Jean Cronin, Executive Director, CT Package Stores Association
By Jean Cronin, Executive Director, CT Package Stores Association
Connecticut was the first and only state in the region to pass legislation increasing their bottle deposit from five to ten cents in 2021. The legislation increased the number of beverage containers such as energy drink, fruit drinks, and others that would be included in the state’s bottle bill and be eligible for a deposit.
In January of 2024, the deposit increased to ten cents per beverage container that was now included in the bottle bill. Right away the state saw an increase in the number of beverage containers that were being redeemed at retail stores, reverse vending machines, and redemption centers.
The percentage increased steadily from the mid forty percentage range of containers returned over that spring into early summer of 2024. In August of 2024, certain distributors started to see their returns top over one hundred percent return rate. Receiving over one hundred percent return rate was something that had never been seen before in the history of the bottle bill.
It was also alarming since the return rate was only calculated by containers returned at stores, reverse vending machines, or redemption centers. Those containers that were simply recycled in the “blue bin” recycling bin or tossed in the trash were not counted in the recycling rates. It was becoming clear that containers were being transported into the state and that fraud was occurring by bad actors.
Flash forward to the years of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, and redemption rates for some wholesalers is topping out at 148% percent returned. The sheer volume to hit that level of a percentage is in the hundreds of thousands of containers sold. The cherry on top of all of that? The percentage of Americans drinking has hit historic lows in the years of 2025 and 2026.
So, what is Connecticut going to do about this? Money was put into the 2025 state budget to give to the Connecticut State Police money to start to enforce the laws that outlaw the redemption of out of state beverage containers. Unfortunately, this is more of a difficult task than one might think.
A can sold in New York and a can sold in Connecticut looks exactly the same. There is no identifying barcode depending on where it is sold. Legislation that was passed in Michigan that mandated a state specific barcode was found to violate the interstate commerce law.
This current session, Senate Bill 516 looks to address the possibility of returning to five cents. The language in the bill considers the return to five cents after a thoughtful review of the data over a set period. The review would see if the Connecticut redemption rate was over one hundred percent. If the rate was consistently over one hundred percent, the possibility to return to five cents would be a possibility.
Time will tell if the redemption rate continues to be over 100% given the legislatures passage of Public Act 26-2 earlier in the session. That Public Act limits the amount of containers a person can redeem in a day as well as increasing penalties and encourage local law enforcement to enforce bottle bill violations that they observe.
Jean Cronin is the President of Hughes & Cronin Public Affairs Strategies, where she is responsible for developing and implementing legislative initiatives for the firm’s clients, and directing a variety of trade and professional associations managed by the firm. Cronin joined the firm in 1986 after serving as a communications strategist for the Connecticut Senate Majority Office, where she became well-versed in the politics and insight of the State Capitol. She is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Package Stores Association, following the passing of longtime director, Carroll J. Hughes.
