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Bottle bill legislation (or container deposit legislation) significantly increases the amount of bottles that are recycled. If your state currently has bottle bill legislation in place, read on to find out how to take advantage if it. If not, learn how to lobby to bring a Bottle Bill to your state.

How to support bottle bill legislation

The Container Recycling Institute offers succinct information for bottle bill activists. Here's how to show your support:

1. Get the facts by doing research at relevant websites and other sources.
2. Build support by building coalitions, doing media outreach, educating the public, and educating and lobbying elected officials.
3. Know the opposition by becoming familiar with opponents' viewpoints and strategies.

Supporting bottle bill legislation helps you go green because …

• Once passed, it significantly increases container recycling rates.

Bottle bills or container deposit laws, in place in 11 states, help to extend the life of beverage containers through recycling and reusing. The system is simple: a retailer purchases beverages from a distributor and a deposit is paid for each container. Consumers buy beverages and pay the retailer a deposit (in most states, five cents) then return empty beverage containers to the retailer or a redemption center and the deposit is refunded. The retailer recoups the deposit from the distributor and, in most states with bottle bills, a handling fee of less than three cents. When deposits are left unclaimed they are either returned to the distributor or become property of the state, where they are often used toward environmental and recycling programs.

US states that have implemented bottle bill legislation have doubled and even tripled their container recycling rates above the national average. The Container Recycling Institute reports that the 11 US states with bottle bills have diverted hundreds of billions of beverage containers from the waste stream into the recycling stream over the last 35 years.[1]

Within the US, several states have passed bottle bills and accept glass and plastic beverage bottles and aluminum beverage cans, with refunds ranging from 5¢ to 15¢. These include: California: More than 24 oz=10¢, less than 24 oz=5¢. Connecticut: 5¢. Delaware: 5¢. Hawaii: 5¢. Iowa:5¢. Maine: Wine/liquor 15¢, others, 5¢. Massachusetts: 5¢. Michigan: 10¢. New York: 5¢. Oregon: 2¢ for standard refillable, 5¢ for others. Vermont: Wine/liquor=15¢, others 5¢.

External links

• The Bottle Bill Blog
• Bottle Bill Resource Guide Including information on international efforts