Des Moines, Iowa — A bill to make changes in Iowa’s “Bottle Bill” has made it farther in the Iowa legislature this year than any previous attempt to adjust the deposit and redemption system.
Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig guided the bill through Senate debate Tuesday.
Schultz and his fellow Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted to let grocery stores in Iowa refuse bottle and can returns starting next summer. The bill would increase the handling fee for redemption centers from one cent to three cents of every nickel deposit on a beverage container. The wholesalers that distribute beer and pop to retailers would be able to keep unredeemed deposits. Democrats in the Senate opposed the bill. There are only 60 redemption centers operating today and Senator Herman Quirmbach a Democrat from Ames, says this plan will kill the Bottle Bill.
Senator Bill Dotzler a Democrat from Waterloo, says when grocery stores opt out of the system, consumers won’t be able to easily find a place to take their empties.
Schultz says the bill offers an incentive to expand and open new redemption centers.
A bill that takes a slightly different approach is eligible for debate in the Iowa House. The Republican who’s leading development of that House plan says negotiations with the Senate are underway and he’s hopeful about reaching an agreement on a Bottle Bill re-do this year.
