Aluminum Can Recycling/Rebate (house, buying, schools) - Maine (ME) - City-Data Forum

Chandler85 · 02-24-2009, 06:30 PM

I have looked around on the internet and can find no information as to the $.05 rebate for aluminum cans. Is there a website that anyone knows of that offers information about how they are accepted (crushed or not), locations to which to bring the cans, etc?

Thanks!

Chandler

kellysmith · 02-24-2009, 07:31 PM

It's not a rebate for aluminum cans, it's a return of the deposit that is paid when a soft drink container is purchased. The plan is if you pay a nickel deposit when you purchase the soft drink container you will have an incentive to make sure it gets recycled so you can get your nickel back. The container is clearly marked that a deposit has been paid. It's something like a $10,000 fine to turn in a can not marked for redemption. Even cans purchased in New Hampshire which are marked for redemption can not be legally turned in to a Maine redemption center. Don't know if anyone was ever charged with that offense, but the redemption center does look for the marking. No way to bring in cans from non-deposit states and make money...sorry.

BoundtofindME · 02-24-2009, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chandler85

I have looked around on the internet and can find no information as to the $.05 rebate for aluminum cans. Is there a website that anyone knows of that offers information about how they are accepted (crushed or not), locations to which to bring the cans, etc?

Thanks!

Chandler

Here's the website of the Maine Department of Agriculture responsible for overseeing the Maine bottle bill...don't know if particular info on here or not that you need..but this is the source.. (don't crush the cans if you bring them to a redemption center. Most redemption centers are located within each town or at the grocery stores.) Maine Department of Agriculture: Quality Assurance and Regulations: Bottle Bill

BrokenTap · 02-25-2009, 12:30 AM

Its not just cans anymore. Juice bottles, Gatorade bottles, drinkable yogurt bottles, in gallon, quart and pint sizes can all be brought back,and if you watch where you return your "bottle returns" you can get 6 cents for them instead of 5 cents and actually make a penny per return. Some redemption centers pay 6 cents instead of 5.

When it comes to Maine's bottle bill, the real question is, why isn't this a done in every state?

Chandler85 · 02-25-2009, 01:01 AM

Thanks All!

Kelly - so there is a mark on my Coke can in MN that would make it illegal to return it in Maine? It just shows the states that offers the return and the amounts and that is all I see.

starwalker · 02-25-2009, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chandler85

Thanks All!

Kelly - so there is a mark on my Coke can in MN that would make it illegal to return it in Maine? It just shows the states that offers the return and the amounts and that is all I see.

no, there is no such mark. And in fact I have returned a can/bottle or two bought on the road. There is (as far as I can tell) no other recycling in the state for bottles made of that sort of plastic, so in my way of thinking, I had no choice. I WILL NOT put "normally recyclable" material in the landfill.

Acadianlion · 02-25-2009, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chandler85

Thanks All!

Kelly - so there is a mark on my Coke can in MN that would make it illegal to return it in Maine? It just shows the states that offers the return and the amounts and that is all I see.

The bottler has collected the depost from the retailer who sold the can and its contents to you, and you paid the five cent deposit (15 cents for liquor) at time of sale. The deposit is returned to you when you turn the bottle in to the redemption center. A bottle from Minnesota would be illegal to return to Maine, because the deposit was not paid in Maine, to a Maine bottler or retailer.

I owned and operated a redemption center for a couple of years here in Maine. I used Tomra "reverse vending" machines like the large grocery stores have, and the machines would read the bar code on the can or bottle, and print a report that the Tomra Corporation used to get the deposit back from each bottler.

Maine has the most successful redemption program in the Nation, and the numbers of bottles returned is substantial. The redemption center earns three cents for every 5cent bottle or can returned, and I think it is 8 cents for every liquor bottle returned. This means that the redemption center is "buying" the cans and bottles and in terms of percentage, is receiving a very substantial return on that investment. The law is that the bottling company must return the deposit to the redemption center within two weeks. In theory it is can be a very good business if the numbers are large enough.

During the winter from time to time, I walk along some of the rural roads in town and over a mile or so will often pick up a dollar or two in redeemable cans and bottles. Why people pitch bottles and cans out of the car along the roadside is a mystery to me. But I'll take their money and get some exercise at the same time.

kellysmith · 02-25-2009, 07:04 AM

I believe it's the bar code that identifies the distributor. You might pass off a can or bottle not purchased from a Maine distributor that hasn't had a deposit paid on it, but basically you just stole 5 cents from the redemption center. When they turn the item in, the bar code will identify it as non-refundable (when run through a machine like Acadianlion describes). Many redemption centers have signs posted warning of the penalty for returning items not purchased in Maine, and as I stated earlier, it's many thousand dollars per item. Doubt if it's ever been enforced, but it's on the books. A redemption center that collects bottles and cans that have had a deposit paid for them is not the same as a recycling center that accepts aluminum cans. In some states, schools will go door to door collecting aluminum cans as a fund raiser. These cans are taken to a recyling center and they receive money based on the amount of scrap aluminum...no where near 5 cents a can. Can we dispell the notion that it's "OK" to attempt to return containers for deposit that have not had a deposit paid on them?

boonelsewhere · 02-25-2009, 07:11 AM

I noticed that too, went in the store buy bottle water, the price of case of water was a good price, but when paid for including bottle return fee, it would be cheaper to buy gallon size, now i have 48 empty bottles at my house in VA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

Its not just cans anymore. Juice bottles, Gatorade bottles, drinkable yogurt bottles, in gallon, quart and pint sizes can all be brought back,and if you watch where you return your "bottle returns" you can get 6 cents for them instead of 5 cents and actually make a penny per return. Some redemption centers pay 6 cents instead of 5.

When it comes to Maine's bottle bill, the real question is, why isn't this a done in every state?

Acadianlion · 02-25-2009, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boonelsewhere

I now i have 48 empty bottles at my house in VA.

If you load them into the back of your truck and take a little ride west, I think there are places out there in the woods where they will refill those with some special, locally brewed beverages.....and they don't charge a deposit on the containers that way, either.