DC's Bottle Bill Works for Us

Washington, D.C., is overrun by bottle and can pollution. Bottle bills are a proven solution! A strong, equitable District bottle bill will dramatically reduce trash, promote environmental justice, create jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The District deposit-return law–also known as a “bottle bill”–places a refundable 10-cent deposit on covered¹ beverage containers sold in the District. The deposit is immediately returned when the bottle or can is returned. Containers can be returned in grocery stores, chain stores, and other convenient sites, mainly through reverse vending machines. Beverage companies fund the program, saving the D.C. government and taxpayers the money they have been spending on endless cleanups and ineffective curbside recycling.

DC’s bottle bill cuts litter

Today, more than three-quarters of the bottles and cans sold in the District are not recycled. Instead, they are “wasted,” meaning they wind up buried in landfills, burned in incinerators, or dumped in our parks, neighborhoods and waterways. It’s no wonder the Anacostia River has been described by the Environmental Protection Agency as “impaired by trash,” with plastic bottles alone amounting to 60% by weight of all the trash floating on the river and lining its banks.² Bottle bills incentivize people to return bottles and cans they’ve used and pick up littered bottles and cans in their neighborhoods. Studies show that states with deposit return laws have reduced container litter from 69% to 84%.³ As shown in Figure 1, the District bottle bill will increase recycling rates by more than three times and cut wasted containers by five times. A bottle bill in the District would result in cleaner neighborhoods, parks and waterways.

DC’s bottle bill promotes environmental justice

Bottle and can pollution disproportionately impacts District neighborhoods that are already environmentally burdened.⁴ Much of the container litter in the District is in Wards 5, 7 and 8 along the Anacostia River. Meanwhile, the trash incinerator serving the District is located in Lorton, Virginia, a predominantly Black and Brown community. Our Lorton neighbors are forced to breathe toxic air emitted from the facility. ⁵

DC’s bottle bill is good for the climate

Increasing the recycled content of beverage containers reduces energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by reducing production.⁷ Implementing a deposit-return program is the equivalent of saving the energy needed to power more than 8,600 homes annually or taking nearly 8,900 gas-powered cars off our roadways.⁸

DC’s bottle bill creates more green jobs for District residents

Bottle bills create jobs for “canners” who collect recyclable containers and redeem them for deposit money. Some canners can even support their families on the income they earn. Bottle bills also create jobs to collect, sort and transport containers for recycling. Such bills are a boon for local employment by creating 11 to 38 times more jobs than curbside recycling as well as garbage collecting, hauling and landfilling.⁶

1 Aluminum cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles are covered under the DC Bottle Bill. Pouches and gable-top containers are not included because there are no recycling markets for them. All drinks except dairy and dairy alternatives are included.

2 Advocacy at Anacostia Riverkeeper

3 Litter studies in bottle bill states

4 CDC Environmental Justice Impact Explorer

5 Burned: Why Waste Incineration is Harmful

6 Reloop Fact Sheet: Deposit Return Systems Create More Jobs. Trash Incineration Fact Sheet.

7 Environmental Consequences of Beverage Container Waste

8 2021 Beverage Market Data Analysis, Container Recycling Institute, 2024.

Cole