Hey Iowans. What is your feeling on the "Bottle Bill"

[Bluzmann57]

As most of you know, in 1978 the Iowa legislature passed the "Bottle bill", where not only pop and beer bottles, but cans as well, were worth a nickel each when returned empty. Well it seems that Hy-Vee and Fareway are leading the charge to repeal this law, citing the threat of contamination and spreading bugs as well as disease. As a matter of fact, AG Miller has already fined Fareway and ordered them to start taking cans when they were turning people away. I think it is a good law and hope it stays in place. Who really wants to see empty cans and bottles cluttering up our roads and everyplace else? For more info www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1043359&t=Iowa+%2f+Illinois&c=24,1043359 Or if that is too much to type, just go to www.qctimes.com and click on news, then scroll down and click on Iowa/Illinois. Then from there, its about halfway down.

[mr_hat]

1. It's a crock -- you sell it, you service it. Hy Vee

just don't want the inevitable odd bag person shuffling in and making its customers queasy in their quest for neatly packaged Frito-Lay products.

[Hobarticus]

2. It's an excellent law, and it's disappointing to see Hy Vee and Fareway

undermining the spirit of the law, considering they sell the stuff in the first place.

Never hear Hy Vee complaining about the skanky Rug Doctors and dry cleaning that gets dropped off there.

[kariatari]

3. I'm pretty pissed about what HyVee and Fareway are doing.

I would say that I'm not going to shop at either place anymore, but since I refuse to shop at Super Wal-Mart I've got nowhere else to go.

[rurallib]

4. spent some time in states with no "bottle bill"

a few years back. Cans and bottles all over the place, along with other trash. The bottle bill has definitely served a purpose.
Instead of fighting this bill, i'd like to see companies come up with a compromise. I've always thought that this might be an opportunity for some enterprising group to make some money. For example, have redemption centers that repay 4cents per container and they then turn them back to the bottlers for five cents.
Or do something with local charities getting a cut. People could donate them. We once sent ten girls to girl scout camp doing that.

[progressoid]

5. The disease argument is a ruse. The issue is $$$

It's very expensive to collect cans. Large stores may need 2-3 employees to just deal with this. Plus, there is a space issue. There are a couple stores here that have even built separate facilities to handle all of the cans.

It's certainly not a fair system, but it is a very valuable law. The pluses outweigh the negatives. Perhaps it's even time to expand it to include power drinks and bottled water too.

I remember (pre-bottle-law) when our entire school would take off one day in the spring and scour the town and rural ditches to clean up all of the trash that people would throw out. Of course that was when it was OK to be environmentally active. Now it seems to be an aberration.

[Blue Gardener]

6. Keep it

My local Hy Vee has the machines you have to put your bottles and cans in. They are in a separate room, and it reeks of stale beer. The people that staff it and keep the machines emptied are mentally challenged. It's good that this particular store hires people that normally would not be able to find a job anywhere else, but it is kind of a crappy job.
I think there are many people that are on very limited incomes that supplement those incomes by collecting bottles for redemption. To take this away from them would not be a very nice thing to do. Plus there are youth groups that sometimes raise funds in this manner.

[terryg11]

9. two very good points that no one thinks about

when talking about this bill. Was just discussing these very same angles the other week and how no one seems to realize that it's probably contributing (albeit a verrry small amount) to some people's income.

The fact that Hy-vee has a separate room at nearly all their stores now for redemption should take them out of the argument for repealing the bottle bill. IT's a good bill and needs to stay

[berniew1]

7. Bottle bill is most effective way to deal with bottles and cans; works wel

works well in all states that have implimented it. No state that has implemented a bottle bill has quit the program. It brings about huge savings in energy and materials. U.S. has huge problem with huge balance of trade deficits due to huge energy imports, and serious energy dependency problems. Likewise resources are finite and a part of this; with huge demand in China and India for resources making resources and energy ever more problematic. Bottle bill is one of best measures for dealing with such problems.

[9119495]

8. Last time they tried to repeal it

Hy-Vee ran an add saying how dirty the cans were and how all these horrible diseases were in the cans. THEN THEY HAD AN UNGLOVED WORKER SORTING THEM. I found it hilarious because if all that stuff was in there and the person is in less than a radiation suit, they ought to be sued. Why the hell did they allow that in the commercial?

[Rambis]

10. The ditches are cleaner

I would keep it. Back when I was a kid an had a beer can collection it was to easy to find cans everywhere.