Reduce, Reuse, Refill! Prepared by Brenda Platt, Project Director and Co-Author Doug Rowe, Primary Researcher and Co-Author Institute for Local Self-Reliance 2425 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-4108 fax (202) 332-0463 www.ilsr.org/recycling With support from the GrassRoots Recycling Network Athens, GA April 2002 When citing information from this document, please reference: Brenda Platt and Doug Rowe, Reduce, Reuse, Refill! (Washington, DC: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, April 2002), produced under a joint project with the GrassRoots Recycling Network. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................ 1 THE BASIC REFILLING SYSTEM .................................................................................................................................. 2 SOME OBSERVATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 3 THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS................................. 5 LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.................................................................................................. 5 WHAT LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSES MOST OFTEN REVEAL ............................................................................................... 6 ENVIRONMENTAL COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................. 9 THE ECONOMICS OF REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS............................................................... 10 ESTABLISHING REFILLING SYSTEMS ........................................................................................................................ 10 COSTS AND BENEFITS OF ESTABLISHED REFILLING SYSTEMS.................................................................................. 11 BENEFITS TO SOCIETY .............................................................................................................................................. 13 POLICIES TO PROMOTE REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS ........................................................ 16 DEPOSIT LAWS ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 ECO-TAXES............................................................................................................................................................... 18 QUOTAS.................................................................................................................................................................... 20 BANS ........................................................................................................................................................................ 20 AGREEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................... 21 CANADA'S EXPERIENCE WITH REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS............................................ 22 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ......................................................................................................................................... 22 NEW BRUNSWICK..................................................................................................................................................... 23 QUEBEC .................................................................................................................................................................... 24 ONTARIO .................................................................................................................................................................. 25 WESTERN EUROPE'S EXPERIENCE WITH REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS ....................... 27 OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................................................ 27 DENMARK................................................................................................................................................................. 29 FINLAND................................................................................................................................................................... 31 GERMANY................................................................................................................................................................. 33 THE NETHERLANDS .................................................................................................................................................. 36 OTHER NATIONS....................................................................................................................................................... 36 LATIN AMERICA'S EXPERIENCE WITH REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS............................ 40 MEXICO .................................................................................................................................................................... 40 BRAZIL ..................................................................................................................................................................... 40 ARGENTINA .............................................................................................................................................................. 41 AMERICA'S EXPERIENCE WITH REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS ......................................... 42 HISTORY................................................................................................................................................................... 42 U.S. POLICIES........................................................................................................................................................... 44 REFILLING IN THE U.S. TODAY ................................................................................................................................ 45 REVIVING BEVERAGE CONTAINER REFILLING IN THE U.S................................................................... 46 HALF-TRUTHS VS. FACTS ........................................................................................................................................ 48 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 49 REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS---BACKGROUND READING........................................................................... 49 REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS---ECONOMICS .............................................................................................. 49 REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS---ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS ...................................................................... 50 REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS---POLICIES ................................................................................................... 52 REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS---CANADA ................................................................................................... 52 REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS---EUROPE..................................................................................................... 55 DEPOSIT-RETURN SYSTEMS ..................................................................................................................................... 57 THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY ....................................................................................................................................... 57 LINKS TO INFORMATION ON REFILLABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINERS............................................... 59 ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.......................................................................................................................... 59 INFORMATION SOURCES ........................................................................................................................................... 60 BEVERAGE ASSOCIATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 61 BEVERAGE COMPANIES............................................................................................................................................ 64 GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS............................................................................................................................... 65 PACKAGING ASSOCIATIONS...................................................................................................................................... 67 LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS............................................................................................................................................. 68 END NOTES............................................................................................................................................................... 69 Acknowledgments With partial funding from the GrassRoots Recycling Network, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance researched and wrote this report about refillable beverage containers. Doug Rowe and Brenda Platt co- authored this report. Doug Rowe was the primary researcher. Brenda Platt directed the project.