Rep. Percy Warren is pictured talking with Rep. Joanna McClinton and Rep. Danilo Burgos on the house floor.

A group of statehouse Democrats are proposing a baby step toward addressing plastic pollution in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Perry S. Warren, D-Bucks, has introduced House Bill 496 to require water bottle filling stations in newly constructed state buildings as well as state buildings that undergo renovations to their water and pipe infrastructure.

The stations would be similar to water fountains, but have an additional nozzle above the basin that allow someone to fill or refill a bottle with water.

“Plastic bottles are undoubtedly convenient,” Warren wrote in his legislative memorandum. “They are easily bought, used, and thrown away without a second thought. That, however, leads to many bottles finding their way onto the streets instead of recycling containers. In fact, during our community litter clean ups plastic water bottles are the most common waste. And, even if not the streets, plastic bottles often wind up in a landfill, where the chemicals in the plastic seep into the ground. Worse yet, too many bottles end up in the ocean and waterways, polluting our waters and killing marine life in the process.”

The legislation has been referred to the State Government Committee. Democrats Benjamin Sanchez, Carol Hill-Evans, Kristine Howard, Melissa Shusterman, Daniel Deasy and Brian Sims have co-sponsored the bill.