CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Fareway Grocery Stores announced that it plans to violate state law and refuse to drink bottles and may return when a state exemption expires on Sunday.
Since the start of the pandemic, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has exempted grocery stores from a state law requiring grocery stores that sell bottles and cans with a 5-cent deposit must also be redeemed. That exemption will end on July 25, meaning grocery stores will need to accept bottles and cans again.
Fareway, however, plans to ignore that law, saying it will continue to not accept bottles and may return to its stores, citing ongoing health concerns with COVID-19.
“Health authorities continue to report that COVID-19 and other viruses are transmitted through respiratory drops,” the company said in a statement. “Accepting potentially contaminated containers within our stores presents a great risk of damaging the health and safety of our employees and customers.”
Fareway argued that the requirement to accept returns would be contrary to another state law that requires its stores to follow health and safety guidelines.
“Allowing used containers to be returned to our stores puts our employees and customers at risk, and is counterproductive to the many safety and sanitation initiatives we have implemented to keep people safe,” said Fareway.
Fareway says each store has released a list of nearby redemption centers, which are open, where customers can grab bottles and redeem redemptions.
HyVee told KCRG-TV9 that it plans to resume collecting bottles and cans at its stores on Sunday, coinciding with the expiration of the governor’s proclamation.
Grocery stores have long opposed the state’s bottle bill and have lobbied heavily for it to be repealed during legislative sessions. The industry argues that the process incurs unnecessary costs for supermarkets.
Here is the full Fareway statement:
Beginning with the expiration date of the Iowa Governor’s Declaration of Emergency on July 25, Fareway will no longer accept containers for redemption at its Iowa stores. Health authorities continue to report that COVID-19 and other viruses are transmitted through respiratory droplets. Accepting potentially contaminated containers within our stores presents a great risk of damaging the health and safety of our employees and customers.
Additionally, Iowa law requires supermarkets to meet health and food safety guidelines for all employees and customers. Allowing used containers to be returned to our stores puts our employees and customers at risk, and is counterproductive to the many safety and sanitation initiatives we have put in place to keep people safe.
Each store has posted a notice listing nearby redemption centers, where customers can redeem bottles and cans. We encourage local communities to focus their redemption on supporting these area businesses and / or nonprofits that provide external collection containers for donation.
In essence, our actions to reject container redemption within our stores is to minimize potential harm to the communities we serve, while offering our customers alternative redemption options.
Reynolds W. Cramer, President and CEO, Fareway Stores, Inc.
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