January 16, 2010
Rep. John Beard hopes to clean up bottle bill
A win-win situation for everybody.
That's what State Representative John Beard of Decorah hopes he and his colleagues will be able to accomplish when they tackle the state's bottle bill during the upcoming legislative session.
"I have good progress to report on fixing the way we recycle our bottles ... We've (the Legislature) gathered ideas from successes and failures from other systems," he said.
Beard said the Legislature will use the research its members have gathered to participate in a useful discussion of what changes the bottle bill should undergo, in an effort to mitigate both labor and transportation costs.
"We're working on that and have discovered the state of Tennesee has a really good model that will bring efficiency," said Beard.
The history
According to Winneshiek County Recycling Coordinator Terry Buenzow, Iowa's bottle bill, which adds a 5-cent deposit to cans and bottles, has not been modified since 1978.
"My take on it is that we need to update this thing, with the ultimate goal that you don't want containers pitched in the trash or a road ditch," said Buenzow.
Buenzow said since 1978, redemption centers have been asked to handle returnables for one cent a can.
"Who else can be expected to do that? It's not reasonable. We need to allow them to cover their costs a little better," said Buenzow.
More centers
Buenzow said he feels every community "of a reasonable size" needs their own redemption center, and both he and Beard believe grocery stores should be "let off the hook."
"We need to excuse grocers from having to deal with unsanitary conditions (of returnable cans being turned in for the deposit)," said Beard.
Buenzow added, "Grocery stores are in the business of outbound, not inbound products."
Less sorting
Under the current system, redemption centers are required to sort the bottles and return them to their respective originators.
"Right now, we ask Coke and Pepsi and beer containers to be separated from each other. It's an unnecessary labor step. They should only be sorted according to material and color," said Beard.
Buenzow agrees there is too much material-handling going on.
"We need to get the distributors out of the material-handling business. Let redemption centers deal with the old containers. If they want to smash aluminum cans and take them to the scrap yard, or if they want to recycle, let them. And let them retain the scrap value of that," he said.
The plan
Beard said under the proposed plan, the state would take money earned from the 5-cent deposit and give more of it to redemption centers, which he said should be state-audited.
Instead of redemption centers being responsible for the sorting of materials, Beard suggested "every household play a role ... Sorting it right where it's generated is the most efficient .. Redemption centers would still count everything, but there would be no sorting."
Keep it simple
While Buenzow said he is supportive of modifications to the state's bottle bill, he hopes legislators will find a way to keep it simple.
"My advice would be don't twist this bill up with other stuff. The Iowa bottle bill shouldn't have anything to do with saving the dolphins or global warming. It needs to be clear cut to align with the overall intent: to keep this stuff out of landfills and road ditches. Don't make it more complicated than it is," said Buenzow.
"It's time for a little tuneup ... nothing drastic, but simplify it," he said.
Optimistic
Beard said with regard to the bill's revisions, he "has seen great enthusiasm" from his colleagues and "grocers are excited about it."
"Attacking waste is good. It's part of the character of Iowans - we don't like waste and we're frugal people. We want a legacy of being careful with our resources and passing along a world in good condition to our next generation," concluded Beard.
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