Why does my soda bottle only have a few U.S. states and deposit
amounts listed on it? Aren?t glass bottles recyclable everywhere? And
why do only some sizes and shapes of bottles and cans get recycled and
others don?t?

The deposit amounts listed are just that "deposit amounts".  When you
purchase these canned/bottled beverages in that state you pay a
deposit included in the price of the beverage.  You can then return
the can/bottle to the proper location to get the deposit back.

Most states do not use this recycling method, however glass and
aluminum are recyclable in every state as far as I know.

Many size/shape bottles/cans don't require a deposit and are not
returnable for a deposit even in the states that do use this recycling
method.

The deposit amounts you see printed on your bottles and cans are a
result of laws called "bottle bills."  These laws require a deposit
when you purchase certain beverages as an incentive to recycle - you
bring the bottle back to the store, or to a registered recycling
center, and you get that deposit back.

The Container Recycling Institute in Washington DC is a nonprofit that
advocates for bottle bills and helps people either support their
existing laws or to help bring about new laws.  The newest bottle bill
is in Hawaii.

The beverage industry severely opposes bottle bills for a number of
reasons, one of which is that they don't like being told to add 5 or
10 cents to the price of their product.  They argue that it hurts
their sales, and hence companies like Anheuser Busch and Coca Cola put
millions of dollars into fighting these laws.   This opposition is
also why not all beverage containers (even in states with bottle
bills) have a deposit.  While single-serve soda and beer containers
generally have a deposit, the law varies from state to state.  Water,
juice, and other non-carbonated beverages almost never carry a
deposit.

For MUCH more information, visit www.container-recycling.org and
www.bottlebill.org.  The small but hardworking staff there can help
you find the information you need, especially if you would like to
help introduce a bottle bill in your state!

In California milk products and hard liquor bottles offer no premium.

I assume it is because milk lobbists and booze bashers wrote special
provisionsin the law.

The 3+ part plastic Fast food drink cups (cup cover and straw straw
cover) are a litter diaster. No money for them.

Did you see the Sienfeld episode Where they attempt to steal a Post
office van to ship New York recycleables to Michigan to get the higher
deposit?

I was in San Diego by the Mexico border last week and was witness to
an interesting event...  A guy got on the trolley heading north from
the boarder (he appeared to be Mexican) and he was carrying a garbage
bag full of empty plastic bottles.  Apparently Mexico doesn't offer
the .05 or .10 that California does and this is a not so difficult way
to make a nifty day's wage near the boarder.