DNR swamped with bottle and can redemption calls

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been swamped with calls from people wanting to know about the so-called bottle bill and the developing mess with grocery stores refusing to take back cans and bottles for the five-cent deposit. D-N-R program planner Jeff Geerts says a wealth of information is online. Geerts says people can go to “www.iowadnr.com” and click on “Bottle Deposit Law Updates” under Reminder/News. The web page lists all approved redemption centers, a summary of the law, the actual law and all corresponding rules and a list of commonly asked questions and answers.Last week, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller threatened to take Fareway to court as the grocery chain is refusing to take cans and bottles back and some locations don’t have redemption centers close enough in location to satisfy the law. Geerts says the Fareway situation has prompted many questions about redemption centers. He says 84 retailers statewide are approved to no longer accept containers and they’re all listed on the website. Attorney General Miller was asked for an on the issue during a news conference today (Monday). He says they sent out what they thought was a very clear message to the industry that they have to comply with the law and he says, “We’re still sort of monitoring that and seeing how that is working out.”