The Dirty Bottle Bill is Wrong for D.C.
The Dirty Bottle Bill is Wrong for D.C.
The Smart Recycling DC Coalition, made up of local businesses, community leaders, and neighbors from across the District, stands united against the Dirty Bottle Bill (B26-0058).
Why? Because this harmful mandate threatens public health, punishes small businesses, and disrupts our neighborhoods while failing to deliver real recycling results.
D.C. is facing big challenges: threats to home rule, federal job losses, rising costs, and public safety concerns. The Council should be focused on solving these pressing problems, not pushing a Dirty Bottle Bill that will make our neighborhoods less safe, hurt businesses, and make recycling harder for residents.
A Public Health Risk We Can’t Afford
Trash does not belong next to groceries. Yet the Dirty Bottle Bill would require neighborhood stores and groceries to accept, sort, and store filthy, used bottles and cans often contaminated with leftover liquid, food, or worse.
D.C. is already battling a rat and pest crisis. This bill will make it worse.
Bad for Neighborhoods,
Tough on Small Businesses
From Wards 1 through 8, local businesses do not have the space to pile up sticky containers.
But that’s what the Dirty Bottle Bill will do,
in addition to forcing local businesses to pay potentially unlimited cash refunds to customers for each container.
The result is more trash, more traffic, more noise, and more pests—and less financial stability for local businesses.
Small, independent shops, corner markets, and restaurants will be forced to cut jobs, shrink operations, or close their doors altogether.
Higher Costs, Fewer Choices
The Dirty Bottle Bill raises prices for families and businesses, pushing shoppers to Maryland and Virginia where there is no deposit.
That means lost sales, lost jobs, and lost tax revenue.
On top of that, compliance headaches will reduce consumer choice, especially from small and craft beverage producers.
Why We Oppose the Dirty Bottle Bill
Higher Costs
New staffing, storage, and sanitation requirements will raise costs for businesses and families.
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Business Strain
The bill diverts local businesses from their core mission. They cannot absorb new costs or reconfigure limited space.
Public Health Risks
In-store storage of dirty containers will worsen D.C.’s rodent and pest problems and put workers and consumers at risk.
Fewer Consumer Choices
Compliance pressures will push out small, craft, and premium beverage brands.
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