Empty cans and bottles drained of their pop or beer can be redeemed for a five-cent deposit in Iowa, but grocers complain about being forced to accept the empties in their stores. Others say putting especially the aluminum cans in curb-side bins would make recycling efforts more profitable.
Legislation introduced in the Iowa Senate outlines some of the same changes being proposed in the House bill. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says when the so-called "bottle bill" was enacted in 1978, its primary focus was litter control.
Legislators often have contemplated changes in the state's popular "Bottle Bill" over the past two decades, but proposals to completely get rid of it, or to expand the number of drink containers subject to the deposit or even to raise the deposit fee have all failed.