Several recent California laws are set to reshape the state’s deposit return system. | kornfotocom/Shutterstock
California’s beverage redemption system is undergoing massive change based on a handful of newly enacted laws, and a recent Container Recycling Institute webinar laid out just what alterations are coming.
Grants of $70 million will lead to 250 new sites for Californians to redeem used beverage containers. | Pichetw/Shutterstock
In an effort to boost used beverage container redemption access, the state of California provided nearly $70 million in grants to open 250 new redemption sites across the state. Continue Reading
The DRS redemption rate decreases ranged from 1% to 4%, with only two states tallying increases. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock
New data from the Container Recycling Institute showed falling beverage container redemption rates in most states with deposit return systems in 2023, which advocates said shows the need to modernize aging systems.
In 2021, Connecticut lawmakers approved a series of changes to the state’s bottle bill, including expanding the list of containers covered under the deposit program, increasing the number of redemption spaces and increasing the handling fee and doubling the deposit. | Veja/Shutterstock
Consumers redeemed 194.5 million containers in Connecticut during the first quarter of this year, up 12.6% from a year before, as the state increased the container deposit from a nickel to a dime. Continue Reading
Of the nine other bottle-bill states, only Massachusetts and Connecticut reported lower container rates in 2022, at 38% and 45% respectively. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock
Iowa had the third-lowest container recovery rate among the ten states with deposit return systems, the 2022 Recovery Rate report found, although part of that figure is based on estimation. Continue Reading
New York Sen. Pete Harckham speaks on the Senate floor in Albany, New York as the 2024 session ends. | Courtesy of Senate Media Services
As legislative sessions start to wind down, New York failed to pass extended producer responsibility for packaging and bottle deposit updates, California moved a bill forward tweaking SB 54, and Rhode Island introduced a last-minute bottle bill. Continue Reading
After a 2022 program overhaul allowed most retailers to opt out of deposit system container collection, a report from Cleaner Iowa found that there are 29 counties without a redemption center. | Veja/Shutterstock
Overhauls to Iowa’s bottle bill in 2022 that allowed retailers to opt out of collection are reducing access, as industry players warned when the bill passed. But redemption centers are stepping up to help solve the problem – including by launching a new bag drop program. Continue Reading
Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative redeemed 2.09 billion containers in 2023, up from 2.05 billion containers in 2022. | Dan Leif/Resource Recycling
An Oregon beverage stewardship group that manages the oldest container deposit program in the country reported a preliminary 2023 redemption rate of 90.5%, the first time the program has topped 90% since 2019.
SB 1013 brought more container types into the California Redemption Value system but also removed an option for retailers to choose to pay a $100 daily fee instead of accepting returned containers. | Andrii Koval/Shutterstock
Formal rulemaking for changes to California’s deposit system is about to begin, and draft rules shed more light on new requirements for beverage dealers and retailers. Continue Reading
Illinois stakeholders have been workshopping a beverage container deposit return system under Senate Bill 85. | luckyraccoon/Shutterstock
Illinois may or may not be the next state to pass a bill setting up a beverage container deposit return system under Senate Bill 85, and industry players recently debated the benefits and concerns around the bill.