A study found that modernizing bottle bills in five Northeast states could create up to $160 million in savings to local governments and add up to $1.4 billion to the region’s economy annually. | Pazargic Liviu/Shutterstock
By updating older deposit return systems, states can create jobs, increase municipal savings and boost recycling rates, according to research from nonprofit Reloop North America.
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David Biderman, far right, addresses the audience at the 2022 Plastics Recycling Conference | Brian Adams Photo
Interest in minimum-recycled-content mandates and extended producer responsibility bills is at an all-time high, but the reality of passing legislation is more complicated, according to industry experts.
Container deposit systems have benefits for municipalities, but MRFs are likely to see revenues decline as valuable PET and aluminum are removed from their material stream. | Myibean/Shutterstock
Though container deposit systems typically help lift recovery rates for covered materials, the programs also usually reduce tonnages of high-quality PET and aluminum going to sorting facilities. A new study helps to quantify those potential impacts.
In the draft bill, deposits are set at at least 10 cents for containers under 24 fluid ounces and 15 cents for containers larger than that. | Veja/Shutterstock
West Coast lawmakers plan to introduce a national container deposit bill that one advocate says has a better chance of passing than past proposals because of wide “industry engagement.”
Backers of bottle bill updates in Massachusetts and Vermont were able to progress legislative proposals that they say could be primed to pass in 2022. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock
Over the past year, the recycling policy discussion nationwide has focused mainly on proposals that force producers to pay for packaging recovery. But significant activity around container deposits is also taking place, particularly in the Northeast.
The author makes the case that user incentives must be a part of wider strategies to boost plastics recovery. | Thomas Bethge / Shutterstock
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) stated its support for beverage bottle deposit laws. | Ultrasto / Shutterstock
The Association of Plastic Recyclers has published position statements on chemical recycling, the use of mass balance methodologies for post-consumer plastics, and bottle deposit programs.
Researchers estimate over 74 billion PET bottles were landfilled, burned or littered in the U.S. in 2019. | Teerasak Ladnongkhun / Shutterstock
This story has been updated and corrected.
A new report estimates that a nationwide bottle deposit program would reduce the number of drink containers each American wastes to 67 per year, down from 426 under the status quo.
CalRecycle plans to release final redemption data for the first six months of 2020 in the coming weeks. | photobeps/Shutterstock
This story has been updated with new redemption figures from California’s recycling agency.
Advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog recently noted the COVID-19 pandemic has slashed California’s beverage container recycling rate. But the state’s recycling agency called that analysis “inaccurate.”
