Iowa grocers want to quit redeeming empty cans and bottles
William Petroski, bpetrosk@dmreg.com Published 5:43 p.m. CT Dec. 5, 2017

If Iowa's grocery stores and the non-alcoholic beverage industry have their way, the state's 5-cent bottle deposit law will be scrapped by the Iowa Legislature and replaced with an expanded statewide recycling program.

[snip]

Iowa currently recovers 86 percent of its beverage containers, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The law covers all carbonated and alcoholic beverages, and about 1.65 billion containers are redeemed annually in Iowa. The combination of the beverage container law and existing curbside recycling makes Iowa one of the top recycling states in the nation.

If the Legislature repeals the deposit law, the percentage of beverage containers recycled would be expected to drop to the national average of 29 percent, opponents say.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/05/iowa-grocers-want-quit-redeeming-empty-cans-and-bottles/922574001/