Better Bottle Bills

Deposit-return systems (DRS) for beverage containers — or “Bottle Bills”— allow communities to run cleaner while spending less on waste disposal. Bottle Bills can also create economic opportunities for marginalized people who want to work. But the design of a system will determine how effective it is.

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Using our experience and waste pickers’  expertise, NAWPA affiliates have established a set of 6 PRINCIPLES to make Bottle Bills work best — for everyone.

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About Bottle Bills and why they matter

Bottle Bills legislate deposit-return systems, through which people pay a deposit when they purchase a beverage, and can return the empty container for a refund on that deposit. This creates an incentive to return the empty container for recycling.

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Governments put these systems in place because they are effective at increasing recycling rates, reducing litter and diverting material from expensive landfills. Almost all Canadian provinces and 10 U.S. states have some type of Bottle Bill on the books.

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Deposit-return systems have another important outcome: they create a low-barrier income source for people in our communities who work as waste pickers.

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Waste pickers are vital to recycling success

Many consumers don’t want to redeem their containers. Some can’t even be bothered to find a bin, instead tossing their empty containers along roadways and waterways, in parks and parking lots.

This is where informal waste pickers come in.

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Waste pickers — who may call themselves canners, binners, diverters or valoristes, among many other names — collect beverage containers and make sure they end up in the recycling system. Even in instances where they remove cans and bottles from recycling bins, they improve outcomes, since material that has been sorted and processed through a depot is more likely to be recycled nearby, while mixed waste from curbside pick-up may never be recycled.

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The waste pickers gain income while playing a vital role in keeping communities cleaner and landfills lasting longer.

 

6 Principles for a Better Bottle Bill

 

1. Refund amounts must be high enough to encourage recycling. NAWPA recommends 10 cents as a minimum — but higher rates can improve recycling rates.

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Bottle deposits reflect both the material and societal value of recycling beverage containers. The higher the deposit and refund, the better the incentive to recycle, whether by consumers or waste pickers. In 2025, jurisdictions with the highest recycling rates — places like Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta and Michigan—all have at least a 10-cent refundable deposit. And when Connecticut doubled its deposit-refund amount to 10 cents in 2024, it saw its redemption rate jump from 44% to 65% in a single year.

2.  Handling fees should be paid by producers and must cover the real costs of receiving and processing materials.

Handling fees are essential to cover the costs of receiving, processing, storing and transporting recyclables. Deposit-return systems should be a form of extended producer responsibility (EPR). Producers – the companies that profit from putting beverages in non-refillable packaging — should be responsible for funding the recycling of that packaging. This is best achieved through a per-container fee. If charged back to the consumer, this cost should be transparent and separate — not included as part of the deposit – with producers able to show how the fee is used.

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Handling fees must be adequate to fund the true costs associated with recycling and/or reuse, and should create conditions for an independent recycling network to develop (see Principle 5). This will improve recycling rates while providing essential income opportunities for waste pickers.

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• Extended Producer Responsibility and waste pickers 

• Sure We Can and Ground Score’s Position on Inclusive EPR

3. Regular reassessment of deposit/refund amounts and handling fees should be built into the legislative framework.

Every Bottle Bill should require that deposit and refund amounts are reassessed every two years to ensure they are adequate to motivate high recycling rates.

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Handling costs vary and will invariably increase over time, so legislation should not lock in a specific amount for a handling fee. Rather, a good Bottle Bill will stipulate a method for setting and regularly revising a handling fee that is sufficient to cover real costs and keep the system financially viable—and to provide decent formal work for those who operate the system.

4. Handling fees should be available to all entities that receive and process returned containers, including depots run by waste picker organizations.  

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Deposit-return systems with good handling fee policies create a vibrant recycling landscape that includes retailers, for-profit depots and not-for-profit depots.

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Return-to-retailer systems, while convenient for consumers to redeem deposits, can have challenges. Many retailers lack the space and expertise to receive, sort and store a large quantity of used beverage containers. Recycling depots, on the other hand, are purpose-built for this — and they create good low barrier jobs in communities.

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Social enterprises have proven successful at operating depots. Some employ people who have been engaged in informal recycling for years — waste pickers — and have tremendous expertise in recycling. Examples include: Sure We Can in New York City and The People’s Depot in Portland, Oregon. Other models do not directly employ but serve waste pickers, such as Vancouver’s United We Can.

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Ideally, policies should articulate that waste pickers have a role in the redemption system, since they are responsible for collecting large quantities of beverage containers consumed out-of-home. Their organizations should be eligible for handling fees and should not be shut out by permit limitations. In Montreal, Cooperative les Valoristes fought for 10 years to access the handling fee under Quebec’s system, although they were doing the important work of accepting containers for recycling (previously, only retailers received the handling fee). Now, the Cooperative receives the handling fee, allowing them to open for more hours, process larger amounts of recyclables, and provide decent work for 7 people, including 5 valoristes.

5. Everyone should be able to redeem containers, with access to venues that have no limits on how many containers can be redeemed.

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A good Bottle Bill makes recycling easy for everyone. Sites where people can return containers should be plentiful and accessible. Lower-income households, as well as those who live in rural and remote areas, are disadvantaged if they have to travel great distances, especially where public transportation is lacking.

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Accessibility also refers to refunds: marginalized individuals often don’t have bank accounts or access to digital refund systems, so cash refunds are critical.

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Waste pickers are prolific recyclers — which makes communities cleaner, diverts tons of material from landfills and waterways, and helps achieve the highest recycling rates possible. Formal recyclers and producers/distributors profit from the unpaid labor of waste pickers, who often sort materials for free. To earn their income, it is essential that waste pickers can redeem significant quantities at a time; the system must give them access to venues with no limits on the volume of containers redeemed.

6. Funds from unredeemed deposits should go back into the system to improve outcomes for recycling and for those whose work diverts so much waste.

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Millions of dollars worth of deposits are never redeemed. Legislation should require these funds to strengthen recycling programs to ensure more waste is diverted, and to fund programs for the informal recyclers who help make the systems effective.

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Waste pickers provide an essential service with broad-reaching benefits for local governments, industry players, the public and the environment. Waste pickers need better access to materials and deposits and handling fees that keep up with inflation. They also require better compensation through formal pathways to work.

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Bottle Bills can make the world better for everyone

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As we move away from wasting our world, NAWPA believes that a just transition for waste pickers, whose livelihoods have long relied on this income, requires the creation of decent work offering benefits and dignity.