What is 3R and How Does it Work?

Return, Refund and Recycle Coalition for DC (3RC for DC) is a growing coalition of environmental and community groups campaigning for the establishment of a return-refund-recycle system (3R system) in the District of Columbia, the same sort of system that has dramatically reduced litter and pollution in 10 U.S. states.

How would a 3R system work?

The District Council would pass a law requiring that consumers pay a 10¢ to 15¢ deposit on each plastic, glass, or aluminum beverage container. Upon returning (redeeming) the empty containers to a redemption center, bag drop location or grocery store reverse vending machine, you would receive a full refund on the deposit. The returned bottles and cans are then reused or recycled into new bottles and cans!

Why go to all that trouble?

Because the District’s neighborhoods, roads, parks, and waterways are being buried under trash. This pollution is an environmental justice issue, disproportionately affecting residents in lower income neighborhoods, and especially in Wards 5, 7, and 8. Aluminum cans and glass and plastic bottles are a huge part of the problem. More than half of the trash picked up in and along DC’s Anacostia River are bottles and cans – by far the most common trash items – and on a rainy day up to 80% of the visible trash flowing into the river are plastic bottles. There are curbside recycling programs in place, but they clearly are not doing the job. We need a better solution. We need a 3R system that powerfully incentivizes recycling!

Do 3R systems actually work?

Yes! States with 3R programs have reduced bottle and can litter by 69% to 84%, and total litter by 30% to 65%. Well-run 3R systems consistently collect more than 80% of bottles and cans sold. Imagine if all that trash was recycled instead of littering our city!

Why not just take bottles and cans out to the curb, like we do now?

Because the bottles and cans you take to the curb often don’t get recycled at all. Instead, they end up in landfills or, even worse, back in our streets and waterways. Recycling rates for curbside bottles and cans are dramatically lower than those collected through a 3R program. Why?

●     Because the deposit requirement of a 3R program is a much stronger incentive to recycle, so more bottles and cans get into the recycling stream in the first place. Several studies have determined that non-deposit beverage containers are much, much more likely to be found littering our neighborhoods than deposit eligible bottles and cans;

●     Because recyclable bottles and cans at curbside often get mixed in with non-recyclable trash, in which case they are sent directly to the landfill;

●     And because generally bottles and cans collected through a 3R system make better, more valuable recyclable material. For example, a study by an association representing the plastics industry discovered that 88% of plastic bottles recovered through a 3R program were fully recyclable, beating curbside material by 20%.

But won’t this increase the cost of beverages? How does this benefit me and my community?

Yes, the price you pay for a beverage will increase a little. But that increase is fully refundable, and getting it back will be as easy as taking your empties to a local grocery store or nearby redemption center.  Moreover, a good 3R program will reduce the burden on inefficient, taxpayer-funded recycling systems, and the benefits to the environment will be immeasurably valuable to local communities. In addition, a good 3R program provides options whereby the refunded deposits from an individual’s or group’s collected bottles and cans can be designated for the charity of their choice or as contributions to a child’s college education fund. Think of all the good local causes a program like that could benefit!

A 3R program will help make DC a cleaner, healthier place! We need our Council and Mayor to adopt a 3R law. Please sign our petition.