Container-deposit legislation (also known as a container-deposit scheme, deposit-refund system or scheme, deposit-return system, or bottle bill) is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers (refillable or non-refillable) at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer (presumed to be the original purchaser). It is a deposit-refund system. Governments may pass container deposit legislation for several reasons, including, for example: To encourage recycling and complement existing curbside recycling programs, to reduce energy and material usage for containers To specifically reduce beverage container litter along highways, in lakes and rivers, and on other public or private properties (where beverage container litter occurs, a nominal deposit provides an economic incentive to clean it up; this is a significant source of income to some poor individuals and non-profit civic organizations) To extend the usable lifetime of taxpayer-funded landfills Deposits that are not redeemed are often kept by distributors or bottlers to cover the costs of the system (including handling fees paid to retailers or redemption centers to collect, sort, and handle the containers) or are escheated to the governmental entity involved to fund environmental programs. Studies have shown that container-deposit schemes are generally very successful in practice, with return rates commonly reaching up to 90% or more. History A & R Thwaites & Co in Dublin, Ireland, announced in 1799 the provision of artificial "soda water" and that they paid 2 shillings a dozen for returned bottles. Schweppes, who were also in the business of artificially made mineral waters, had a similar recycling policy from about 1800, without any legislation. Scottish bottled beverage companies also voluntarily introduced such a scheme to encourage the return of their bottles for reuse. In Sweden a standard system for deposits on bottles and recycling was established in 1884, eventually by law. The popular demand for a deposit on aluminium cans to reduce littering led to legislation in 1984. British Columbia's legislated deposit-return system, enacted in 1970, is the oldest such program in North America. Laws by country Overview Africa Kenya By 2005, the beverage industry in Kenya applied a deposit-refund system for glass bottles that had proven to be popular amongst wholesalers, retailers and consumers alike to participate in, not just