2021-04-03_5:32pm

Dear Representative Fisher and Senator Edler,

I’m here to tell you that Iowa’s ancient 1970’s bottle law ain’t workin’ no more.

I picked up what you see in the attached photo (click on the blue map marker and the link inside the balloon), all in less than 1 mile, and only from one side of the road. I could not even count the number of water bottles, tea bottles, and tiny booze bottles I passed up since I was on my bike, and not walking this time around. Why did I pass them up? Because the basket on my bike is already full and I’m still a mile-and-a-half from home. I smashed all the cans just to make room for more. And my walking partners and I see this every day, everywhere we go in Iowa.

I don’t pick them up for the paltry $0.05 per container, my proceeds are dontated to the local archery club anyway. My friends and I do this because we are disgusted by all the trash along our streets and roadways.

If each container were worth a $0.25 refund, and if ALL capped beverage bottles and cans were included… well, the law might just work again. Just think of it as an adjustment for 50 years of inflation.