The bottle bill: Perceptions of inconvenience,litter and willingness to pay in Western New York

Returnable container legislation in New York requires that all carbonated soft drink and beer containers carry a minimum five-cent deposit and bans detachable metal tabs and nonbiodegradable plastic loops. A continuing environmental policy issue is whether the benefits of a less-littered environment and reduction of solid waste are greater than the increase in retail prices and inconvenience costs to the consumer. This paper reports consumer estimates of the inconvenience of returning beverage containers to a store, perceptions of the litter problem, and willingness to pay to reduce litter in Wellsville, NY. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents believe that litter is a major problem. Most important, 76% of those interviewed reported they were willing to pay 10 cents, and 42% thought they were willing to pay 15 cents to reduce litter. Nearly one-half of the respondents did not think returning containers to the store would be inconvenient, but 22% stated that the process would be inconvenient. Correlations between the attitudes and income, education, and age are reported. These findings will be of interest to New Yorkers as they evaluate the bottle bill, as well as to individuals in other states considering returnable container legislation.