National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 2001

H.R. 845, the National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 2001, proposed a nationwide mandatory ten-cent deposit on most beverage containers to encourage recycling and reduce litter. Under this bill, consumers would pay an extra ten cents at the time of purchase and receive that money back upon returning the empty container to a retailer or redemption center. The legislation also aimed to reduce waste by banning detachable "pop-top" metal tabs and prohibiting beverage containers from being disposed of in landfills.

For everyday citizens, this bill would have standardized the "bottle bill" experience currently found in only a few states, making beverage containers more expensive at the register but providing a financial incentive for recycling. States that already achieved an 80% recycling rate or had similar laws in place would have been exempt from these federal requirements. Additionally, the bill ensured that the ten-cent deposit would not be subject to state or local sales taxes, and any unclaimed deposits would be directed toward state-level environmental and pollution prevention programs.