By Sarah Currie-Halpern
When discussing recycling and waste reduction initiatives that could benefit the climate, it’s tempting to think the best way forward is to invent new solutions. We think of ourselves as living in the future, so shouldn’t waste reduction be futuristic too? Well, yes and no.
In reality, many existing strategies already work and don’t need to be replaced, just expanded. Take, for example, the decades-old container deposit and recycling system. Oregon passed the country’s first so-called “bottle bill” in 1971. Today, ten states have some legal mandate in place concerning a deposit refund for recycled containers, including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregan, and Vermont. The specifics vary from state to state, both in terms of what kind of returned containers are accepted and the exact amounts of refundable deposits.
Broadly speaking, container deposit systems are excellent for the environment and local communities. They incentivize people not to toss plastic, metal and glass into the trash. They make it easier for people who don’t have curbside recycling to recycle. Multiple studies have proven that states with bottle bills see a significant reduction in litter, which benefits wildlife and reduces water pollution. One study found that coastal states with bottle bills contributed less plastic litter to aquatic environments than their neighboring states without. Since these programs encourage people to not break or damage bottles, they produce more high-quality recyclable materials than single- and dual-stream recycling. They can also create jobs and boost local economies.
Still, with only ten states using this system, the true potential of container deposit systems, mandated by bottle bills as they are more commonly called in the U.S., is basically untapped. It’s not impossible to imagine a modernized and nationwide program, however, because that already exists elsewhere. Among the most impressive examples that the U.S. could learn from is the Pfand system in Germany, which was passed into federal law in 2003.
In practice, the Pfand system is simple. There is a small, standardized deposit attached to recyclable containers: 0.08€ for beer bottles, 0.25€ for single-use plastic bottles, 0.25€ for aluminum cans, and 0.08€ to 0.15€ for multi-use glass and plastic bottles. Nearly every grocery store, whether it is a massive international chain like Lidl or a smaller discount chain, has a Pfand machine. People insert their empty containers directly into the machine, and receive a receipt with a barcode and the total amount.
The consumer then has a choice. They can redeem the receipt for cash value at the register. Alternatively, they can do their shopping, give the receipt to the cashier, and have the value deducted directly from their grocery bill. In both cases, they don’t have to go to a second location.
A 2018 report in the Guardian found that only 1-3% of non-reusable bottles go unreturned in Germany, and can recycling has hit a 99% return rate. The reasons for this success are straightforward. Depositing bottles is incredibly convenient and always available nearby, and most importantly, the payoff is quick and obvious. Once deposited, reusable bottles are sorted and cleaned, then returned to beverage companies, who reuse recycled glass bottles up to 50 times and plastic ones up to 25 times.
No recycling system is perfect, including Germany’s Pfand system and bottle deposit schemes more broadly. Nevertheless, it has proven extremely beneficial and successful in reducing container waste and raising recycling rates nationwide in Germany. With convenience and tangible financial benefit built-in, the Pfand model—especially when combined with initiatives to replace single-use plastic containers with reusable ones—is something worth emulating. Since it’s federal instead of regional, some 84 million Germans have access to it. Imagine the benefits to the planet if 350 million Americans did too.
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