Iowa lawmakers say they're closer than ever to a deal to overhaul the state's 40-year-old bottle and can redemption process, but the legislation's fate this year is still unclear.
The bill would allow retailers, such as grocery stores and gas stations, to decline to accept empty beverage containers if there is a nearby redemption center. The bill would also raise the 1-cent payment to redemption centers to 2 cents, create new standards for how far customers would have to drive to return their bottles and cans and task the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with enforcing the law.
House lawmakers held a public hearing on the bill, House File 814, Monday night, shortly after Republicans released an amendment making several changes to the proposal. But it was still unclear Wednesday whether enough House Republicans would agree to support the measure, or if they would be able to strike a deal with the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said on "Iowa Press" this month that the issue "will probably be back" next year.
"There is still progress being made, but it will be difficult to wrap that up in the next three weeks," Whitver said on the Iowa PBS program, referencing the Legislature's projected April 30 adjournment date.
More:Iowa grocers lose court battle over bottle bill as legislators seek a compromise on the law's future
Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, the bill's House floor manager, said she doesn't know what the Senate would do with the House bill. But, she said, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to the issue after Gov. Kim Reynolds shut down redemptions at retailers for four months last year over health concerns.
"The pandemic showed us that we have some flaws in the bottle law here in the state," she said. "And when consumers can’t redeem their bottles and cans for the money that is owed to them, it is very frustrating, especially I think in rural Iowa."
More:Kick the can: Iowa's bottle bill was falling apart — and then the pandemic made things worse
Sheri Cunningham, the owner of Pella Can and Bottle Redemption Center, said redemption centers are struggling to survive on the 1-cent handling fee they receive for each container. She said each of her employees can sort about 1,000 cans an hour — at the current 1-cent rate, that's just $10 in revenue each hour, she said. At that rate, she said "there is zero money left for me to pay rent, insurance or utilities."
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"If you don’t change the handling fee for the 80 plus redemption centers, they will not survive," she told lawmakers at the hearing.
More:Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds: Jury's verdict on Derek Chauvin 'shows that our legal system worked'
The House amendment would double that fee to 2 cents. Under current law, the 1-cent fee is paid by beverage distributors. The second cent would be split, with retailers paying 1/2 a cent for 60% of the containers they receive and distributors paying the remainder.
Lundgren said the 60% split is lawmakers' "best guesstimate" at the percentage of bottles and cans that are redeemed in the state.
Consumers would still receive 5 cents back when redeeming their cans and bottles, the same as under current law. Some environmental advocates have urged lawmakers to raise that deposit to 10 cents.
The House amendment filed Tuesday would allow retailers to opt out of accepting containers if there is a registered redemption center within 10 miles in counties with a population of more than 30,000 or 15 miles in counties with a population below 30,000.
More:U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne pushes to include ethanol measures in $2 trillion infrastructure deal
Lundgren said legislators wanted to be "very specific" with their standard. She said the proposal would ensure rural Iowans have an option for returning cans and bottles, although they may have to drive farther.
"If you are living in rural Iowa, chances are you’re driving to doctors' appointments, to the grocery store, to the dentist, to school, to all of these other things," she said.
Lundgren said the "convenience standard" for how far Iowans would have to drive makes sure there are still places available for people to return their containers.
"Grocery stores obviously wanted 100% opt out, no strings attached," she said. "That doesn’t work for the consumer."
More:'What are you waiting for?': Gov. Kim Reynolds urges Iowans to get COVID vaccination
The bill would also allow retailers to register with the state to serve as redemption centers if they choose to accept bottles and cans rather than contracting with a separate center.
Dustin Miller, a lobbyist for the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, said at the public hearing that his members "would like for stores to no longer be mandated recycling sites."
More:Ban on Iowa schools' voluntary diversity plans will go to Gov. Kim Reynolds after approval from House
"I’m sure in a back and forth I would hear that if we sell it then we should take it back," he said. "But my response to that would be there are a variety of things that are sold by retailers that do not have the same mandate. Instead, recycling and trash collection is a function of local government, not private business."
Linda Serra Hagedorn, president of the League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County, said stores should redeem cans and bottles if they're willing to sell them.
"Too many retailers are willing to sell products and take the deposits but are not willing to redeem those deposits, or if they do they make it very difficult, dirty and typically by machines that malfunction," she said.
The bill would allow retailers, such as grocery stores and gas stations, to decline to accept empty beverage containers if there is a nearby redemption center. The bill would also raise the 1-cent payment to redemption centers to 2 cents, create new standards for how far customers would have to drive to return their bottles and cans and task the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with enforcing the law.
House lawmakers held a public hearing on the bill, House File 814, Monday night, shortly after Republicans released an amendment making several changes to the proposal. But it was still unclear Wednesday whether enough House Republicans would agree to support the measure, or if they would be able to strike a deal with the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said on "Iowa Press" this month that the issue "will probably be back" next year.
"There is still progress being made, but it will be difficult to wrap that up in the next three weeks," Whitver said on the Iowa PBS program, referencing the Legislature's projected April 30 adjournment date.
More:Iowa grocers lose court battle over bottle bill as legislators seek a compromise on the law's future
Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, the bill's House floor manager, said she doesn't know what the Senate would do with the House bill. But, she said, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to the issue after Gov. Kim Reynolds shut down redemptions at retailers for four months last year over health concerns.
"The pandemic showed us that we have some flaws in the bottle law here in the state," she said. "And when consumers can’t redeem their bottles and cans for the money that is owed to them, it is very frustrating, especially I think in rural Iowa."
More:Kick the can: Iowa's bottle bill was falling apart — and then the pandemic made things worse
Fee for redemption centers upped from 1 to 2 cents
At Tuesday's public hearing, industry groups aired concerns on all sides of the law — many of which they've been repeating for years.Sheri Cunningham, the owner of Pella Can and Bottle Redemption Center, said redemption centers are struggling to survive on the 1-cent handling fee they receive for each container. She said each of her employees can sort about 1,000 cans an hour — at the current 1-cent rate, that's just $10 in revenue each hour, she said. At that rate, she said "there is zero money left for me to pay rent, insurance or utilities."
Your stories live here.
Fuel your hometown passion and plug into the stories that define it.
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"If you don’t change the handling fee for the 80 plus redemption centers, they will not survive," she told lawmakers at the hearing.
More:Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds: Jury's verdict on Derek Chauvin 'shows that our legal system worked'
The House amendment would double that fee to 2 cents. Under current law, the 1-cent fee is paid by beverage distributors. The second cent would be split, with retailers paying 1/2 a cent for 60% of the containers they receive and distributors paying the remainder.
Lundgren said the 60% split is lawmakers' "best guesstimate" at the percentage of bottles and cans that are redeemed in the state.
Consumers would still receive 5 cents back when redeeming their cans and bottles, the same as under current law. Some environmental advocates have urged lawmakers to raise that deposit to 10 cents.
New rule would set a 10 to 15 mile limit for how far to drive to return containers
Last month, a judge ruled that the Department of Natural Resources was within its authority to set up a limit on how far Iowans must drive in order to turn in bottles and cans. The DNR policy requires retailers to sign an agreement with a licensed redemption center within a 10-minute drive of their stores before shutting down in-store redemption of cans and bottles.The House amendment filed Tuesday would allow retailers to opt out of accepting containers if there is a registered redemption center within 10 miles in counties with a population of more than 30,000 or 15 miles in counties with a population below 30,000.
More:U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne pushes to include ethanol measures in $2 trillion infrastructure deal
Lundgren said legislators wanted to be "very specific" with their standard. She said the proposal would ensure rural Iowans have an option for returning cans and bottles, although they may have to drive farther.
"If you are living in rural Iowa, chances are you’re driving to doctors' appointments, to the grocery store, to the dentist, to school, to all of these other things," she said.
Debate over whether grocery stores can opt out of accepting containers
Whether grocery stores and other retailers can opt out of accepting bottles and cans has long been a part of the debate over any changes to the decades-old law.Lundgren said the "convenience standard" for how far Iowans would have to drive makes sure there are still places available for people to return their containers.
"Grocery stores obviously wanted 100% opt out, no strings attached," she said. "That doesn’t work for the consumer."
More:'What are you waiting for?': Gov. Kim Reynolds urges Iowans to get COVID vaccination
The bill would also allow retailers to register with the state to serve as redemption centers if they choose to accept bottles and cans rather than contracting with a separate center.
Dustin Miller, a lobbyist for the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, said at the public hearing that his members "would like for stores to no longer be mandated recycling sites."
More:Ban on Iowa schools' voluntary diversity plans will go to Gov. Kim Reynolds after approval from House
"I’m sure in a back and forth I would hear that if we sell it then we should take it back," he said. "But my response to that would be there are a variety of things that are sold by retailers that do not have the same mandate. Instead, recycling and trash collection is a function of local government, not private business."
Linda Serra Hagedorn, president of the League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County, said stores should redeem cans and bottles if they're willing to sell them.
"Too many retailers are willing to sell products and take the deposits but are not willing to redeem those deposits, or if they do they make it very difficult, dirty and typically by machines that malfunction," she said.
Will the Iowa Legislature reach a deal to overhaul the bottle bill this year?
Groups have been trying to overhaul the decades-old law for years, with no success. Lawmakers say they're closer than ever, but questions remain.
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