Federated States of Micronesia

The state of Kosrae, one of the four Federated States of Micronesia, has enacted bottle deposit legislation.

Law Summary The Kosrae Recycling Program allows deposits to be placed on a variety of different items so that they can be easily recovered for recycling and export.
Date Implemented 1991, amended in 2006.
Containers Covered As of November 2006, only aluminum cans are subject to deposit and refund, but the law allows for the addition of other materials to the refund system.  PET and Glass were expected to be added in 2007.
Beverages Covered  
Refundable Deposits 6¢ per can (only 5¢ is refundable)
Fees / Taxes 1¢ handling fee
Program Success Recovery rates, trippage rates, % market share.
Legislation State Law 5 –15, Title 9, Chapter 22 and Title 10, Section 205(1)(d)
Kosrae Recycling Program [PDF, 16kb] (Kosrae State Code 9.2201-9.2210)
Recycling Program Regulations [PDF, 16kb]

Details

Kosrae's deposit-refund system was reinstated in 2006 after a 2-year hiatus due to difficulties administrating the system.  For more news, and information about the challenges associated with restarting the program, read the Kosrae Recycling Project's November 2006 newsletter [PDF, 270kb]

How the Kosrae Can Deposit System Works

  1. A 6¢ deposit is paid on each aluminium drink can as soon as it is brought into the state. This deposit is paid by the importer and collected by the State Department of Administration and Finance at the same time as State Sales Tax is collected.
  2. This money is deposited into a Recycling Fund that is a Fund of the Treasury with the Kosrae State Government.
  3. People take their cans to recycling agent (as of 2006, the Kosrae Island Resource Management Authority, KIRMA) to be recycled and are given a cash refund of 5¢.
  4. The 1¢ remainder is kept by the recycling operation to fund the process.

 

Updated December 23, 2018