Container Deposit Laws

Container Deposit Laws



Introduction

This paper has been written with regards to the container deposit laws that are also known as bottle bills. It is suggested that they must be expanded and noncarbonated drinks must also be included.

Discussion

In the United States, a more popular name for the container-deposit legislation is known as bottle bills which came into existence after the Oregon Bottle Bill. With regards to this legislation, a refundable deposit is required on certain types of beverage containers that can be recycled. The purpose is to increase the recycling rate that exists in the United States. Currently, there are eleven states in the US in which the container deposit legislation is being followed. However, there are efforts that are being made to ensure that the legislation will also be implemented in the other 39 states in the US. The U.S. beverage container industry consists of the bottlers of water as well as soda, beer, and grocery and convenience stores. Large amounts are being spend by them on lobbying for the purpose of denying the legislation and the introduction of new beverage container deposit legislation. Studies have revealed that the implementation of the legislation has reduced the road side litter between 30% to 64% in the states that follow the bottle bills. Moreover, this has also increased the recycling rate since the overall recycle rate of the United States is 33%, however, after the implementation of the bill, the recycling rate in those states was increased to 70% (Kimmell, 2012). Quoting the example of Michigan, it can be said that the recycling rate of the region is 100% and this is highest in the nation because their deposit is $0.10 (Kimmell, 2012). Therefore, it can be said that the bill must be expanded and efforts should be taken to increase awareness with regards to the bottles bill. However, there are small financial responsibilities that have been pointed out by proponents of container deposit legislation, and it is the duty of the beverage industry as well as the consumers to finance these programs. The duty of the producers is to dispose the products that are returned and consumers are responsible for collecting their refunds. There are courts in Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, and Massachusetts, who have ruled that the deposits that are not claimed by the consumers come under the property of the state. Monies are used by such states for the purpose of fund the environmental programs, however, uncollected deposits in California and Hawaii are used for covering the administrative costs of the deposit program. With regards to the US Census Bureau statistics of 2004, there is 30% of the population in the US that lives in the areas where the implementation of the bottles bill is being practiced (Dash, 2004).

The US government must encourage the bottlers to implement the “Bottle Bill” and green marketing must be done. The purpose of the green market is to promote products that are environmentally friendly, and this is the reason why the ...