Net gains in employment have been documented in nearly every state that has enacted a bottle bill. The table above includes data for four states. The steady supply of plastic PET bottles coming from deposit states created a demand for PET plastics that has developed into a recycling industry with estimated revenues of more than $200 million annually.

Prices
While price increases have been reported in most states after implementation of the bottle bill, there are indications that these increases have been unjustified.

• Shortly after 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."

• Soft drink prices are among the most price variable food or beverage product on the market, giving soda companies great liberty to set prices to their advantage and make deposit laws look 'inflationary'.

• The New York Beer Wholesalers acknowledged that over half of the 11-18% price increase in New York was due to inflation within the industry.

Sales
The general pattern of beverage sales in deposit states has been an initial slight decline followed by a return to normal growth patterns. Sales figures for a 3-5 year period after the laws were passed show sales increased at or above the national average in most of the states with deposit laws.