D.C.’s bottle bill will drastically reduce litter in our neighborhoods and rivers.

The Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025 is major environmental legislation that would drastically reduce litter in streets, parks and rivers by placing a refundable 10-cent deposit on beverage containers sold in the District.  

It establishes a beverage container deposit program in the District in which retailers collect a 10-cent deposit on applicable beverages and consumers are refunded that deposit when they return the empty beverage containers to be recycled – meaning it does not add to the cost of a beverage. The program, which would be managed by a nonprofit funded by beverage distributors, would be overseen and enforced by the Department of Energy and the Environment.  

The District of Columbia has a significant litter issue. Of particular concern are beverage containers, which end up on the ground and in our waterways by the ton. Plastic bottles alone account for 60 percent of the weight of all trash retrieved from the Anacostia River. Many of these containers end up going to landfill rather than getting recycled.  

Beverage container deposit programs have been shown to have a significant impact on increasing recycling rates and reducing overall litter. The 10 states that have passed and implemented similar legislation witnessed immediate and significant reductions in bottles and cans from the waste stream, because residents, visitors, and collectors alike are incentivized to redeem their containers. In Michigan, the return rate for bottles is 73 percent. In Maine, it’s 77 percent. These programs have also reduced other litter.   

Councilmember Nadeau introduced the legislation in January 2025, with Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and nine other councilmembers joining as co-introducers. 

Why does D.C. need a bottle bill?

• D.C. has a significant litter issue. Tons of beverage containers end up on the ground and in our waterways: 337 million plastic bottles are sold in the District each year, but only 64 million get recycled.  
• Plastic bottles alone account for 60% – three-fifths – by weight of all the trash floating on the Anacostia River and lining its banks. 
• Just ONE trash trap on Nash Run – a tributary to the Anacostia River (small stream with the drainage area of 460 acres (0.7 square miles)) – over two years collected 3,300 pounds of trash (dry-weight, all bottles and cans were emptied) before making it into the river. Nearly half of that was plastic bottles. 
• These bottles and cans make our streets less appealing, harm fish and other wildlife, and impact the Chesapeake Bay, one of the most productive estuaries in the world – with over 3,600 species of animals and plants.  
• They also contribute to floating islands of trash in the ocean. Scientists tell us that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight. 
• Even when they make it into the recycling stream, plastic bottles are often contaminated, because the District relies on a single stream recycling system. Contaminated containers are ultimately rejected by recycling facilities and end up at an incinerator or landfill, where they contribute to toxic greenhouse gases.  

Bottle bills work!

• The District’s bottle bill is projected to increase recycling rates by more than three times and cut wasted containers – those that end up in the incinerator, landfill, or the environment – by five times. 
• In Michigan, the return rate for bottles is 73%. In Maine, it’s 77%. In five of the six states with at least a 10-cent deposit, the redemption rate is over 50%. According to the Container Recycling Institute, the District currently recycles 24 percent of beverage containers. 
• Bottle bills save cities money, because so much weight that would have gone into the trash or into traditional recycling now bypasses that. D.C.’s curbside recycling (DPW) weight would drop about 20%. 
• Bottle bills promote environmental justice. It will reduce the disproportionate amount of litter ending up in wards 5, 7, and 8, along the Anacostia River, and greatly reduce the material that gets burned up at the incinerator in Lorton, Virginia, a predominantly Black and Brown community, where the facility emits toxic chemicals. 
• Bottle bills generate income for entrepreneurs, including people who have no other income and earn money by collecting bottles they remove from the trash and the street, and businesses that help collect and move bottles and cans for recycling.  

D.C.’s bottle bill

If the bill passes, D.C. would be the first state in over 20 years to implement a bottle bill. (Maryland has also introduced a bill this year.) 

The Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Amendment Act of 2025 (the “bottle bill”) fundamentally changes a significant portion of the recycling ecosystem to help the District achieve what we all thought recycling was supposed to achieve. 

The bill establishes a beverage container deposit program in the District: consumers pay a 10-cent deposit on applicable beverages and are refunded that deposit when they return the empty beverage containers to be recycled. The program, which would be managed by a nonprofit funded by beverage distributors, would be overseen and enforced by the Department of Energy and the Environment.  

Bottle bills have been shown to have a significant impact, increasing recycling rates and reducing overall litter. It’s been done in 10 other states and the facts are clear and overwhelming. 

Establishes a beverage container deposit program, to be overseen and enforced by DOEE. This will include all beverage containers of all materials other than those containing milk, baby formula, or medications.  

Life cycle of the beverage container deposit

Customers

• Customer pays retailer a 10 cent deposit on bottles and cans
• Customer get their 10 cents back when they return the bottles or cans to a store, reverse vending machine, or redemption center.

After redeeming their containers, beverages cost nothing more to the customer than they did before.

Retailers

• Retailer has multiple methods to recoup 10 cents per container from distributors and receives 4 cents per beverage container handling fee for each container

Exempted

• Very small retailers (less than 2,000 square feet) are not required to collect/redeem containers
• Hotels, restaurants, and bars that serve beverages on premises are not required to charge, collect, or reimburse deposits

What’s Next?

Bill 25-0058 has been referred to the Committee on Business and Economic Development, where it must have a hearing by July 4, and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, which will likely hold a hearing after the Council returns from recess in September. 

After both committees “markup” the bill, it will go to the full Council for a vote.

Frequently Asked Questions

What beverage containers will require deposits? 

The bill would require deposits to recycle glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans, from 50 milliliters (1.7 ounces) to three liters (just over three quarts). Dairy, infant formula, and medications are excluded. 

Pouches and cartons are not included because there are no recycling markets for them.  

How do people get money back from a reverse vending machine (RVM) or redemption center? 

The RVM will print a ticket for a deposit return which people can bring into the store for a cash refund or to use as a credit if making a purchase. Redemption centers will issue a cash refund or immediately credit the refund to an individual’s bottle bill account. Retailers may refund deposits directly to customers redeeming containers in their stores. 

How will this impact the cost of beverages? 

The price of the beverage does not change. Retailers will collect an additional 10-cent deposit from customers, who then get it back when they return the used container. Experience in other states with bottle bills shows that manufacturers and distributors do not increase the price on their products when a bottle bill is implemented. 

How does the deposit return system work on the retailer end?  

Retailers would get paid a “handling fee” by a nonprofit organization set up and paid for by beverage distributors  for every bottle and can they take back. Participating retailers would be required to accept beverage containers any time their business is open. They’d be required to accept any beverage container of the same types sold at the establishment, regardless of whether the container was actually sold there. 

Retailers can accept beverage containers for redemption in a number of ways: 

• Direct take-back by the retailers 

• Reverse vending machines 

• Bag drop program 

Retailers would have to maintain a dedicated area in their business to accept beverage containers for redemption. 

How will the bill impact mom & pop stores? 

Stores with under 2000 sq ft devoted to the display of merchandise are exempted from the requirement to redeem beverage containers. Mom & pop stores can opt-in if they want, and we hope they will! DOEE is authorized to set a minimum number of return locations in underserved areas.  

Will I get my deposit back in cash? 

Refunds for a container are required to be in cash, in the form of a receipt from a reverse vending machine that can be exchanged for cash within 60 days, or credited to an account. 

Are there any circumstances under which a retailer would not be required to accept a beverage container? 

Yes. If the container: 

• Is not clean 

• Is broken 

• Contains unexpected materials in it 

• Or of the retailer believes it was not sold in the District (the bill encourages District-specific labeling on beverage containers sold in the District.) 

Will there be enough places to redeem in all parts of the city? 

Yes. The bill requires the nonprofit beverage stewardship organization set up by the distributors to develop a plan that includes a sufficient number of redemption locations throughout the city and DOEE has the ability to direct the nonprofit to add locations to meet the need. 

What are the costs to the District? 

Minimal to no cost. DOEE’s oversight costs will be covered by a registration fee beverage distributors will pay the agency, any penalties assessed to the beverage container stewardship organization for not meeting its obligations under the bill, and unclaimed deposits. 

What happens to unredeemed deposits? 

The beverage container stewardship organization transfers 75% of all unredeemed deposits to a District Recycling Fund. The beverage container stewardship organization retains 25% of unredeemed deposits to cover their costs of administering the program.  

What is the District Recycling Fund? 

The Fund is used to pay for: 

1. The cost to the District of implementing and oversight; 

2. Providing water filters to low-income residents whose lead service lines have not been replaced; 

3. Installing reverse vending machines (RVM’s); 

4. Installing water bottle refill stations in public spaces in the District; and 

5. Other programs to increase beverage container reuse and refill in the District. 

Will this impact sales figures for retailers and beverage companies? 
The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) and the Reloop Platform studied the issue and found no evidence that bottle bills result in lost sales to beverage companies. 

How is this expected to affect the District’s rate of recycling? 
The Container Recycling Institute projects that the District bottle bill will lead to an 85% recycling rate for beverage containers, up from 24% currently. A bottle bill means 524.5 million bottles and cans will be recycled in DC – a huge increase. 

Will people be able to scam the system – bringing in empty containers purchased in Maryland and Virginia? 
No. Most bottle bill states share borders with non-bottle-bill states and have implemented measures to limit returns of out-of-state containers. Reverse vending machines can read market-specific codes and reject those not sold in the District. Other measures to curb fraud include educating residents to place any out-of-state containers in their recycling bins and implementing limits on the number of containers that can be returned at one time. 

Will this bill penalize consumers for shopping outside of the District? 
No. People who shop in Maryland or Virginia can continue buying there and continue placing their bottles and cans in the recycling bin, just as they do today. 

Which Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners have expressed support for the bill to move forward? 

Eight so far: ANC’s 2B, 2E, 3C, 4B, 5B, 5C, 5F, 6B