Rep. Vivian Flowers(D-Pine Bluff) today introduced HB 1771 to require a five-cent deposit on beverage bottles, refundable when the bottles are returned for recycling.

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Such legislation has been attempted before in Arkansas and quashed by the powerful soft drink and alcoholic beverage lobbies.

The Arkansas Democratic Party, in announcing a news conference about the bill today, emphasized recycling and anti-litter as aims of various citizens groups backing the legislation. The bill is called the Arkansas Litter Reduction and Deposit Beverage Container Recycling Act. It would create a state agency to oversee the process and administer revenue collected by the deposit fee.

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According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 10 states currently have bottle bills.

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