SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Leaders in Washington, D.C., are reportedly introducing a bill to encourage recycling and lessen litter. With the backing of ten other council members, Ward 1 councilmember Brianne Nadeau introduced the "bottle bill."

The plan suggests requiring customers to pay a 10-cent deposit when they buy beverage bottles and cans from retailers. After the empty bottles are returned to the retailers, the deposit money will be reimbursed. It also suggests establishing a non-profit stewardship group to manage the gathering and delivery of bottles to a recycling center. A handling fee will be paid to the shops in exchange for picking up the bottles.

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Washington D.C. is the eleventh U.S. state to implement such a program. The return rate for bottles in Maine is 77%, closely followed by Michigan, whose redemption rate is 73%. The redemption rate exceeds 50% in five of the six states where the deposit fee is 10 cents or higher.

According to Anacostia River volunteer clean-ups, plastic bottles make up over 60% of the litter by weight. Approximately a quarter million plastic bottles have been collected over the previous ten years thanks to volunteer clean-ups and rubbish traps. In the upcoming years, this number is expected to increase.