Locals receive legislative update at town hall meeting

On March 10, Iowa Senator Dennis Guth and Representative Terry Baxter spoke with Clarion area residents at the Depot. Seventeen visitors listened to an overview of what’s going on in the state legislature and brought up some concerns of their own.

One local asked about the news that the state may end the current bottle and can redemption program. Baxter confirmed that the house was considering the bill (House Study Bill 163), but added that the goal is to make changes to the state recycling system as a whole. “The actual intention is to look at something much bigger and broader,” Baxter said.

The problem with the current can redemption law, Baxter said, is that redemption centers are generally located at grocery stores, and contaminated containers being brought to a place that sells fresh food creates a sanitation issue. He said there was still interest in the redeeming program—“85 percent of cans and bottles that have deposits are redeemed right now in Iowa,” he said—but those redeemable containers make up only 3 percent of all recyclables in Iowa. Changes to the redemption bill would have the deposits on bottles go toward recycling and litter reduction programs. However, the change has not yet been made.

For the full story, see the March 16 edition of the Monitor.