Statewide Iowa — A plan to revamp Iowa’s “Bottle Bill” has cleared its first hurdle in the Iowa Senate and key lawmakers vow this is the year they’ll approve changes in the system for redeeming the nickel deposits on cans and bottles.
Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, says there’s a growing pool of deposits that are never paid back.
Rozenboom cites one estimate indicating the wholesale distributors of beer and pop keep as much as 48 million dollars annually from unredeemed deposits. His bill would have that money routed to the state instead and deposited in the Taxpayer Relief Fund. David Edelman, a lobbyist for the Iowa Wholesale Beer Distributors Association, says the group opposes the bill.
Jon Murphy is a lobbyist for the Iowa Beverage Association which represents the distributors of non-alcoholic drinks. The group is instead proposing creation of a non-profit outside of state government that would manage the redemption system and start charging the nickel deposit on bottles and cans of water, tea and sports drinks.
Rozenboom’s bill would let grocers opt out of accepting empty bottles and cans and paying the deposits. Former Senator Bill Dix is now a lobbyist for Fareway, which has objected to having customers bring dirty empties back inside grocery stores.
R.G. Schwarm is a lobbyist for Cleaner Iowa, a group that backs the Bottle Bill. The group opposes letting more than two-thousand grocery stores and convenience stores opt out of accepting empty cans and bottles and paying back the deposits.
Rozenboom’s bill also raises the per container fee redemption centers get from one cent to two cents. Sheri Cunningham owns the redemption center in Pella and she told lawmakers she’s struggling to keep the business open.
Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says tens of millions of dollars in deposit money isn’t being redeemed and it needs to be accounted for and perhaps used to open more redemption centers.
Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig says negotiations among the grocers, retailers and wholesalers have failed and it’s time for legislators to force the issue.
Schultz helped guide the bill out of a subcommittee and all but guaranteed the bill would clear the full Senate Ways and Means Committee soon.
