Bottle Bill Resource Guide

Date: May 2000
Location: Washington state roads, interchanges, and natural areas
Findings: Beverage containers (especially glass containers) were among the 2 most common types of litter in most study sites in Washington

The 1998 Litter Act in Washington required a litter study to be carried out across the state, to determine the causes and composition of litter as well as prevention strategies.

As part of the study, samples of litter were collected from roadways, interchanges, and natural areas (including parks, rest areas, and public access areas), sorted, and weighed.

Findings related to beverage containers included the following:

• Along roadways, glass beverage containers comprised the largest category of litter by weight (24% of total litter)
• Glass beverage containers also represent a "substantial" portion of litter along interchanges.
• Since litter quantities were calculated by weight, glass bottles were found to be most significant among beverage containers, but the volume of aluminum and plastic bottles was even greater than that of glass bottles.
• By weight, beverage containers comprise 14.6% to 31.4% of the litter in Washington, making them the largest or second-largest category of litter on all sites. See Table 5-2, below.