Bottle Bill Resource Guide

Activity

Died in Committee
2016-02-10 11:30AM; RM 102, Sup. Ct. Consult Environmental Protection
2016-01-26 Subcommittee meeting 4:00PM; House Lounge Environmental Protection
2016-01-20 Environmental Protection: Jones Chair, Lensing, Paustian, Wessel-Kroeschell, and Wills
2016-01-19 Data recorded, in Environmental Protection

Deposits and Fees

• Increases the refund value for beverage containers from 5 cents to 10 cents

Redemption System

• Remains unchanged

Penalties

• Violators are guilty of a simple misdemeanor

Details

The current deposit applies to alcoholic beverages and carbonated soft drinks. This bill would expand the definition of the types of beverages covered under Iowa's deposit system, to include all noncarbonated beverages except juices and grade A milk (notably, this would add bottled water to the deposit system).

However, containers made of HDPE would be excluded, as would large-volume (3 liters and up) containers of nonalcoholic beverages.

The handling fee paid to redemption centers would be increased by one cent – but only for plastic containers – for a total fee of 2¢.

The bill also appropriates 10,000 from the general fund for the purposes of administering the program. This is a one-time appropriation.

Progress

March 26, 2013: Introduced

April 2, 2013: In Appropriations for study

Details

This study bill, introduced by the chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, proposes several changes to recycling in Iowa, most importantly repealing Chapter 455C, Code 2011--the Iowa Beverage Container Deposit Law.

Other provisions of the bill include:

• Bans beverage containers from the landfill.
• Creates litter cleanup grant fund, funded by appropriation and 50% of all litter cleanup fines.
• Changes waste reduction goals as described in Section 455B.310, subsection 4, from 50 to 60 percent.
• Increases statewide waste reduction goals to 50% by 2016 and 60% by 2021

The following lobbyist declaration shows the varying groups supporting and opposed to the bill.

Progress

February 8, 2011 Introduced in Environmental Protection: Paustian Chair,Deyoe, and Wessel-Kroeschell.

February 10, 2011 9:00AM; Rm 102, Supreme Court Consult Rm Environmental Protection.

Details

Similar to HSB74 listed above, SF249 repeals the deposit system, but unlike the House bill, the Senate bill proposes a replacement "Universal Recycling" system much like that which replaced Delaware's deposit system in 2010.

CRI produced a report, "Recycling and Climate Change," to enhance the level of understanding of beverage container recycling in the United States and the State Iowa, and to demonstrate the impact of recycling on emissions reduction and the economy, with the end goal of demonstrating the imporance of Iowa's deposit law. According to news sources, this bill died in committee.

• Requires all waste management entities to provide single stream recycling to all residential customers and source-separated recycling to all beverage dealers providing on-premises sales.
• Requires the creation of a recycling system for the commercial sector by 2014.
• Creates a "universal recycling assistance fund" to help solid waste providers with the startup of the mandated recycling programs
• Until 2015, beverage dealers pay a 4¢ fee on every beverage container they buy from a distributor; the distributors must pay these fees into the recycling assistance fund.
• Creates a Recycling public advisory council with representatives from a variety of parties affected by the program to provide ongoing input on the workings of the program.
• Creates a Litter Cleanup Grant Fund, as in HSB74.
• Changes waste reduction goals as described in Section 455B.310, subsection 4, from 50 to 60 percent, as in HSB74.

Progress

February 17, 2011: Introduced, referred to State Government

Details

The entire text of this short bill is copied below.

S.F. 29

Section 1. Section 455C.5, subsection 2, Code 2011, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph:

2 NEW PARAGRAPH .
d. The beverage container contains wine as
3 defined in section 123.3.
4 EXPLANATION
5 This bill provides that beverage containers containing wine are not required to have the beverage container refund value affixed to the container.

Progress

January 13, 2011: Introduced, referred to Natural Resources and Environment.

January 18, 2011: Subcommittee, Dearden, Black, and Hamerlinck.

Details

This bill allows redemption centers to retain 1¢ of the 5¢ deposit when consumers return containers for a refund. This serves, in effect, to increase the handling fee without further involving distributors.

Progress

March 1, 2011: Introduced, referred to Environmental Protection.

Contacts

Iowa Recycling Association
PO Box 10954
Cedar Rapids, IA  52410
(515) 265-1596
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.iowarecycles.org

Details

The chain that describes where the deposit value goes at various points in the distribution/collection cycle is quite complex. A summary at the bottom of HF 150 explains in more detail:

The bill makes significant changes to the way refund values are collected and empty beverage containers are accepted. Currently, distributors collect 5 cents on each container from dealers who in turn charge 5 cents to consumers. Consumers who return the empty beverage containers are refunded thecents by the dealer who returns the empty beverage containers to the distributor and is also refunded the 5 cents. Dealers, however, also receive an amount of 1 cent per container from the distributor, which is commonly referred to as the handling fee. The bill eliminates most of the requirements placed on distributors by the current law. The bill requires dealers to collect the refund values from consumers and then remit the refund value to an approved redemption center. Consumers return the empty beverage containers to the redemption center instead of the dealer and the redemption center pays them the refund value. Distributors no longer have to collect or pay refund values, and they no longer have to accept the empty beverage containers from dealers. Instead, the empty beverage containers will be disposed of by the redemption centers. The bill requires a redemption center to accept all empty beverage containers, but it does not require them to pay the refund value to the consumer if the container does not bear a refund value indication or if the container was purchased out of the state.

Progress

January 29, 2009: Introduced, referred to Environmental Protection.

February 2, 2009: Sent to subcommittee

Progress

Jan 22, 2008: SF2024 was referred to a subcommittee of the Natural Resources and Environment committee.

February 29: HF2277 was advanced out of subcommittee for debate in the full House Environmental Protection committee. Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, an Ames Democrat and member of the House committee, says she believes her committee will pass the measure the week of March 3rd. If it does, then it could be up for debate by the entire House.

March 6: HF2537 was introduced and placed on the calendar.