Tom and Joan Cook
Mar. Mar.
The Gazettes Pints and Politics session on Iowa’s Bottle Bill was fascinating. It was shocking to learn that $48 Million in unclaimed deposits on cans and bottles went to beverage distributors and not the Iowa Treasury. The Iowa Wholesale Beer Distributors Association claims 200 jobs will be lost if we don’t continue to deposit our money. This is because the IWBDA (501c3) has two employees and the millions of dollars pay salaries to the for-profit distributors at $240,000 each. It would be helpful to see their job descriptions.
Legislators propose a network of redemption centres every 15 to 20% of the state’s total mileage. A 20-mile round trip would usually burn one gallon of gasoline. An Iowan would need 70 cans and bottles to redeem fuel costs at $3.50 per gallon. That’s not counting the time involved and emissions. It makes infinitely more sense for the retailers that sell beverages to also handle redemptions.
At a nickel per deposit, $48,000,000 equates to 960,000,000 unredeemed cans and bottles, an amazing environmental impact. Other states have better results. For example, in Michigan, where the deposit is only 10 cents, the redemption rates are 70 percent. Are Michigan’s legislators smarter than Iowa’s, or are they less influenced and influenced by lobbyists in Michigan?
It seems like it is long past time to add a proposed advisory committee to establish a 5-year plan, and require annual reports. Iowans deserve better leadership on this critical issue.
Tom and Joan Cook
Iowa City