This story has been corrected.
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.
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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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.
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.”
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.
A shuttered California recycling company and its former operations manager pled guilty to multiple felonies, and the company will pay $34 million in restitution and penalties.
Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation overhauling the state’s 41-year-old container deposit program, with one supporter calling the move the most significant U.S. bottle bill expansion in a decade.