Bottle deposit laws, policy that requires the containers for carbonated beverages such as soft drinks and beer to carry a refundable deposit, have been a subject of controversy for more than thirty years. Designed to reduce waste by motivating more people to recycle bottles and cans, the strategy imposes a mandatory fee of usually five or ten cents per container that consumers pay at the cash register; when customers return the containers to stores selling the product or redemption centers, they get their deposit back. Since the concept was introduced in 1971 by Thomas Lawson McCall, then governor of the state of Oregon, the beverage industry has fought such legislation. Environmentalists and the recycling industry, however, have hailed the strategy as a major success.

Organizations such as the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) argue that the system is outdated, unnecessary, and inefficient. The program was...