Bottle bills, also known as deposit return systems (DRS), are effective. For example, research by the British government found that countries with a return value on bottles or cans increase collection rates to between 80% and 95%, improving recycling rates. But the beverage industry has expressed concerns about potential adverse effects on sales. Who’s right?
Some beverage companies argue that DRS will lead to higher business costs, which will be passed on to consumers as higher retail prices. Their fear of lower sales has led to an active campaign against DRS in some states. However, according to research, these arguments overlook critical factors that mitigate cost increases and fail to consider the cost savings associated with DRS implementation.
But some beverage packaging makers are taking up the DRS cause. The Can Manufacturers Institute and the Aluminum Association have partnered with consumer advocacy and environmental organizations to advocate for bottle bills nationwide.
“Reimagining the Bottle Bill,” a 2024 report from Reloop, a policy consultancy that works with governments, businesses, and nonprofits, found that DRS helps reduce costs for businesses and benefits everyone in the long run. Reloop reports that while access to curbside recycling has reached 73% of U.S. homes, the collection of beverage containers, among the easiest items to recycle, remains stubbornly below 40% of the volume of bottles produced. The National Association of PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) reported in 2023 that recyclers collected 28.6% of PET (#1 plastic) beverage bottles produced for the U.S. market as of 2021.
We can do better.
Pennies for Your Empties
DRS programs work like this: When you purchase a drink in a plastic or metal container, you pay a small additional amount, usually 10 cents, as a deposit. After finishing your drink, you can return the empty container to a store and get your deposit back. That way, bottles and cans are recycled, and we produce less trash.
When deposit programs are combined with extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws that require producers to contribute to funding recycling collection and processing infrastructure in a state, cities pay less for recycling services, a savings that can be passed along to citizens, Reloop argued in its report.
Yet, the beverage industry claims that DRS can make drinks more costly, saying that retailers and wholesalers will have to spend more time and money handling empty containers. But Reloop found that in well-run DRS, the money from recycling those containers and unclaimed deposits covers the costs. Container deposits won’t make drinks more expensive.
In the following video, Reloop and the Container Recycling Institute explain the environmental impact of beverage container litter and the benefits of deposit return systems.
States of Recovery & Collection
Currently, 10 states have deposit return systems: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. Recent changes include:
- Connecticut: Increased its deposit from 5¢ to 10¢ on January 1, 2024, and added coverage for non-carbonated beverages, hard cider, and malt-based hard cider starting January 2023.
- California: As of January 1, 2024, the state added wine and spirits bottles to its program, which is expected to collect an additional half billion containers annually, plus deposits for larger-sized 100% fruit and vegetable juice containers, adding an estimated 188 million new containers.
- New York: Proposed a bill in 2024 that would increase the bottle deposit from 5¢ to 10¢, but it did not pass.
Recent Performance Data: Mixed Results
According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), redemption rates in most states with bottle bills decreased in 2023 compared with the previous year. Beverage container redemption rates dropped by between 1% and 4% in most states. Only Oregon’s rate increased by 1% while Vermont’s grew by less than 1%.
However, modernization efforts began to pay off in 2024.
Connecticut’s beverage container redemption rate rose dramatically from 44% in 2023 to 65% in 2024 due to “significant deposit return system program improvements,” including a 10-cent deposit, the launch of more return locations, and a broader range of container types accepted. The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reported that the redemption rate increased from 43.7% in Q1 2023 to 53.5% in Q1 2024.
California’s Expansion: CRI cited CalRecycle data showing 1.5 billion more deposit beverage containers collected for recycling in 2024 compared with 2023.
Massachusetts Potential: The CRI also projects that modernizing Massachusetts’ bottle bill will result in 3.1 billion additional containers being recycled each year, reduce emissions by 182,000 metric tons annually, and collectively save cities and towns $36.5 million annually.
Oregon Momentum: After Oregon increased its deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents, redemption rates climbed 22% over the next three years.
Look at the Benefits
Hawaii implemented a bottle bill in 2005 and by 2008 reported a 60% reduction in beverage bottles found in its litter. Reloop reports that modernizing the DRS infrastructure in the Northeast would improve recycling rates to between 65% and 92%, capturing 1.2 billion beverage containers that are currently sent to landfills — while adding a cost of only one cent per container across the entire system. In Maine, which has one of the most comprehensive DRS programs in the U.S., 84% of containers are recycled.
Beyond environmental benefits, DRS programs drive significant economic value and create jobs. A 2019 study by Eunomia found that New York’s deposit return system supported 5,726 jobs, generating $272 million in economic value, and $14 million in tax revenue. Research shows that deposit systems can create 11 to 38 times more job opportunities than other waste management alternatives, with jobs spanning the production of reverse vending machines, work at recycling facilities, and logistics collection. If New York expanded its program to include more beverage types and raised deposits to 10 cents, it would create about 2,000 additional jobs.
The Challenge: Outdated Programs Need Modernization
The numbers reflecting a downward redemption rate trend since 2017 highlight the critical issue: many of the older programs took effect in the 1970s and 1980s, and “with a few exceptions, they have not been maintained and improved enough since then to continue working as effectively as they should,” CRI President Susan Collins told WasteDive.
A national movement would be the most efficient and practical approach to system modernization. In October 2023, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) and Representative Jeff Huffman (CA) introduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which includes a national bottle bill proposal with a 10¢ deposit on a wide range of containers. However, the bill has never moved out of committee, and in the current political environment, is unlikely to do so without significant voter support. You can share your views by writing to your Congressional representatives.
Deposit Programs Are Good for Business
Industry concerns about slowing beverage sales also prove to be misplaced: consumers who know their beverage packaging will be recycled are more likely to make a purchase. A Nielsen survey found that 81% of global respondents felt strongly that companies should help improve the environment.
Following Norway’s implementation of DRS in 1999, beverage sales increased. When Germany introduced DRS, beverage sales also increased, while neighboring countries without DRS reported a decline in sales. Similar patterns were reported in Oregon.
If your grocer says they will not support a bottle bill because it could raise prices, tell them that eight out of 10 of their customers are more likely to return to shop with them if they provide deposit-return services.
Industry trade associations support DRS programs: “Material from beverage container deposit systems generally accounts for 20-60% of the inputs our industries use to make our essential packaging. The high quality of recyclables collected and purchased by our industries from these programs require very little sortation and can go quickly back into our manufacturing processes.”
On closer examination, DRS is not to blame for the decline in sales. There are many other factors at play. Deposit return systems are a smart way to help people recycle more, reduce waste, and prevent plastic pollution on land and in the oceans. Even the weakest program (Massachusetts, with a 2023 redemption rate of 36%) is still 10 percentage points higher than the U.S. nominal recycling rate of 26% for containers not on deposit.
Steps You Can Take
If you don’t live in one of the 10 states where deposit programs are in force today, contact your state legislators and ask that they introduce and support bottle bill legislation. BottleBill.org offers a helpful guide to launching a bottle bill campaign in your state.
Start your local campaign by visiting several grocers and asking to speak with the managers. Tell them you are considering where you will do your grocery shopping. Share your desire to see a bottle bill and suggest that their company join in the call for modern DRS programs in your state. And ask if they would take the first step by providing bottle and can drop-off bins. If you succeed, let Earth911 know so we can add the store to the Recycling Locator.
Editor’s Note: Originally published on August 10, 2023, this article was substantially updated in September 2025.