Why don't all states have bottle/can redemptions?

[primalclaws1974]

I live in Iowa. All of my forty years we have had a five cent redemption on cans and bottles of soda, beer, wine, and liquor. According to the top of the beer I am now drinking, there are seven states that have five cent deposits, and three that have ten cents. That leaves the vast majority selling cans of aluminum by weight, which is very low-paying. It does make drinks cost a little more when you buy them, but in the long run, it doesn't take so long until you have a big enough stockpile to pay for the entire beer. Does your state have deposits?

 

[Peachdejour]

In Ohio, it about two cents per can. However, I would totally take a five cent or ten cent minimum for the cans any day. I know my uncle owns a bar and he takes all the cans and puts the money in my little cousins college fund every month. I sure would be a nice little boost to have a steady recycling cost for those cans.

 

[blueeyes]

In Canada we have a ten cent redemption for beer, wine and liquor bottles or cans. Our soda cans can only be sold for the weight and it does take quite a lot to make a buck, so we generally put them out to the road for the recycle guys instead of stockpiling them.

 

[HELLOnamesdana]

I've always wondered why some states have them and some states don't, and how some states charge more money for bottle deposits than others. I know in New York it's five cents per bottle, but I think some other states have a rate as high as 10 cents per bottle.

 

[Mockingbird]

New York has 5 cents for aluminum cans and plastic bottles. Some glass bottles are 10 cents, some are 5 cents, depends on the size I guess. I think it has done a lot to keep litter off the ground, we have people called that will go to events with bags for the sole purpose of collecting cans. There are people in many urban neighborhoods that dig thru the garbage to get cans for refunds. You are right though it does not take much effort to return the cans for recycle. In the last year we have had some new places open that give you 7 cents a can. I am not sure how that can be profitable.

My pet peeve about this portion of NY is that they are terrible about the recycling. I used to split the garbage up and got so frustrated that they never picked it up that I just stopped doing it. I saw a report on TV that they do it at the refuse center anyway so whats the point presorting?

 

[primalclaws1974]

Here in Iowa, if you have trash in the bag of cans and bottles you are redeeming, they will take as much as 20% of your refund money to sort through it. Kind of steep, but people shouldn't be pigs. A redemption center is messy enough without adding someone else's garbage to it. What I would really like to know is why water bottles don't have deposits. They are littering the planet worse than almost anything else.