Bottle Tax Bad Policy for WV

I am proud to represent the more than 250 members of the West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association (OMEGA).  Our membership, comprised of independent petroleum marketers, local convenience stores and hometown grocery stores, are the community businesses that provide jobs to state residents and keep West Virginia consumer’s money circulating in the community.  

On December 20, the Register Herald published an editorial entitled “Bottle tax would help curb littering”.  This piece argued that “any deposit fee on bottles will go a long way toward cleaning up our state” and that the bottle “tax” is not, necessarily, a tax.  

While steaming with chest-thumping bravado, the Register Herald editorial lacked the facts.  OMEGA believes that forced deposits do little to help the environment and impose a hidden, regressive tax on consumers.

As stand-alone efforts, forced deposit programs provide surprisingly little benefit for litter control or recycling. Even the most comprehensive bottle bill targeting all beverage containers only addresses 8.5 percent of roadside litter and 4 percent of municipal solid waste generated. Besides, the return rates achieved by deposit programs are dropping rapidly, especially in states where comprehensive recycling alternatives are widely accessible.

Don’t be mislead by the Register Herald’s statement that “this isn’t really a tax, it is a deposit”.  Make no mistake about it, this is a tax, and consumers would pay higher prices for most all beverages.

These higher prices would go to cover increased costs for beverage manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to operate the container redemption system and for handling fees. Consumers also lose their deposits if they do not take their containers back to designated redemption sites – even though they may still recycle the containers by other means. Unfortunately, these higher costs are borne disproportionately by those least able to pay – low-income families and seniors.

OMEGA convenience and grocery store members have more than 1,000 individual store locations throughout the state, many of which are located on our states’ borders.  Would a bottle tax affect their sales?  Of course it would, similar to how many state residents go out of state now to shop for groceries in states with lower sales tax.  A University of Kentucky study showed that border retail stores actually lose approximately 5 percent of their total retail business, because once consumers drive across the border they purchase other goods and services.

OMEGA members are hometown employers that live and work in our communities.  We, like the Register Herald, want our towns, cities and countryside to be free from trash and litter.  However, a new tax is not the solution.  Comprehensive recycling programs and litter control are better investments.