The Sierra Club is again pressing state legislators to pass a new Bottle Bill.

If it's passed, the Bigger Better Bottle Bill, as it's commonly known, would expand the nickel deposits from pop and beer containers to include water, juice, and sports drink bottles, too. Despite the environmental organization's urging, only the State Assembly passed the bill.

Locally, there may be some extra benefit to an expanded bottle bill. Any uncollected deposits - the nickels that go unclaimed because somebody threw a container away instead of turning it back in - go into the state's Environmental Protection Fund, said Hugh Mitchell, the state Sierra Club's conservation chair. More money in that fund, he said, means the state can move sooner to protect Canadice and Hemlock lakes from development.

The bill will help increase recycling and reduce litter, Mitchell said. During a press conference today, he was joined by state and local officials, who called on the State Senate to pass the bill. The bill has yet to be voted on in that chamber and about one month is left in this year's session.

"It's simply time to update the law," said State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Pat Hooker.