DES MOINES — The House voted Wednesday to establish a task force to explore the feasibility of mandatory curbside recycling statewide and litter-control incentives that could be a long-range forerunner to replace the state's container-deposit law.

The 26-member panel would be made up of major players involved in the bottle-law controversy — representatives of the grocers, beverage distributors, redemption centers, environmental groups and others — and charged with reporting its findings back to lawmakers by January 2009.

"It seems like we have been in a rut for a number of years now on how to deal with the bottle bill, whether it should be expanded (or) whether the deposit should be increased," said Rep. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque. "We seem never to be able to quite resolve the issue. We've been in a stalemate way too long."

Rep. Donovan Olson, D-Boone, said the study group would be asked to take a comprehensive look at statewide curbside recycling and other initiatives to reduce Iowa's waste stream and address litter and pollution problems. The discussion would include finding ways to convert existing redemption centers into recycling stations.

Rep. Steve Olson, R-De Witt, said he supported the task force formation as a way to explore alternatives for reducing the state's waste volume and fully investigating the consequences of expanding the bottle-deposit law.

Wednesday's voice vote in the House came at a time when Gov. Chet Culver was exhorting lawmakers to keep alive his proposal to expand the containers that would be subject to the nickel deposit and to find money to help keep financially strapped redemption centers from failing.

"I'm holding out hope that we will keep the bottle bill alive," the governor told reporters Wednesday.

Jochum said any long-range comprehensive recycling changeover would likely not become reality until 2015 at the earliest and lawmakers continue to explore stopgap options this session to address problems dogging the bottle-deposit program. She said one possibility might be to get beverage distributors to share a portion of the unredeemed deposits they keep with redemption centers.

"This issue continues to be one that has vexed the Legislature since 1978. There are no easy answers to this," said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, who noted he was open to considering the task force concept. "I think this is an issue that a truce hasn't been declared but at least a cease fire."

The state's bottle deposit law was approved in 1978 and hasn't been updated since. Culver and others argue that consumer habits have changed in the 30 years since the law was enacted and that items such as bottled water, tea, juice and sports drinks aren't covered by the law.

Many grocers and other retailers who handle the containers oppose expansion of the law. They contend that curbside recycling programs are more efficient than a retail-based system.

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