A new twist for the so-called “bottle bill.” Iowa’s five-cent bottle deposit law covers many aluminum, plastic and glass containers, but not all. A coalition is pressing to have more drink containers covered, Some legislators, though, want Iowans to recycle their cans and bottles at a recycling center, not the grocery store.Representative Bob Brunkhorst, a republican from Waverly, says storeowners are tired of people bringing in dirty cans and bottles. Brunkhorst admits there aren’t enough recycling centers in Iowa, now, to take your cans and bottles. He says there are 100 redemption centers and 60 recycling centers. He says they want 400 redemption centers and another 100 recycling centers.Brunkhorst and others propose a four-year phase-in to the new way of recycling your bottles and cans using grants. Former Governor Terry Branstad says today, 90 percent of cans and bottles are recycled in Iowa, because of the deposit law. He opposes wholesale changes in the law.Branstad says the plans sound attractive, but they haven’t proved as successful as Iowa’s current plan when used in other states.Branstad is a leader in the “bottle bill” coalition pressing to have more drink containers covered by the five-cent deposit. Others, like Fareway employees, flooded the capitol today to ask lawmakers to get rid of the current law, as it puts piles of dirty cans in their stores.
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