Question on Deposit Laws

[hobo finds]

I know some states have deposit laws that charge you .05 - .10 cents a can. When you turn in the cans at a scrap yard do they pay you the deposit plus the scrap value for the cans?

[wayne1956]

When I was in the military stationed in California they had the can deposits. When you turned in cans they paid strictly by weight, but it was much more than states that did not have the deposit. When I was there we were getting about a dollar or so a pound, when recycling yards in states that did not have the deposit were only paying around 35 cents a pound. This was in the early 90's, but I think it is still the same concept. They also would only take the cans that had the top stamped with the state deposit information.

[Robarons]

Here in Michigan you have to pay a 10 cent Deposit on each can/bottle of CARBONATED beverage (12 pack of coke is $1.20 extra) water, juice,wine, etc is exempted. I think it has to have some level of carbonation to trip the deposit.

When you get done with the bottle/can you can take it back to any grocery store that has that brand and there is a bottle return center that you feed the cans into. If they a crushed or in a way that the machine cannot read the bar code you lose the deposit and cannot get it back. You gotta keep the cans in somewhat good shape to avoid this.

Its rare to see cans at the scrapyards here because you get 10 cents a pop if you just go back to the store.

This applies to Cans, glass and plastic bottles.

[hirbonzig]

Here in Michigan you have to pay a 10 cent Deposit on each can/bottle of CARBONATED beverage (12 pack of coke is $1.20 extra) water, juice,wine, etc is exempted. I think it has to have some level of carbonation to trip the deposit.

When you get done with the bottle/can you can take it back to any grocery store that has that brand and there is a bottle return center that you feed the cans into. If they a crushed or in a way that the machine cannot read the bar code you lose the deposit and cannot get it back. You gotta keep the cans in somewhat good shape to avoid this.

Its rare to see cans at the scrapyards here because you get 10 cents a pop if you just go back to the store.

This applies to Cans, glass and plastic bottles.

If a can from another state is turned in for the deposit is it rejected? Here in Wisconsin I see the cans with the Michigan deposit stamped on the top of the can. Are the bar codes used to determine where the can was purchased? What would stop someone from a neighboring state to take thousands of cans across the state line to make a small fortune?

[henrysmedford]

I found this website-- http://www.bottlebill.org/ Looks like they have the rules for all states and most of the world.

After going to that website I found that Kiribati has a bottle bill then I had to find were is Kiribati!

[Robarons]

Taking cans across state lines for big time $$$ was a plot for a Seinfeld episode once, so yes it has been thought of before.

The machines are pretty smart and do reject ANY out of state cans. However many mom n pop store and gas stations still count then by hand, which you could easily sneak the fakes in. But most stores cap returns at $20 or a limit. Once in a while you will see a warning that taking out of state cans back is a $XXXX fine punishable to up to 90 days in jail- but seriously think that never has/or will ever be enforced unless some king pin operation happens.

[HoardCopperByTheTon]

In California it is not really a deposit.. it is called CRV (California Redemption Value) The nickel or dime is actually subject to sales tax, so you generally lose 9% when you return the bottles or cans to a recycler. The DOC (Department of Conservation) does an annual survey to determine the number of containers of each type in a pound. They then set that rate as the minimum price that an authorized recycler is allowed to pay so that folks get their nickel or dime back. You can also request single count if you want to wait and make everyone mad at you. The weight will actually get you pretty close unless you have a lot of lighter, thinner water bottles in your mix. Recyclers are allowed to pay whatever rate they want to be competitive as long as it is equal or above the state mandated minimum.

[JerrySpringer]

I know some states have deposit laws that charge you .05 - .10 cents a can. When you turn in the cans at a scrap yard do they pay you the deposit plus the scrap value for the cans?

That may explain why some places will pay you more than the 5 cent deposit perhaps? They reimburse the 5 cent deposit and they in turn get the metal value on their own when they turn the cans in to a recycler? Seems plausible.

[Copper Catcher]

Despite what people say it has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with adding more money back into the general fund of the state coffers in my opinion. A large percentage of the deposits are never redeemed.

[slickeast]

Despite what people say it has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with adding more money back into the general fund of the state coffers in my opinion. A large percentage of the deposits are never redeemed.

I agree that a high percentage never get returned. When I was in NY and bought drinks at the store I just tossed them in the trash when I was done.

Same concept as mail in rebates. They get the money from you first and play the odds that you won't mail in the rebate.

[messymessy]

A couple in Maine is currently being prosecuted for redeming out of state cans. They ran a redemption center and stole about $10,000 over several years.

[PennyBoy]

In Mexico you can either pay the deposit up front, as we do here in the states, or you can get the contents in a plastic bag. IMO, the crv here in California is a scam. The state is banking on you not recycling, which most people don't do. Then when you do recycle, you don't get your full deposit back.

[hobo finds]

Oregon just raised there deposit to $.10 now Cali will be trying to bring there cans and bottles there! LOL http://www.bottlebill.org/legislation/usa/oregon.htm

[Recyclersteve]

I've tried machines in Michigan and Oregon and the thing that is a pain is that you have to put the bottles and cans in one at a time. It would be nice if these functioned like coin counters so that you could take a Hefty trash bag full of stuff and dump it all at one time. That bottlebill.org site is an interesting one- thanks (said years after the fact) for posting it.

[Changechecker]

Here in N. Y. We have the .05 cent deposit. It's actually a fairly lucrative business. We have Beverage redemption centers, store fronts set up to return your containers. These are popping up all over. It's a good business model, especially if you have low overhead. They hand sort and count. They take anything.
Our grocery stores have hand fed auto sorters with scanners to verify.
Because it is a pain to recycle them most people leave the containers (litter). We have a large community of underprivileged who survive by collecting them.
It's not worthwhile to recycle at the yards here. IMO.

[JadeDragon]

deposits have been around for over 40 years in BC, but I believe the rates are the same as when I was a kid... I understood deposits were less about recycling (that was not a big thing 40 years ago) and more about litter control. They also refilled the glass pop and beer bottles, which saved on cost of making new ones.

[Rosco]

It is to slow Litter I see the same people walking the ditch to pick up cans and bottles an turn in for the dime.
When the law went into effect all cans were 10 cents and many saved cans for a few weeks then getting 10 cents that they had on paid 5 cents deposit on.

We try but still do not get the deposit back on every thing

[hobo finds]

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/05/09/b ... -advances/ Maine wants to add deposit to mini liquor bottles...

[JadeDragon]

Why are people drinking "nips" in Maine and throwing them from car windows to the point the state is concerned about litter? Should the state not be more concerned about drunk driving?

[hobo finds]

Why are people drinking "nips" in Maine and throwing them from car windows to the point the state is concerned about litter? Should the state not be more concerned about drunk driving?

I guess they need to warm up. It doesn't seem like they care, a lot of revenue could be made from people drinking and driving it seems... "give a hoot don't pollute"

[AGgressive Metal]

There are redemption centers around town that have 10-20 machines that accept the deposit items, but they are slammed on weekends, even with all machines running. Mostly its an annoyance to have to go through a bunch of effort just to get back $5 you didn't need to spend in the first place, but it can be fun to occasionally find a "free dime" laying in a parking lot or sidewalk.