The Register's editorial

Once upon a time, the majority of Iowa lawmakers cared about this state's environment and landscape. When millions of beverage containers were being tossed in roadside ditches and waterways, the Legislature responded. Iowa’s Beverage Containers Control Law — known as the “bottle bill” — was passed in 1978.

It requires Iowans to pay a 5-cent deposit on cans and bottles of carbonated and alcoholic beverages. The money is refunded to consumers when the container is returned. One year after the law took effect, a survey conducted by the Iowa Department of Transportation found a 77 percent decrease in beverage container litter and a 38 percent decrease in total litter.

The law worked. It helped clean up the state. Nearly 40 years later, Iowans remain big fans.

A February poll conducted by J. Ann Selzer found 88 percent of active Iowa voters say the bottle bill has been good for the state. Strong support was found by Iowans of all ages and political persuasions. In fact, 78 percent of respondents think there should be a national bottle bill to encourage recycling.

Enter the current Iowa Legislature, which has not made the environment or the opinions of constituents a priority so far. It does, however, seek to please industry lobbyists. This creates an opportunity for grocers, who have been complaining for years about the law, saying the containers are unsanitary and take up too much space.

This month the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, joined by the Iowa Beverage Association, announced they will again try to encourage legislators to revisit the bottle bill. They favor eliminating the nickel deposit.

Granted, redeeming used cans and bottles is certainly messy business. No one knows this better than consumers who cart them to grocery stores and feed them into machines, which are frequently broken in confined spaces that can smell bad. But has the law been a bad financial deal for the beverage industry?

An estimated 86 percent of containers, or 1.65 billion, are redeemed annually, according to the DNR. That means 14 percent — or about 269 million containers — are not redeemed. Unclaimed deposits are kept by bottlers and distributors. A nickel each for 269 million containers totals about $13.4 million. Unlike some other states, none of this money is captured by government.

Michelle Hurd, president of the grocery association said the existing bottle bill should be revised with a "modern sustainability law" to encourage Iowans to recycle more.

Yes, modernize the bottle bill. Encourage Iowans to recycle more. Lawmakers can do that by expanding the existing law to include more containers.

Former Gov. Chet Culver pushed this idea in 2008. He wanted to apply a deposit to other drink containers, including the millions of plastic water bottles thrown in trash cans each year. There is a reason these empty bottles are plentiful on city streets and empty pop cans are not: The latter is worth an immediate 5 cents.

Unfortunately, lawmakers did not support Culver’s idea. Now House Study Bill 163 is alive for consideration in the Legislature. It would repeal the bottle bill and replace it with recycling and litter reduction programs.

Bad idea.

Iowa’s law results in the recycling of 82,352 tons of material in this state each year, according to the DNR. That is nearly the equivalent weight of two Titanics.

Instead of sinking a successful statute, lawmakers should expand it.

Bottle bill basics

When beverage distributors deliver products, they collect 5-cent deposits from retailers (including grocery stores). Consumers pay a nickel when buying products and get it back when they return empties.

Distributors pick up the empties redeemed by retailers and use deposits collected earlier to reimburse the stores for refunds paid to consumers. In addition, distributors pay retailers one cent per container in handling fees for collecting, sorting and storing empties.

Stores must redeem the empty containers of products sold. However, they can also direct consumers to a redemption center approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Distributors, retailers and redemption centers are prohibited by law from disposing of containers in landfills, which means they are recycled. Distributors also benefit from the scrap value of aluminum, plastic and glass.

No money is paid to or collected by government.

This editorial is the opinion of The Des Moines Register’s editorial board: David Chivers, president; Carol Hunter, executive editor; Lynn Hicks, opinion editor; and Andie Dominick, editorial writer.