Bottle Bill needs to stay, expand

     Rep. Andy McKean from Anamosa introduced a measure in the Iowa House that would change and expand Iowa’s Bottle Bill.

     The Bottle Bill was put into law more than 40 years ago in an effort to clean up Iowa’s roadways that were littered with plastic beverage containers (bottles and cans). The current bill only allows a 5-cent deposit on the return of alcoholic and carbonated beverage containers.

     McKean’s proposal would expand that to include plastic tea containers, water bottles, juice, and sports drinks.

     His proposal would also increase the handling fee for grocery stores/retailers and redemption centers from 1 to 2 cents. That figure has not changed since 1978.

     This law has a lot to it, and it could drastically affect Monticello and Jones County.

     Fewer and fewer grocery stores don’t want to handle the return of dirty cans and bottles while selling food products at the same time. That’s understandable. It paves the way for redemption centers and businesses like Advancement Services to thrive and employ those citizens who perhaps are not employable elsewhere in their communities.

     So if the handling fee were increased, it would helpfully guarantee the future of those businesses.

     Beverage distributors, namely beer companies, would lose that extra penny if it were added to the handling fee. But McKean is arguing that the economic trade-off would be better in the long run with a higher number of beverage containers showing up at redemption centers, people seeking that extra 5 cents.

     Expanding the definition of what could be returned for a deposit would also be a plus. This law was enacted to clean up Iowa’s roads, yet we still see these cans/bottles and more litter out ditches. It worked before, so perhaps it would work again to encourage the return of water/sports drink containers.

     If any changes are made at all to the Bottle Bill, the 5-cent deposit needs to remain. Increasing it to 10 cents would be a good thing, but regardless, the deposit needs to be preserved throughout any changes to the law.

     Other entities that benefit from the return and deposit of cans and bottles are non-profits. Locally, the Monticello Fire Department and Boy Scout troops both share in the profit. The fire station is home to a drop-off site that allows area residents to simply bring their cans and bottles at their convenience. The containers are then picked up by Advancement Services after both groups sort through the cans and bottles. The deposit funds are given to the Scouts three weeks out of the month, the MFD one week out of the month. This is just another way for these non-profits to gain some extra funds.

     For those wanting to see the law eliminated, namely the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, perhaps they could simply stop accepting empty cans/bottles. What’s to say they need to take them? Instead, encourage patrons to take their containers to the local redemption center and give them your business. (K.N.B.)