Maryland Bottle Bill

Surfrider Foundation is calling on Governor Moore and our Maryland State elected officials to pass the Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program Bill (HB 735 and SB 642), commonly known as the “bottle bill”.

About 5.2 billion beverage containers are sold in Maryland annually, but only 23% of them are recycled. The rest of the bottles are either incinerated, landfilled, or littered. No surprise that bottles are one of the top items found in beach cleanups. 

Littered plastic bottles are part of the plastic pollution crisis; plastic particles have been found in drinking water, food, human bodies, and in practically every inch of the globe. This pollution poses significant health risks to humans, especially those in underserved communities where the majority of plastic manufacturing and waste management infrastructure is located. 

Bottle bills are a proven way to drastically increase the rate of recycling for beverage containers, reducing the need to manufacture virgin bottles and lessening the amount incinerated or landfilled. Two states – Michigan and Oregon – have achieved recycling rates of 90% with a 10-cent deposit.

How it works: Customers pay a small deposit when they purchase beverage containers, which is then refunded to them when they return the container to a retailer or redemption facility. The program is self-financing, saving costs to taxpayers and local governments. A share of the unclaimed deposits will fund a grant program for development of refill/reuse bottle systems.

Bottle bills are proven policies to reduce litter, increase recycling rates, and increase the use of recycled materials--help us pass a bottle bill in Maryland, take a few minutes and send your elected official a message about this bill!