New Haven Register: What recent changes to CT's 5-cent bottle return program mean for residents
While lawmakers approved those changes in 2021, lingering supply chain issues have resulted in many retailers being unable to secure orders of new products that are stamped with the proper “return for deposit” or other markers to signify the bottles and cans are eligible for a nickel redemption, according to state Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford.
For that reason, Gresko, co-chair of the Environment Committee, said that lawmakers chose to give a one-time exemption to allow retailers to sell older stocks of bottles and cans they have on hand at the end of the year once the new rules take effect on Jan. 1. Those changes were tucked into the end of the 28 pages of legislation that Connecticut lawmakers took upduring Monday’s special session in a bill signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont Tuesday.
Without the fix, Gresko said, retailers would have been forced to return unsold products without the proper stamps or dump them out.
“I thought, with the issues of supply chains all over the place, the last thing our consumers need is empty shelves,” Gresko said.
While the minor fix attracted little attention in the lead-up to the session focused on gas prices and home-heating assistance, Gresko said that it’s likely that the revision will end up having some impact on the amount of money returned to the state through unclaimed deposits.
Gresko said retailers have estimated that it will likely take a month or two before the older, unstamped bottles and cans stop circulating in return centers. How much the switch ends up costing in unfunded returns depends on how many people attempt to return products purchased in December and January — though the rate of returns has typically been under 50%.
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