with “Don’t Mess With Texas” – sort of. Twenty-seven years after the iconic anti-littering campaign kicked off, the Texas Department of Transportation and...
read moreWSJ: The Skinny on Anti-Obesity Soda Laws
The Skinny on Anti-Obesity Soda Laws Imposing per-ounce levies or limiting serving sizes is a futile pursuit. By MICHAEL L. MARLOW New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-obesity campaign to ban the sale of certain sugary drinks in large servings, especially sodas, was struck down last month in state court. A proposal for a penny-per-ounce excise tax on sweetened beverages also floundered in Vermont’s House of Representatives in February. Yet Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to fight on, and the wider government war on obesity shows no...
read moreHB 1473 is outdated, costly, inefficient and counterproductive
Facts About The Beverage Container Deposit Programs, HB 1473: FACT: Redemption centers are very expensive to establish and operate and result in higher costs of products to the producers, passed to the consumer by product price increases. FACT: HB 1473 would add a 5 cent fee on 24 oz. or less beverage containers and a 10 cent fee on containers more than 24 oz. – essentially, a container tax. FACT: Beverage containers of all types represent an average of 7 percent of all littered items. The existence of a deposit program will have no effect...
read moreSoda Taxes lose, even in blue states
The following article appeared in the Orange County Register March 12, 2013, authored by Bob Achermann, Executive Director of the California/Nevada Soft Drink Association. Soda taxes lose, even in blue states Obesity is considered a more serious health issue than smoking and tobacco use. It’s consiered more serious than heart disease, HIV/AIDS, alcohol and drug abuse or mental illness. The only health issue considered more serious than obesity is cancer, according to a recent nationwide survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for...
read moreSolutions Are More Than Another New Tax
Don’t mess with Texas. As Texans we take our land and the quality of that land seriously. We don’t want our views of the bluebonnet-covered hills interrupted by littered bags, bottles and other garbage. Litter is a problem, however, the recurring bottle tax solution is not the answer. Bottle tax laws attempt to be the catchall solution of the litter problem, however, bottle tax laws are generally outdated, costly, inefficient and counterproductive. Additionally, bottle tax programs in other states have yielded disappointing results...
read moreSNAP Restrictions: A misguided and ineffective effort
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP — what you may know as “food stamps” — provides much-needed assistance to low-income Texans and their families. Recently, two bills have been filed at the Texas Legislature that seek to restrict what SNAP recipients can buy with that assistance. House Bill 751, by Rep. Richard Peña Raymond (D-Laredo), would ban the purchase of “sweetened beverages with SNAP benefits. Another bill, HB 523 by Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), would ban energy drinks — but not coffee” —...
read moreSoda tax bills: Not a healthy choice for Texas
Every so often, we see proposals to “help people make healthier choices” by charging higher taxes on soda. This session of the Texas Legislature is no exception; two bills filed by Rep. Joe Farias (D-San Antonio), HB 735 and HB 779, would impose taxes on regular beverages. In HB 735, the proposed tax is 5 cents per 12 ounces; in HB 779, it’s a penny per ounce. In both bills, retailers and wholesalers would be required to obtain a new permit to sell regular beverages, and the taxes collected would be allocated to the state’s education...
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