For Immediate Release
New Poll Shows Majority of Rhode Islanders Support a Bottle Bill to Reduce Litter and Improve Recycling
71% of Rhode Islanders are concerned that RI’s recycling system is not working
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – March 7, 2025 – A new poll of registered voters in Rhode Island finds that a majority of Rhode Islanders support the creation of a deposit return system for beverage containers, also known as a bottle bill.
Among the poll’s findings:
- There is widespread concern about litter and waste on RI shorelines and in the ocean (85%), with 65% saying it is of “great concern” to them.
- Nearly three-quarters (71%) are concerned that “Rhode Island’s recycling system is not working. Similarly, 73% are concerned that the landfill is nearing capacity.
- After hearing arguments from both sides, a healthy majority – 58% to 31%, a 27-point margin – supports a bottle bill.
- A majority of voters say they are likely to return their empty beverage containers. When told where redemption centers would be located, 57% said they were likely to participate (vs 38% who said they were unlikely.)
“Rhode Islanders are tired of seeing single-use beverage containers littering our streets and our shoreline,” said Jed Thorp, Director of Advocacy with Save The Bay. “These poll results show that Rhode Islanders support the adoption of a bottle bill and that they’re likely to return their empty containers once a system is in place.”
International Coastal Cleanups coordinated by Save The Bay have also identified single-use beverage containers as one of the top pieces of trash collected. In 2024, 2,733 local volunteers collected 114,914 total pieces of trash—including 25,276 pieces of trash from single-use beverage containers.
A growing coalition of environmental organizations, industry trade groups and beverage brands are pressing the RI General Assembly to pass a bottle bill this year. They say bottle bills are a proven and effective policy to reduce litter in our environment, and also improve recycling by ensuring that old beverage containers can effectively be recycled into new beverage containers.
“New and improved bottle bills are critical to reaching our ambitious aluminum beverage can recycling rate targets that include achieving a 70 percent rate by 2030 and a 90 percent rate by 2050,” said Scott Breen, Senior Vice President of Sustainability. “Today, nearly 90,000 aluminum beverage cans are recycled every minute in the United States, and 97 percent of these recycled cans become new cans. Bottle bills would mean more cans flowing through this domestic circular economy, increasing the average can’s recycled content beyond its current 71 percent.”
A 20-member special joint legislative commission to study options for reducing waste and litter from beverage containers has been meeting since September 2023. That study commission is close to concluding its work and making recommendations to the General Assembly. The commission has closely examined bottle deposit programs in the U.S. and around the world, and how to design a system that is effective and that addresses concerns from the beverage industry and retailers.
“The problems of beverage container litter and plastic pollution are only getting worse,” said State Representative Carol Hagan McEntee (D-South Kingstown, Narragansett), co-chair of the joint legislative study commission on plastic bottle waste. “Based on what we’ve heard during the study commission, I believe we can come up with a bottle bill system that will help our environment while not being a burden to businesses or consumers.”
“These poll results are consistent with what we learned during the study commission,” said State Senator Mark McKenney (D-Warwick), co-chair of the joint legislative study commission on plastic bottle waste. “In states and countries with well-designed and high-performing bottle bill systems, public support for those systems is consistently high.”
Based on responses to separate candidate questionnaires from Save The Bay and Clean Water Action last fall, a majority of RI Senators and Representatives now support passage of a RI bottle bill.
“We already knew that a majority of state legislators support a bottle bill, and now we know that the public supports it as well,” said Emily Howe, RI Director at Clean Water Action. “The study commission has done its work; the time is NOW to pass a bottle bill.”
Poll results are based on a sample of 400 registered voters in Rhode Island. Interviews were conducted February 4-10, 2025, with live interviewers calling landlines and cell phones, as well as text-to-online interviews. The margin of error is +/-4.9% overall at a 95% level of confidence, and higher for subgroups. The poll was conducted by the D.C.-based Mellman Group, and paid for by Save The Bay, Can Manufacturers Institute and Clean Water Action. Click here to read the full summary of the poll.
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About Save The Bay
Founded in 1970, the Rhode Island-based nonprofit Save The Bay seeks to protect and improve Narragansett Bay and its 1,705-square-mile watershed. The organization works to achieve its vision of a fully swimmable, fishable Narragansett Bay, accessible to all, through its advocacy, education, and habitat restoration and adaptation work. Learn more about Save The Bay at www.savebay.org.