The beverage container industry has shifted over the last several years from a deposit-and-return system to the "throwaway" metal or glass container. Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would require a deposit on all containers of beer and soft drinks, and thus have the effect of causing a widespread return to "returnable" containers. Laws that have this objective have been enacted in three states and several communities, and have been presented to the governing bodies of numerous other communities and states.

Change in this area, however, is coming about slowly. The American consumer appears to prefer the "no-deposit, no-return" system. A trip along a few miles of a country road or a walk on a city street will attest to the convenience of having a container that can be discarded as soon as its contents have been consumed. The system is not only convenient for the consumer; it also is not burdensome to the retailer or the manufacturer.