There are costs to society associated with the manufacturing, disposal and recycling of beverage containers. The question that must be asked is "Who should pay these costs?" The beverage industry supports recycling of their products, through curbside programs and drop-off centers, because these programs are funded by government and taxpayers.

There is no 'cure-all' for litter and solid waste reduction, but putting a 5 or 10-cent deposit on beverage containers creates a monetary incentive to recycle, shifting the costs from government and taxpayers to producers and consumers of the wasteful products. The deposit system has a proven record of success as one element in a comprehensive approach to waste diversion, litter control and resource conservation.

FACT
A disproportionately large number of beverage containers being recycled in the U.S. are coming from bottle bill states where beer and soft drink containers are being recycled at rates of 80-95% - twice the rate of non-bottle bill states.

FACT
No single recycling program, including curbside recycling, can solve the waste dilemma. Deposit systems are enhancing curbside programs in ten states. According to BioCycle's 1998 "State of Garbage" report, more than 63% of the population in those ten deposit states is served by a curbside recycling program, as opposed to the remaining 40 states where only 46% of the population is served by curbside recycling.

FACT
Vast sums of money in the form of campaign contributions and public relations campaigns, have kept bottle bills bottled up in dozens of state legislatures and defeated eight ballot initiatives over the past twenty-five years.