> "bwesley7" > wrote in message
> news:kQelc.3300$nN6.2773@lakeread06...
> "Federal
> > law forbids sale or reuse of this bottle." At the bottom was also
> embossed:
> > "4/5 Quart."
> >
> > Is there some federal statute that we violate every time we reuse a wine
> > bottle?
> >

I think that's a hold over from the days when there were returnable
bottles and reusable bottles. Returnable had a deposit on them but
could not be refilled, the glass could be recycled and the bottle
re-made. Reusable had (usually) a higher deposit and could be refilled
with out remaking the bottle.

I don't know of anyone that uses reusable bottles anymore. It costs
too much to make the original bottle (they had to be thicker) and to
handle all of the regulations about cleaning and sanitizing. It's
cheeper just to remake the bottle.

Andy