Iowa grocery stores could opt out of accepting empty cans, bottles under legislative deal

After decades of efforts, Iowans are about to see a major change in how and where they can turn in their empty pop cans and beer bottles to get back the nickel deposit they paid when they bought the drinks.

Iowa lawmakers' agreement to reframe the recycling program comes as supporters and opponents alike have warned the system is on the brink of failure and could have collapsed without legislative action. Frustrated by years of work without tangible progress, key lawmakers also had threatened to repeal the entire law — known as the bottle bill — if they failed to reach a deal this year.

The Iowa Senate voted 30-15 Monday to pass Senate File 2378. The House previously passed the bill in April on a 73-17 vote, so it now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.

Under current law, Iowans can return empty cans and bottles to grocery stores and other retailers to get back a 5-cent deposit that they paid when buying the drink.

The new legislation would triple the handling fee collected by the roughly 60 redemption centers around the state and authorize mobile redemption options in an effort to make their businesses financially viable. Meanwhile, grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers could refuse to accept empty bottles and cans under most conditions.

Supporters argued the proposal will "modernize" the redemption program by allowing mobile redemption systems and increasing funding for bottle and can redemption centers, which have been strapped for cash under the current law.

"I'm glad this is happening. It's time," said Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, who managed the bill in the Senate.

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Opponents said the measure effectively kills the program and would severely limit Iowans' options for redeeming their empty containers.

"We’re going to let the people that sell bottles and cans essentially off the hook for collecting cans," said Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City. "And when we do that we’re going to make it a lot harder for consumers to conveniently take their bottles and cans back."

What does the bill do?

The proposal would change the law in several ways. It would allow grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers that sell bottles and cans to refuse to take back the empty containers if the stores meet certain criteria.

Exempt stores would need to either:

• Hold a food establishment license, employ a certified food protection manager and use time/temperature controls for food safety.

• Enter an agreement with a redemption center to provide a mobile redemption system

• Be in a county with a population of more than 30,000 and within 10 miles of a redemption center, or a county with a population of 30,000 or fewer and within 15 miles of a redemption center.

The bill would also triple the 1-cent handling fee for redemption centers to 3 cents, a move that supporters said would lead to more redemption centers opening around Iowa. Those fees are paid by the beverage distributors.

The bill would also add canned cocktails to the list of beverages that can be redeemed under the program.

And it authorizes the use of mobile redemption centers that would essentially be trailers where Iowans could drop off cans and bottles. The mobile redemption centers would be required to pay Iowans their 5-cent deposit within 10 days of receiving the containers.

Beer distributors would be able to claim a 1-cent tax refund for each beer can returned under the redemption program. Lawmakers said they hope to be able to get a better idea of what Iowa's redemption rate is by using the refund as a rough approximation. Currently, there is no tracking done of Iowa's redemption rate or how many containers are not redeemed.

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The bill would also add civil penalties for violating the law and allow the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to issue orders forcing violators to comply. And it would allow people to go to court to challenge any orders.

And lawmakers would be required to review the law prior to the 2026 legislative session.

Change the law or the law dies, key Republicans warned

Two of the main Republican negotiators of this year's agreement had said they would support repealing the existing law next year if they failed to reach a deal for how to update it.

Schultz said on Iowa Public Radio's "River to River" on April 4 that a growing number of people think the deposit is "just an unfair tax on Iowa grocery purchasers."

"It’s to the point where I think a whole lot of people agree that if we can’t get something done this year, next year we need to be looking at repeal and just waiting for people to demand that we put something back in place," Schultz said on the program.

Speaking on the same program, Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, said he agreed with Schultz. Lohse has introduced bills to repeal the redemption law in the past.

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"I think at some point we have to do something," he said. "I would like to try to fix it but if we can’t fix it this thing is going to implode on itself and it’s just time to repeal it."

Polling has shown the law is popular among Iowans.

A February poll of Iowa's active registered voters conducted by Selzer & Co., which also conducts the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, and commissioned by Cleaner Iowa found 84% of respondents said they believe the program has been good for Iowa, while 12% said they believe it has been bad for the state.

The poll found 86% of Iowa voters favor expanding the number of places bottles and cans can be returned, and 72% favor increasing the 1-cent handling fee for redemption centers and stores.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa bottle redemption bill goes to Kim Reynolds after Senate vote