Iowa · IA · Food & drink
Iowa: Is there a bottle deposit?
Bottle deposit law
Iowa's bottle bill puts a 5-cent refundable deposit on carbonated soft drinks, beer, wine, and liquor containers.
Iowa's law covers beer, wine, liquor, canned cocktails, mineral water, soda water, and similar carbonated soft drinks. Plain water, juice, sports drinks, and tea are not covered. Changes from 2022 (Senate File 2378, effective January 1, 2023) raised the handling fee paid to redemption centers to 3 cents and let some stores stop taking returns. Shoppers still get 5 cents back.
Conditions
- 5-cent refund per container
- Covers beer, wine, liquor, canned cocktails, mineral water, soda water, and carbonated soft drinks
- Non-carbonated water, juice, sports drinks, and tea not covered
- Applies to containers sold for consumption off the premises
What the law says
A refund value of five cents shall be paid by the consumer on each beverage container sold in this state by a dealer for consumption off the premises.
Sources
- Iowa Code § 455C.2 (2026) Official · legis.iowa.gov
- Iowa Code § 455C.1 (2026), definitions Official · legis.iowa.gov
- Iowa DNR: Bottle Deposit Law Official · iowadnr.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources
- Phone
- 515-725-8200
- Website
- iowadnr.gov
How bordering states compare
- Illinois No bottle depositIllinois has no statewide bottle deposit; proposed deposit bills have not become law.
- Minnesota No bottle depositMinnesota has no bottle deposit law; drink containers go in regular recycling with no refund.
- Missouri No bottle depositMissouri has no bottle deposit law; drink containers carry no refundable deposit.
- Nebraska No bottle depositNebraska has no bottle deposit; it charges businesses a non-refundable litter fee instead.
- South Dakota No bottle depositSouth Dakota has no state bottle deposit law, so cans and bottles carry no refundable deposit.
- Wisconsin No bottle depositWisconsin has no state bottle deposit law, so cans and bottles carry no refundable deposit.