Could Tennessee Be the Next “Bottle Bill” State?
In 2002 Hawaii became the 11th and most recent state to pass legislation that incentivizes recycling of beverage containers. Now Tennessee may join in the ranks. The state’s latest attempt goes before legislators next month with one major change: Beverage distributors will not be held financially responsible for the program through an additional handling fee.
If the Bottle Bill is passed, Tennessee would become the 12th state to incentivize the recycling of beverage containers. Photo: Emagazine.com
The bill was filed in both the Tennessee House and Senate in February and already has support in both governing bodies. The main difference between the current proposal and 2008’s bill is the 1/8 cent per container that distributors would be required to pay is already covered by a litter tax that would be eliminated with the passage of the Tennessee Beverage Container Recycling Act.
For those new to the idea of incentivized recycling, it’s a multi-step process:
- Anyone who purchases a beverage would be charged a refundable deposit at the time of purchase (in Tennessee’s case, 5 cents)
- Redemption centers are installed throughout the state so consumers can bring in containers for the refund
- Redemption centers are reimbursed for the refund, in addition to the previously mentioned handling fee paid by distributors and the revenue from selling recyclables to be reprocessed
- Processors are paid an administrative fee through the program, in addition to revenue made from selling newly recycled materials back to manufacturers
Tennessee is estimating that 85 percent of the state’s containers will be redeemed, with the remaining deposits helping to underwrite operating costs. A public opinion survey last year showed more than 80 percent of Tennesseans were in favor of a beverage deposit law.
One aspect of beverage recycling laws that has come into question is the illegal redemption from outside states. Michigan, which offers 10 cents for every can and bottle recycled, has faced issues of smuggling from neighboring states like Ohio, where consumers didn’t pay the deposit when purchased and are collecting money for recycling. None of Tennessee’s neighbor states currently have beverage deposit laws.
If passed, Tennessee’s bottle bill will cover aluminum cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles of up to two liters, excluding milk, liquor and wine. This would be similar to the items covered by the other 11 participating states.
