Observed arrival · 2026-09-08
The Maine Redemption makes the case for a quarter deposit
A sourced policy argument for raising Maine's bottle deposit from five cents to 25 cents, with inflation math, return-rate comparisons, and a proposed indexing mechanism.
Field notes
The page uses BLS CPI-U series CUUR0000SA0 to translate historical five-cent deposits into July 2026 dollars, then compares those figures with a proposed 25-cent line. Its historical table places Maine's 1978 nickel at about 25.6 cents today, while the 1971 Oregon figure reaches about 41.2 cents. A Connecticut comparison tracks quarterly return rates before and after the 2024 move from five to ten cents, while explicitly noting that redemption-center and handling-fee changes complicate the comparison.
Observed signals
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