The sponsor of a proposal to make Tennessee the 12th US state to enact a bottle & can deposit programme was pessimistic about the chances of it becoming law, despite progress in the Tennessee House in March. The House Government Operations committee advanced the bill, but a similar plan to place a $0.05 deposit on drinks containers in 2005 has not advanced beyond the next stop, the State Government Subcommittee. The bill's sponsor, R Johnson, said "Unless there is a groundswell of phone calls & emails, the chances of it advancing are not very high. The subcommittee truly bottled up the bill last year. However, I am assured we will have a motion & a second this year to make our presentation." Under the bill, distributors would pay $0.05 deposit per container to the state, passing the costs onto retailers & consumers. The deposit would be redeemed on returned empties. Milk & medicines would be exempt.
