Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How does recycling beverage containers reduce air pollution?

A. When we recycle, we save a tremendous amount of energy. Saving energy reduces energy-related air pollution, including gases that cause global climate changes, acid rain,  and smog.

Q. Could other disposable products be incorporated into a deposit / return recycling system?

A. Yes. Beverage containers are a good first step, because they are in one piece, easily defined, and relatively clean. In addition, because they are one-time-use containers, they are right at the top of the list of environmentally harmful disposables. However, other disposable plastic, glass, and metal products should also be considered for deposit / return programs.

Q. What difference will one can make?

A. Recycling just one aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 36-inch color television for about 5 hours, a laptop computer for 12 hours, or a 100-watt light bulb for about 6 hours.

Q. Will a deposit / return system raise my taxes or increase prices?

A. No. The deposit / return system is completely self-financed and doesn’t use tax dollars. In fact, fewer tax dollars will be necessary to finance trash collection and disposal as well as litter cleanup. Additionally, there is no evidence that beverage prices are higher in deposit states. In fact, shortly after the implementation of the Massachusetts bottle bill, Donald J. Dowd, Vice-President of Coca-Cola New England, was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying, “Our prices pre-bottle bill and post-bottle bill are virtually the same.”

Q. What happens to a beverage container once it is recycled?

A. Aluminum and glass containers are usually recycled back into beverage containers; in fact, when you recycle an aluminum can it is usually back on the shelf within 90 days.  Plastic can be ground into flake and used to make new bottles, but currently only a small percentage of plastic bottles contain recycled content. Most are recycled into other products. For example, half of all polyester carpet manufactured in the U.S. is made from recycled plastic bottles.

Q. Aren’t curbside recycling or drop-off redemption centers better than deposit / return?

A. In states without bottle bills, curbside recycling, drop-off, and buyback programs together recover 191 beverage containers per person per year. When these systems are combined with a refundable deposit system, annual beverage container recovery jumps to 490 containers per person. The ideal system is a deposit system for beverage containers, complemented by curbside and drop-off systems for other products, including food containers, newspapers, cardboard, mixed paper, and yard waste.

Q. What happens to the deposit money paid on bottles and cans that never get returned?

A. If someone litters or throws a deposit container in the trash, they lose the deposit they paid on that container. In seven states, the beverage distributor who initiated the deposit gets to keep these unredeemed deposits. In two states, the unredeemed deposits become the property of the state. In Michigan, 75% goes to the state and 25% goes to the retailers as compensation for redeeming and handling the containers. In Massachusetts, all of the unredeemed deposits go into the state’s Clean Environment Fund.