By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Sorting out the bottle bill

Those making the policy fail to see the real problem

I hate cans and bottles. I don’t like seeing them littered in the ditches, but I really despise taking them in for redemption purposes. It all stems from a high school job I had at a gas station where we sold beer and pop. In accordance with Iowa law, we also served as a location for redemption. Taking these cans back was one of the nastiest tasks we had to do. A few cans here and there weren’t the problem; it was the garbage sacks full of the stinky, slimy, bug infested aluminum that made our stomachs turn.

My buddy, Ian, whom I often worked with at the station, had a great eye. He could spot people coming in with these bags over their shoulders from a mile away. He then would conveniently sneak out to stock the cooler, measure the outside tanks, or use the restroom so that I would be stuck pulling each stinking can from the bag and counting them out on cardboard flats.

I can’t argue with the success of the redemption program and the bottle bill in our state. I vividly remember when our highway ditches had more trash than grass. The litter was disgusting, and I am glad that Gov. Robert Ray and the state legislators did something about it. The intent was certainly good; the process is not. And whether any proposed increase is called a reimbursement or a tax is irrelevant. I am guessing that those proposing the policy have never had to deal with the filth of can or bottle redemption. A day’s work sorting the returns might give them all a different perspective.

Reporter Jared Curtis shares thoughts from a variety of Iowans who are close to the redemption process in this week’s cover story about the rise and fall of the bottle bill and where it may go from here.

Thanks for reading.

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