Redemption Deserts

Key findings

• About 5,452,267 people live in a redemption desert. That is 6% of people in the 10 states.
• Iowa has the biggest share. About 24.1% of people there live in a desert. But our Iowa list leaves out grocery stores, so this may be too high.
• California has the most people in deserts: about 3,847,042. Most of them live in busy cities and suburbs. Their closest return spot is more than 3 miles away.
• Connecticut does best. Almost no one there lives in a desert. Stores that sell deposit drinks must take them back.
• Being close is not enough. Massachusetts has spots near almost everyone, but only about 35% of deposits came back in 2024. Its deposit is still 5¢, the same as when its law began in 1983.
• Money is left on the table. Adding up the latest year for each state gives about $900.6 million in deposits no one claimed.

These are first results from our own lists. Each state page says how sure we are.

Map: redemption deserts by county

State ranking

"Typical trip" is the median straight-line distance. Half of people live closer and half live farther. Return rates are not all measured the same way. See each state page.

Worst counties

Best-served counties

Why recycling matters

• Boxes, bottles, cans and other packaging made up 82.2 million tons of U.S. trash in 2018. That was 28.1% of all trash. Source: U.S. EPA
• In 2018, only about half of U.S. aluminum drink cans were recycled (50.4%). For plastic PET bottles and jars it was 29.1%. For glass bottles and jars it was 31.3%. Source: U.S. EPA
• Two things matter most for how many bottles come back: the size of the deposit, and how easy it is to return them. Source: Container Recycling Institute
• In Michigan, people got back 69.4% of their deposits in 2025. In 2019 it was 88.7%. Source: Michigan Dept. of Treasury
• New York's bottle law brings back about 5 billion containers a year. The state says it cut bottle and can litter by 70%. Source: New York State DEC

When return spots close, fewer people bring back their empties. More cans and bottles end up in the trash or on the road. And the deposit money stays unclaimed.

How we did this

1. We used 2020 Census data. It shows where people live in each small area (a block group).
2. We found the closest return spot to each area. We used our own list of 7,798 return spots.
3. We measured in a straight line. Roads make real trips longer.
4. We marked an area as a desert if the closest spot was more than 10 miles away. In crowded areas (3,000 people or more per square mile) we used 3 miles. Many people in cities do not have a car.
5. We only counted return spots in the same state. You must return bottles in the state where you paid the deposit.
6. We added up the people in each county, town and state.

Download the county data (CSV)

Limits

• Our lists are not perfect. Places open and close.
• In Michigan, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts we list stores the law covers. Some may not take returns. Real access may be worse.
• In Iowa, Oregon, Maine and Hawaii we do not list most grocery stores. Real access may be better.
• Maine has no state list of return spots. Our Maine list is partial.
• Money and return rate numbers come from different years and are measured in different ways.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census centers of population by block group
• U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer files (tract land area)
• U.S. Census Bureau, TIGER/Line 2020 shapefiles (counties, places, New England towns)
• U.S. EPA, Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data (2018 data)
• Container Recycling Institute, Unclaimed or Abandoned Deposits
• NYS DEC, press release on the Bottle Bill (Oct 2023)
• Iowa: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 1 (from data gathered by GT Environmental); Iowa DNR, 2022 Recovery Rate Report for Deposit Beverage Containers (May 2024)
• Maine: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 7, from Maine Revenue Services; Container Recycling Institute, as reported in NWRA report Table 2
• California: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 1, compiled from CalRecycle data; CalRecycle, Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates (calendar year 2024)
• Hawaii: Hawaii State Auditor, Financial and Program Audit of the DOH Deposit Beverage Container Program, June 30, 2024 (Report 25-08); Hawaii DOH Office of Solid Waste Management, Annual Report to the 2026 Legislature
• Oregon: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 1; Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, 2024 Annual Report
• Michigan: Michigan Dept. of Treasury, Bottle Deposit Information (total owed by under-redeemers); Michigan Dept. of Treasury, Bottle Deposit Information
• Vermont: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 10, from Vermont Dept. of Taxes; Container Recycling Institute, Bottle Bill Resource Guide
• New York: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 1, from NYS fiscal year tax collections; NYS DEC, via Container Recycling Institute Bottle Bill Resource Guide
• Massachusetts: NWRA Bottle Bill Escheats Summary Report (Dec 2025), Table 8, from Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue annual reports; Container Recycling Institute, Bottle Bill Resource Guide
• Connecticut: CT DEEP, Bottle Bill Advisory Group meeting slides (Apr 2026), estimated escheats; CT DEEP, same slides (rolling four-quarter rate, calendar year 2024)
• Return locations: BottleReturnMap.com state lists (see each state page for sources).

State reports

CaliforniaConnecticutHawaiiIowaMaineMassachusettsMichiganNew YorkOregonVermont