There are new changes on the way for bottle and can deposits in Connecticut.
“I think overall it is great for recycling,” Bottle and Can Return Center owner Priyal Garala said.
Starting on Jan. 1, the bottle deposit amount is increasing from 5 to 10 cents. This means consumers will pay 10 cents when they buy certain drinks and get the money back when returning it.
Garala anticipates seeing more foot traffic at his bottle and can return centers across the state.
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“It’s definitely going to bring in more volume because from a nickel to 10 cents is a high incentive and people will not throw them away,” Garala said.
For customer Lisa McDonald, it will mean extra money in her pocket for leisure activities.
“Usually when we get the money back, we usually go out to eat or do something that's fun, sometimes we give it to our daughter,” Lisa McDonald, of East Hartford, said.
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Over the years, the type of beverages included in the “bottle bill” has increased, including water bottles, hard seltzer, coffee, tea, juice, kombucha, sports drinks and energy drinks.
Starting in the near year, the deposit amount will be doubled. All accepted bottles can still be redeemed, regardless of when they were purchased and if they still have the 5-cent label.
The House Chairman of the Environment Committee said the goal is to incentivize people to recycle.
“We were trying to boost redemption rates. Over the last forty years, since the bottle bill went into effect, and we had decent redemption rates, they continued to slide, as the value of the nickel got less and less,” Environment Committee House Chairman Rep. Joseph Gresko said.
An education campaign will launch in December in several grocery stores informing customers of all the new changes.
