Iowa's Bottle Deposit Law - Sierra Club

Ask legislators to keep the bottle deposit law working for all Iowans

A bill in the Iowa Senate - SF2122 - would allows a store to refuse to take empty containers if it is 20 miles away from a redemption center. 20 miles is not convenient to consumers. A recent poll shows that Iowans want more convenient locations to return their empty containers. That is why the Sierra Club opposes SF2122.

The bill is going to be considered by a 3-member subcommittee on March 14. Ask the members of the subcommittee to oppose SF2122 - [email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected]

Since its inception in 1978, Iowans have benefitted from the bottle deposit law. It should not be dismantled. We are all familiar with paying a nickel deposit on plastic, glass, and metal pop and alcohol containers which is returned to us when we bring the empty bottles back to the store.

Tell your legislators that you want to keep the bottle deposit law working for all Iowans by increasing the redemption fee to 2 cents, by expanding the law to include juice and water containers, and keeping empty container redemption in the grocery stores and convenience stores. The distance to redemption centers should remain at 10-minutes, so that all Iowans have a convenient location to return their empty containers.

The Bottle Deposit Law is Popular. In fact, Iowans support expanding the bottle deposit law to include other beverage containers. The bottle deposit law diverts containers from the landfill and into recycled products. And the recycled bottles and cans provide a clean well-sorted valuable product. Further by encouraging recycling, less litter is strewn across the state. The bottle deposit law even provides spending money to those who collect discarded bottles and cans. The bottle deposit law provides jobs to Iowans who are involved in the recovery process. Iowa’s bottle deposit law has been a success.

The Bottle Deposit law is Popular.

In fact, Iowans support expanding the bottle deposit law to include other beverage containers. Iowans are universally supportive of Iowa’s bottle deposit law. A 2022 poll of Iowans, conducted by Selzer & Co. shows that:

• 84% of Iowans said the recycling law is good for the state.
• 80% said the state should keep the law as it is, or expand it to include more types of eligible containers and more retail locations where empty containers can be returned. Of those, 61% said expand the bottle deposit law, while 19% said they favor keeping the law as it is.
• 86% support adding places that will accept empty containers.
• 72% support increasing fees on stores and redemption centers to cover the program costs.
• 71% are in favor of adding more types of containers to the bottle deposit law.
• 51% support increasing the deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents.

The bottle deposit law diverts containers from the landfill and into recycled products.

Further by encouraging recycling, less litter is strewn across the state.

• According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 71% percent of the beverage containers are recycled each year.
• Redeeming plastic, glass, and metal pop and alcohol containers provides an incentive to keep discarded containers out of roadside ditches and public areas.
• Returning beverage containers reduces the amount of waste that must be buried in landfills.
• Using the returned containers to create new products uses less energy than using virgin raw materials.
• The bottle deposit law even provides spending money to those who collect discarded bottles and cans.
• The bottle deposit law provides jobs to 870 Iowans who are involved in the recovery process.

The bottle deposit law has been a success! We support the following changes to the Bottle Deposit Law to expand it - not gut it!

1. Increase the handling fee from 1 cent to 2 cents so redemption centers can pay their workers a living wage.

2. Expand the types of containers in the program to include sports drinks, water, juice, and tea.

3. Increase the deposit about from 5 cents to 10 cents to incentivize an even higher rate of return than we have already.

4. The distance to redemption centers should remain at 10-minutes

5. Giving the Department of Natural Resources the ability and authority to enforce the law

source: https://www.sierraclub.org/iowa/blog/2022/03/iowas-bottle-deposit-law

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