November 14, 2007
Groups push for change in bottle law
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The state needs to change its bottle redemption law to increase the handling fee for redemption centers to keep them from closing, according to groups lobbying the Legislature for the change.
The law, which went into effect in 1978, includes a 1-cent handling fee that compensates retailers for the cost of handling empty containers and encourages the creation of redemption centers.
Rose Shepard of the Iowa Bottle Bill Coalition said the centers are having a tough time staying open because the 1-cent handling fee doesn't cover the cost of doing business.
``If something isn't done soon, we're all in trouble,'' she said. ``I've got another 25 redemption centers that closed this year. They're dropping like flies. Basically, we've got another year or so for most of us to hang on and then they're going to be gone.''
Shepard said redemption centers are contacting Gov. Chet Culver's office asking him to help. Culver spokesman Brad Anderson said the governor is open to discussing the issue.
Businesses that distribute or sell carbonated and alcoholic beverages oppose an increase in the handling fee, saying it would hurt sales in border counties and be a cost that would be passed onto consumers.
Craig Schoenfeld, a lobbyist for the Iowa Beverage Association, said doubling the penny handling fee would represent a $19 million tax increase.
Schoenfeld and Jerry Fleagle of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association said if there is a penny increase in the fee, it should be taken from the nickel deposit meaning consumers would receive 4 cents per container upon return.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said the Legislature will likely talk about the issue when it convenes in Januana plantations and employees.
``We reiterate that Chiquita and its employees were victims and that the actions taken by the company were always motivated to protect the lives of our employees and their families,'' said Chiquita spokesman Michael Mitchell.
The New York-based lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of the families, Jonathan Reiter, said Chiquita's support of the AUC went beyond mere ``protection payments'' and included the shipment of thousands of rifles through a Banadex port facility.
Chiquita sold its Colombian subsidiary in 2004 but continues to buy Colombian bananas from independent suppliers.
The company's punishment for giving money to AUC outraged some Colombian officials, as has a Department of Justice decision not to prosecute 10 Chiquita executives.
Colombia's interior minister, Carlos Holguin, said the fine was insufficient for a company that had ``financed a mass massacre of Colombians.''
Chiquita has also acknowledged making protection payments to other combatants, including the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
