1. Sample Topic of Container Deposit Legislation
Operation Graduation
Sample Topic of
Container Deposit Legislation

2. Container deposit legislation
Government Action identified:
laws passed by city, state, provincial, or national governments that require that a deposit on carbonated, water or alcoholic beverage containers be collected when the beverage is sold.

3. Container deposit legislation
Identification of the significant number of people affected.
consumers
retailers/stores
businesses that make the bottles/cans
businesses that recycle the bottles/cans

4. Newman figures out a way to benefit financially from recycling used pop bottles and
cans, in episode 7-21, 'The Bottle Deposit, Part 1', of Seinfeld.

5. Container deposit legislation
Identification of significant people and/or groups
Anti- Law
U.S. beverage container industry
the corporate owners of grocery stores, and convenience stores
consumers

6. Container deposit legislation
Identification of significant people and/or groups
For the law
Environmentalists
Doctors
consumers

7. Container deposit legislation
Background
Political Development
popularly called bottle bills after the Oregon Bottle Bill, the first container deposit legislation passed in the U.S.
39 States currently do not have any laws

8. Container deposit legislation
Background
According to 2004 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, approximately 30% of the U.S. population currently reside in states or territories with existing container deposit laws:
California (5 cents; 10 cents for bottles 24 fl oz or greater), implemented in 1987 and increased 25% in 2007
Connecticut (5 cents), 1980
Delaware (5 cents), 1982
Hawaii (5 cents), 2005
Iowa (5 cents), 1979 (also applies to wine bottles)
Maine (5 cents, 15 cents for some wine bottles), 1978
Massachusetts (5 cents), 1983
Michigan (10 cents), 1978 (beer bottles were 5 cents until the 1980s)
New York (5 cents), 1982
Oregon (5 cents), 1972
Vermont (5 cents), 1973

9. Container deposit legislation
Economic
to specifically reduce beverage container litter along highways, in lakes and rivers, and on other public or private properties (where beverage container litter occurs, a nominal deposit provides an economic incentive to clean it up
this is in fact a significant source of income to some homeless individuals and non-profit civic organizations)

10. Container deposit legislation
Economic
Deposits that are not redeemed are oftentimes used by the governmental entity involved to fund environmental programs
sometimes they are used to cover the costs of processing returned containers.

11. Container deposit legislation
Social
to encourage recycling and complement existing curbside recycling programs
to extend the usable lifetime of taxpayer- supported community or regional landfills
to protect children by effectively reducing the incidence of glass lacerations in childhood.

12. Container deposit legislation
Social
Studies show that beverage container legislation has reduced total roadside litter by between 30% and 64% in the states with bottle bills
The US beverage container recycling rate was 39.4% in 2001.
States with bottle bills recycle approximately 78% while states lacking bottle bill legislation only recycle approximately 23%

13. Container deposit legislation
Kramer and Newman: Nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine bottle and cans in the trunk, nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety- nine bottles and cans. At ten cents a bottle and ten cents a can, we're pulling in five hundred dollars a man. Nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight bottle and cans in the trunk, nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight bottles and cans. We fill up with gas, we count up our cash!!...
Seinfeld Episode Number: 132    Season Num: 7    First Aired: Thursday May 2, 1996   
Prod Code: 722

14. Kramer and Newman swing into action in recycling used pop bottles and cans

15. Seinfeld trivia
Michigan Law prohibits the return of out of state bottle returns.
In addition any bottle returns made cannot be in excess of $25.
According to Newman and Kramer they had a total of $1000 in bottle returns, which came to $500 for each of them.
If completed it would have taken 40 individual trips to stores to make the returns in order to complete their goal

16. Container deposit legislation