Americans Throwing Away 100 billion Bottles and Cans Annually

American consumers are throwing away a record 100 billion beverage
bottles and cans a year. Litter and waste problems have prompted
legislators in 15 states and Puerto Rico to propose refundable deposits
on a wide range of beverages, from soft drinks and beer to the
increasingly popular bottled waters, juices, teas and sport drinks.
This is the conclusion drawn recently from the US Container Recycling
Institute (CRI), a non-profit research and education organisation based
in Arlington, Virginia.

State bottle bill legislation is increasingly viewed as an effective
means to curb litter and waste without raising taxes. Since consumers
typically pay a refundable deposit, recycling increases at little or no
cost to taxpayers, claims the CRI. During 2001 and the early part of
2002, legislation to require refundable beverage container deposits was
introduced in Arkansas, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota,
Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Puerto
Rico.

Legislation proposing a state referendum on beverage deposits was
introduced in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Currently, ten states and the City of Columbia, Missouri have beverage
container deposit laws, popularly known as bottle bills. Deposit states
include: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont. As new types of beverages have
gained market share, current deposit states have shown interest in
expanding the laws from carbonated soft drinks and beer to include
bottled water, juices, teas and sports drinks. Maine expanded its
deposit system in 1990 and California acted to expand its programme in
1999.

In 2001 and 2002, legislation to expand deposit systems has been
introduced in Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and
Vermont. The CRI’s director reports that states with deposit laws
achieve average annual recycling rates of approximately 80 per cent, 2
to 3 times higher than non-deposit states.

However, proposals to repeal state deposit laws have been introduced in
Iowa, Massachusetts and New York in 2001 and 2002. The most serious
challenge to a deposit law is in Columbia, Missouri, which has the
nation’s only local bottle bill ordinance. A referendum to repeal the
City of Columbia’s 25-year old deposit ordinance is on the April 2,
2002 ballot