March 7, 2007
Iowa House committee advances 'bottle bill'
By Charlotte Eby
DES MOINES -- Lawmakers came together in a House committee Wednesday to approve changes to Iowa’s so-called "bottle bill," an issue that has simmered for years but has never found consensus.
The House Environmental Protection Committee approved a bill 20-0 that would allow can and bottle redemption centers to negotiate a higher handling fee with dealers and beverage distributors.
Rep. Beth Wessell-Kroeschell, D-Ames, argued redemption centers deserved a raise from the 1-cent handling fee they currently are paid. The penny fee has stayed the same for three decades.
"Redemption centers are feeling the squeeze of inflation," Wessel-Kroeschell said. "It is hard to imagine how a business can remain in effect for 30 years with no increases in revenue."
The approval in the House committee Wednesday ahead of a funnel week deadline means the bill remains alive as other bills are shelved for the rest of the session.
Troy Willard, an owner of the Can Shed redemption center in Cedar Rapids, is optimistic about the bill’s prospects. He said he’s seen his expenses such as rent, utilities and fuel rise while the fee he is paid stays the same, making it harder for him to turn a profit.
He doesn’t know whether he would be successful in negotiating a higher handling fee as the bill would allow.
"It’s a little bit of a David versus Goliath-type situation, but we’ll have to see where that leads," Willard said.
The Can Shed serves thousands of customers in Cedar Rapids every week who can bring in cans in bulk, rather than waiting in line at a store, Willard said.
The bill creates a beverage container task force that would study increasing redemption rates, increasing handling fees to redemption centers. It also would study the efficiency and costs associated with mandatory curb-side recycling.
The bill also seeks to find out how much revenue from unclaimed 5-cent deposits would go to distributors.
"In the end, we hope to find real solutions to this issue that has been before us for many years," Wessel-Kroeschell said.
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/03/07/news/latest_news/9c8f5fcb36f013bc8625729800008a0c.txt
