No State Bottle Bill Has Ever Been Repealed

Public Support for Bottle Bills is Strong Nationwide

Consumers overwhelmingly support bottle bills as shown in national public opinion polls where respondents are asked if they support a national bottle bill.

But Ballot Initiatives Are Often Defeated by Industry Dollars . .

Huge sums of money have been spent to defeat ballot initiatives over the past twenty years, with industry opponents outspending proponents by as much as 30:1. In 1996, $3 million was spent to defeat the Measure 37 expansion initiative in Oregon.

Bottle Bill Initiative Spending Records

And a Handful of Legislators Keep Bottle Bills Bottled Up . . .

Bottle bills have been 'bottled up' in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress for over two decades, seldom getting to the floor for a full vote. They are generally defeated in small committees, often by a narrow margin. These defeats are due to the tremendous influence the well-funded, politically powerful beverage industry lobby wields over our elected officials.

A 1996 report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group revealed that:

• The beverage industry spent over $14 million dollars in campaign contributions aimed at defeating the National Bottle Bill between 1989 and 1994.

   

• Members of a U.S. Senate Committee who voted against the National Bottle Bill in 1992 received an average of 75 times more in anti-bottle bill PAC money than those who voted in favor of the bill.