The Complicated Fact of Bottle Laws

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

While some places are in the news for banning water bottles altogether, states her in the USA have been wrestling with a different kind of bottle law, one that doesn't ban bottles but places a deposit fee on them.

Yes, it is the old five or ten or more cents extra that you pay when you purchase a bottle or a can of beverage. When you return that bottle or can, you get your deposit back. I remember years ago as part of a group of kids who would hunt for bottles and turn them in at the local convenience store (bodega) in order to get the deposit money. Then we would use the money for the ice cream man or right there at the store to get some candy. We benefited and the environment benefitted.

There is a lot of complication to bottle laws. They were are are generally intended to encourage recycling of the cans and bottles. Research has shown that deposits do work to a certain degree. But they aren't consistent. Some types of beverages are covered with a deposit, such as soda, while others are not, such as punch or sports drinks. Recently, some states are looking into adding bottled water to the list of goods that contain deposits, while others, such as Delaware, are considering giving up the deposit law altogether. In fact the law was passed but then vetoed by Governor John Markell after a large public outcry.

When people don't recycle bottles, they can end up not only in landfills, but in the general places that we live and play, such as beaches and parks.

Critics of bottle laws say that they are often unfair, singling out specific interests and ignoring others. Often trying to update a bottle law, lets say to include bottled water, it met with law suits from interest groups, as was the case in New York when Nestle Waters and the International Bottled Water Association filed a lawsuit, putting the legislation on hold.

I think it is important to have these laws in lace to encourage recycling of bottles and cans, or discourage people from even purchasing them in the first place, especially in the case of bottled water. Contact your representatives and let them know, if you feel the same way.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot.

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