The $35 Million State Windfall – Bottle Deposits

Each year, the state collects millions of dollars in unclaimed bottle deposits; the latest estimate is $35 million. Where does that come from? You and me.

You see, when we go to Stop & Shop and buy that case of Poland Spring water, we give the store $1.20 as a deposit (24 bottles times a nickel per bottle). If you don’t return the bottles, does the store get to keep the deposit? No, it has to give it to the state.

Where do all these bottles go that don’t get returned to the stores? Some people take them to redemption centers, and they return them. Some get thrown out car windows, some go into the trash. But a good portion of them get put into single stream recycling barrels, where they go to a recycler and get processed like any other plastic, glass or can.

Why does this happen? Why don’t people just take them back to the store? There are a lot of reasons.

Stores will only take back what they sell. ShopRite isn’t going to take back Stop & Shop bottles because they didn’t collect the nickel, so if they give you a nickel, they are out a nickel. Some people don’t care - they just throw the container away, and after all, it is just a nickel. Some people put it in single stream recycling bins, thinking that they are doing the right thing. Yes, they are doing the right thing - the containers are being recycled, but the nickel is being given to the state.

So what can you do if you don’t want to run around from store to store returning your empty bottles and cans? There are several recycling centers around the state to where you can take them, as they will redeem most (if not all) bottles and cans that have a CT deposit. You can give them to charity. In Enfield, there is a “Cans for Kids” box on Raffia Road where you can drop them off, and the proceeds go to the Children’s Hospital.

The Scouts have their red box in Enfield at the Moose Lodge on South Road. Many other town Scout troops collect them throughout the year. You can contact your town’s recycling coordinator; they may know of other ongoing efforts.

Please do what you can to ensure bottle and can nickel deposits get redeemed.

Jeff Myjak, a Middletown resident, has been involved in environmental issues for many years. He formerly served as chair of Enfield’s Clean Energy Commission and the Enfield Energy Alliance.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen

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