Reader Response: Delaware Gov. Keeps Container Deposit Law Afloat
Commonly referred to as Delaware’s “Bottle Bill,” the Delaware Container Deposit Law was almost repealed by the state’s legislators recently. The 27-year-old deposit law would have been repealed by House Bill 201, which didn’t earn the governor’s signature when it reached his desk a few days ago.
In his veto statement to the House of Representatives, Governor Jack Markell wrote in support of the law “Indeed, some estimate that one-third of glass bottles are returned to retailers for recycling. House Bill 201 eliminates this initiative in its entirety, without any proposed alternative.”
In Delaware, the recycling of plastic bottles is suffering under current legislation. Should they trash it or call a redo? Photo: Nylawline.typepad.com
Even though he vetoed the action that would have repealed the deposit law, Markell noted a number of issues with the current legislation, such as:
- Very few plastic bottles are returned compared to glass containers
- Cans are no longer included with in the law’s scope
- The program is cumbersome and costly to administer for retailers
- There is very little accountability in the program, making effectiveness is difficult to measure
In summary, Markell states that “consumers are paying for a recycling initiative that is not very effective.”
On the other hand, Markell also observed that there is nothing in House Bill 201 that would have prohibited distributors from continuing to charge the bottle deposits, or raising prices to offset decreased revenue.
In addition to this, there were no mechanisms in place for the recovery of deposits that are already in the system by consumers. Essentially, consumers would have been at risk to continue paying for a service that was no longer in effect.
“Although I am sympathetic to those who argue that the current Bottle Bill system is broken, I am committed to doing what I can to ensure that we replace it with something better,” wrote Markell.
The Delaware governor has now challenged legislators to work with retailers and distributors to find better answers. “Delaware is quickly earning a reputation as a leader in environmental issues like alternative energy and climate prosperity,” he wrote, ” in part, because we recognize the connection between the health of our economy and the health of our environment.”
What do you think? Keep alive a bill that’s not working, or trash an initiative that’s not as effective as planned?
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The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Steve
posted on July 28th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Keep it and fix it! Don’t believe the lies of the opposition. The Delaware bottle bill IS effective, but it’s not as effective as it should be. Expand it to include other containers, such as cans and bottled water. Eleven US states have bottle bills, these states recycle on average about three times the amount of bottles and cans compared to states without bottle bill programs. Even states with high curbside recycling rates don’t come close to the success rate of bottle bills. If it’s true that the return rate is actually that low (DE has very little accountability on the bottle bill compared to other states), expanding the program would bring up the redemption rate in line with the very high success rate of other states. As is done in other states, retailers could be taken out of the mix, some states use redemption centers. Don’t be fooled by the beverage industry. They are picking on the weakest bottle bill, they spend millions to try to get rid of bottle bills, and they suggest replace them with curbside recycling which is highly tax payer subsidized. A refundable 5 cent deposit is much more cost effective to cleanup litter and have a high recycling rate, while unclaimed deposit money is used to fund curbside recycling and environmental programs. Getting rid of the bottle bill shifts the burden to local governments and tax payers with the high cost of litter cleanup, trash removal, and curbside recycling. Don’t get rid of a program that works, I believe if you do your research, bottle bills work.
chris
posted on December 18th, 2009 at 12:02 am
what planet are you on? how can you take a look at the current deposit structure and say that the program works? why would anyone want to expand on that? single stream works, its easy, its all inclusive, it creates jobs…. lets focus on that and give consumers a break.