With China leaning hard on plastics exporters to dramatically boost bale quality, proponents of bottle bill laws stand firm that these laws are critical. Supporters assert such legislation generates more, and cleaner, materials. But manufacturers and retailers argue bottle deposit programs duplicate what curbside collection programs achieve and can cost a lot more to do so.
Meanwhile, 10 states have bottle bills: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Hawaii. Delaware had one but dropped it.