Rec This If You Think We Need A National Recycling Law !

[garybeck]

A few recycling facts:

1) States with bottle bills recycle approximately 78% of the bottles that have deposits. States lacking bottle bill legislation only recycle approximately 23%.

2) Currently ONLY ELEVEN states have deposits on bottles.

3) Recycling deposit laws do not cost taxpayers money. Many states have a fund created by the surplus money from deposits that is not redeemed. This money can be used to fund other projects like curbside recycling programs.

4) Only approximately 30% of the US population currently lives in an area with bottle deposits.

5) Even for those states that have deposit laws, many do not have deposits on bottles for water, juice, iced tea, or energy drinks. These containers are not recycled as much because they don’t have a deposit.

6) Today there are still many areas that do not offer curbside recycling.

7) Every year millions of beverage containers that could be recycled are thrown away. Most beverage containers are made out of materials that are not considered to be biodegradeable and will last hundreds of years.

8.) Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emmisions

10) According to Aneki.com “the source for world rankings”, The United States ranks 7th in the world for recycling percentage.

11) A National Recycling Law could mandate deposits on all single beverage containers, require curbside recycling in all areas, and provide incentives for companies to make products that are recycleable. This law would keep roadways clean, reduce landfills, reduce carbon emmissions, create jobs, stimulate the production of more recycled products (a domestic resource), and just be a plain old good idea.

Rec this thread if you think that 11 states with bottle bills is not enough. It's about time we have a national recycling law.

more:
http://solarbus.org/blog/?p=53

[D-Lee]

1. And let's make biodegradable plastic bags required

They are currently available. Prices would fall if there were a very large demand.

Can anyone push this idea?

[Occam Bandage]

3. "Prices would fall if there were a very large demand."

This is the opposite of the way things work.

[MercutioATC]

8. Well, not exactly.

Things are generally cheaper to produce if you produce more of them.

If production of any specific item increases, the per-unit price generally declines.

[octocat lady]

39. I am so there!!!! My local health store has cornstarch bags and they are so awesome!

They are clear and very strong. They give me extra because I used to work there:)
I use them for my garbage and now don't feel guilty about all those plastic bags sticking around for years:(

[blue_onyx]

2. We don't have deposits on non-carbonated drinks

There's been talk about expanding deposits to non-carbonated drinks but it hasn't gone anywhere. The grocery stores are fighting it because they claim they're not garbage collectors. The public supports expands bottle deposits so hopefully it happens.

[garybeck]

4. I agree, the grocery stores should not have to pay.

I believe we can learn from the good and bad ideas from the various states, and what has worked and what hasn't. Personally I agree the grocery stores should not have to pay.

Here's an idea

with all the new technology

CURBSIDE DESOSIT REDEMPTION! Just leave your deposit bottles out with your other recycling and the bottles get scanned and you get a credit in your account.

And it's ludicrous that only carbonated beverages are deposits!!

[blue_onyx]

10. It's not paying that's the big issue for grocery stores

The stores that were interviewed on the news claimed space was the big problem. They said they didn't have enough space to store non-carbonated bottle returns. I would be open to different methods but I'm also ok with the current method...just expanded to all beverages.

[Donnachaidh]

11. and how do apartment dwellers get the same deposit redemtion as homeowners?

This would allow large apartment complexes to make yet more money off their tenants. That is *not* fair.
Apartment dwellers are nickled and dimed enough by their landlords. Pun very much intended.

[1]

5. if only we could figure out a financially viable way to get these bottles and cans to michigan...

$.10 there.

problem solved...

[garybeck]

6. except, most states have a law against importing bottles for deposit, with fairly high penalties

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. That is the most interesting username I've ever seen on DU.

I wish I'd thought of it first! :)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. Classic Seinfeld episode.

[Lost in CT]

37. If only we had a mail truck....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0697660/

[Kindigger]

66. Won't work

Even in 'deposit' states they make separate UPCs, silver/gold tops etc, & they can only be redeemed in the state of origin.

Sincerely,
A professional can picker

[Contrary1]

9. Charge those who don't recycle more for trash pickup. n/t

[garybeck]

12. yup, gotta hit them in the pocketbook

that's why i like the deposit law.

unfortunately it proves beyond any doubt that a lot of americans will only do something if it affects their wallet.

but once you know what motivates people, might as well take advantage of it and motivate them to recycle.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

15. You'd Enforce That How Exactly?

You would prove they didn't recycle how now? Would garbage men be mandated to sift through each bag first prior to dumping it? If they found something, could they prove in court that it was the homeowners, and that some neighbor or otherwise didn't put a bag of THEIR mixed shit into YOUR garbage can?

Yeah, like, good luck with that one and stuff LOL. :hi:

[jasmeel]

32. In Fargo, ND they allow people so much garbage (1 bag) and

then people get charged for the rest. It rewards recycling. At least that's one way.

[Gormy Cuss]

33. You charge by the volume of trash, as is done here.

Trash pickup is contracted out by the municipalities here. We pay based on the size of the trash can, with the highest fee attached to the largest container. The other bins -- two 64 gallon cans, one for recyclables, one for green waste -- are issued to each address. No one checks to see if you ever use them but most people do rather than pay the higher fees for the large trash can.

[Contrary1]

41. It worked in an Arizona town...

The homeowners separated the recyclables from the other trash. It was put in a different colored container. Those who did not do that were charged more. Not all that difficult to implement.

[Thothmes]

58. thats the way it works in this part of Virginia

easy to do, no problems, anything that I think is recyclable goes into the gray container, vice the green container. There is a additional charge if you do not use the recyclable container once a month.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

13. Wouldn't Work.

My township already has a law mandating recycling, and I still just stuff everything in the trash. I know, I know, boo hiss how dare I, but I know national law or not there would be tons of people still doing the same.

[Warren Stupidity]

30. That's fine - you would have paid the depoist and forfeited it.

Which is why recycling laws on containers work - there is a financial incentive for compliance.

[hiphopnation]

50. exactly

it's not laws we need, it's a collective, organized effort to to persuade those that do not currently recycle to take it more seriously and to see the direct affect it has on their environment (that's you, OMC).

education is what we need, not more laws to be ignored and broken.

[Name removed]

64. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bill McBlueState]

51. You're so heroic!

But the point of bottle bills, etc., isn't to get total compliance. People are free not to do curbside recycling, and they're free not to return their bottles for the deposit. But the small financial incentive gets enough people to participate that it makes a difference.

[Name removed]

63. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Reterr]

71. Your post reads like something an ignorant, moronic Freeper would come up with

And be super proud of...

"Oooooh burn! I am so clever cuz I don't recycle. Take that hippies11111"

:eyes:

[Tigress DEM]

14. Actually I think mixed bag recycling would be more successful.

With bottle deposits you pay up front so you can't say it doesn't cost the consumer. Sure they can get the money back, but I think making things more convenient would really increase the numbers.

I lived in Bloomington MN and all your recycling went into one bag and was sorted out when it was processed. It was so easy to recycle. Now I still do, but I have to divide every little thing up and separate glass by each color, wash and remove labels. It's fine with me cause I care, but I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't bother.

[garybeck]

18. the problem is

studies show that when there is a deposit, the percentage of recycling skyrockets instantly.

I agree it could be more convenient. I believe with today's technology they could have curbside recycling of deposit bottles, and give you a credit for the bottles you return.

It's true that some taxpayers will pay, but only those who choose not to recycle. And quite frankly, they should pay for the luxury of creating more garbage that affects everyone.

[Tigress DEM]

19. Yeah, but the study is hampered by one fact.

Those states that adopted that idea "sold it" so they would "get" compliance and there is a cost to that as well.

I'm thinking about people who are really struggling paycheck to paycheck and for them it might be a hardship to drive somewhere to recycle if they need that money back sooner rather than later.

[garybeck]

22. what?

if people can get to the store to buy a soda, they can just as easily take it back on the next trip. it's called personal responsibility. there is no cost added cost or time. they get their money back. they don't have to drive somewhere else. In states that have deposits on containers, people just bring their empties back to the grocery store. There's no extra trip, no waiting for money. You just bring last week's empties to the store when you shop. Anyone can do that.

[Triana]

16. we also need close-the-loop laws....require (or at least ASK) manufacturers ...

..to "close the loop".

EVERY product we buy should be returnable to the manufacturer for recycling/reuse, or recyclable or reusable in some other way.

Crocs, for instance, will take back used shoes, which they make into new shoes. Companies - such as Cedars, makers of Mediterranean foods such as hummus - sells the damned stuff in NON-recyclable plastic containers - they REFUSE to sell it in anything else. They do not take the containers back for reuse and they cannot be recycled (in my area and in many areas). ANY AND EVERY manufacturer should be required to CLOSE THE LOOP on their products. This should be part of ANY 'green' initiative and gov't could "incentivize" the effort.

[Kindigger]

67. some products will not keep

in #1 or 2 plastic.

[eleny]

17. The Shriners make it so easy for us to recycle

We don't have to sort out the different types of items. And they have bins all over the area.

I've been able to reduce our trash from two regular sized trash cans down to one small can containing two medium sized kitchen liner bags.

I'm sure I can do better by figuring out how not to use plastic kitchen liners and making sure that I recycle everything the Shriners accept.

Now that we recycle, I'm appalled when I see people putting out many cans for the trash pickup.

[progressive_realist]

20. You do realize this is supply-side economics?

Mandating the collection of recyclable materials does not create the demand for such materials. If there was sufficient demand, there would be no need for laws mandating such behavior.

I know this won't make me any friends here, but this is the same sort of absurdity we just spent eight years ridiculing the Republicans for.

[garybeck]

21. the demand is there already

people buy recycled products when they are available at reasonable prices

walk into a walmart and try to buy some recycled office paper. it ain't there on the shelf.

if it were, and it were reasonably priced, people would buy it. you know that and i know it.

in fact I would say that currently demand for recycled products exceeds supply.



when a can is recycled into another can... there is already a demand for cans, last I checked. so relax. We don't need to create a demand. It's already there.

[Kindigger]

68. I worked at a recycling center back in 95

and you couldn't give a bale of cardboard away. Even so, we baled it, and stacked them behind the building. A couple years went by and they told the commercial haulers not to bring it out anymore, and they would only accept it from the residential drop off.

It wasn't even a whole year before something happened, and cardboard went to $110 a bale! It may have been that someone figured out a new/easy method to separate the glue from the corrugation, making it quicker to process.

[FormerDittoHead]

29. We don't recycle because it's cost effective. Recycling is an ecological movement, not financial.nt

[Sherman A1]

55. Actually I do recycle because it is more cost effective.

I recycle everything I can, taking it to the city recycle center.

I then take the one bag of trash I have each week and put it into the dumpster at work eliminating the need for trash service which we must individually contract in our area. (I had it for many years until several haulers failed to pick up my trash, so I just gave up on all of them).

However, our community is now going to a single hauler which will service each address and we are forced to sign up, thereby increasing my monthly bills by $14.00 for service that I really don't feel I need nor do I want.

They offer once per week recycle (Tues) and once per week curbside trash (Wed) pickup. So frankly it is no longer in my economic interest to recycle, but rather it is now in my economic interest to simply dump everything in the trash and only take one can per week to the curb.

So while I believe in recycling, having it be in my economic interest over these last several years has certainly been an advantage and I doubt that I would have recycled as much (or at all) had it not been so.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

23. This is one thing FL doesn't have to be embarrassed about

. . . at least in my area (SW FL). We have no bottle deposits, but we do have voluntary recycling. Our county provides a bin for glass (brown, green, and clear) and plastic containers (1 and 2 only, sadly enough--why are yogurt containers #5?), another bin for paper, cardboard, and newsprint, a 96-gallon dealie on wheels for your regular trash, and the only thing you have to bundle is your yard waste, which is also composted and/or chipped and spread on county landscaping. As a result, we have one of the highest recycling rates in the state and the county makes enough money off the deal to keep expanding the program. Also, just about every supermarket has containers for you to return your plastic bags, egg cartons, cans, bottles, etc.

This isn't true of the whole state, of course. It shocked me to go somewhere like the Orlando area and find no such thing available (perhaps they do, but it's limited to residential areas).

I think it would definitely be worth putting the pressure on to force everyone to offer some degree of curbside recycling. Curbside deposits don't make sense, though, because that just encourages the arseholes who scrounge around in other peoples' garbage to claim the money for themselves. By simply making it "uncool" not to participate, we've shown that a financial incentive isn't necessary; that part comes from the fact that our annual taxes for garbage pickup have not really gone up since this was instituted.

[LeftyMom]

24. We have curbside recycling here, but only for single family homes.

Making sure that apartment complexes added mixed recycling bins would make a huge difference in my area. I save my recycling and toss it in their bin when I go visit a relative, but most of my neighbors throw theirs away, though the cans get sorted out later by the local homeless folks.

[taterguy]

25. What we need is a better understanding of the economics of waste disposal

My city isn't aggressive about recycling because land in my area is relatively inexpensive and in the short term it's generally cheaper to put material in landfills than it is to recycle it.

Our current landfill won't reach its capacity for another 20 years.

However, once that happens getting rid of waste will be a very expensive proposition.

The landfill is centrally located so garbage trucks don't need much gas to get there.

There are no other central locations in my area for landfills.

But since most of the decision makers will be long gone in 20 years they just choose not to think about that.

[Delphinus]

26. We have curbside recycling in my city.

You wouldn't believe how many people simply refuse to do it.

I think there should be a huge penalty for anyone NOT recycling.

[FormerDittoHead]

28. You can recycle without bottle deposits. I would oppose this.

This is only a recycling law in name, it's really a bottle deposit law. It is NOT a "plain old good idea".

I, for one, don't want to be carting dirty bottles back to some 3rd stop for the 3 bucks.

The town I live in is the very first one in the country to mandate recycling. I've seen people fined for throwing recyclables in the trash. There is not a bottle we buy (glass or plastic) that doesn't get recycled.

The solutions for handling the waste must be handled locally. Every town has to make an independent decision as to what to do it the recyclables.

It's a local problem, and this law wouldn't provide any solutions.

PS: on point 10, I'm thinking that puts us into a pretty good rank, considering the other 6 are probably quite anal about recycling.

[jasmeel]

31. Plastics are the worst... Atlanta only seems to recycle 1's and 2's.

Most plastics are higher. Also you cannot get people to recycle even with a recycling can right next to them. It's soooo annoying. I'm always pulling stuff out of the garbage. Very unseemly.

[ensho]

34. kick

nt

[Gormy Cuss]

35. A few other recycling observations.

1)Even in some states with bottle bills there isn't a straightforward way to redeem the empties. In CA a few years ago the deposit rates were raised in an effort to encourage more recycling but no effort was made to correct a serious flaw in the bottle bill, namely that bottles and cans aren't redeemable at point of sale but only at redemption centers. CA still has a low redemption rate compared to other bottle bill states.

2)There's no deposit on many of the jars and cans that come home with the groceries. There's no deposit on mayonnaise jars or vegetable cans, for example. Why focus only on drinks? Perhaps it's because the real reason for bottle bills is to raise awareness of recycling and encouraging the habit. If that's the case perhaps it's time to shift away from container deposits and move it to point of trash pickup for recyclables and to manufacturers and retailers for reduction in use of materials in the first place.

I've lived in three states with bottle bills and in all the level of recycling enthusiasm was higher than in places without it, yet I know of no one who likes schlepping their own empties back for redemption. Most people prefer curbside or other easy one stop recycling such as a designated area at the town dump. I think that making recyclables separation easy and cutting the level of waste generated in the first place are the ways to address the issue nationally rather than more deposit laws.

[Irishonly]

46. A few recycling centers will take all plastic containers which contained food.

They take all plastic as long as there weren't any chemicals. I recycle all non carbonated drink cans and also mayo and ketchup containers. They won't take mustard in plastic but will take the glass ones. The place where we go pays by the pound and not the deposit.

We have been recycling for years. We have curbside recycling but we also give the Boy Scouts all of the paper including junk fliers. I haven't been able to get a straight answer about shredded paper.

[Gormy Cuss]

48. We have a very good curbside collection here, but the nearest redemption center is 5 miles away

Our municipal pickup is contracted and we pay for it directly. We have very generous recycling curbside but to return a bottle means a special trip. That's really backward. In the other bottle bill states where I've lived all stores had to take back deposit containers for products they sold. That meant that it could be done as part of a regular grocery shopping trip even if you were walking or taking public transit.

[Irishonly]

52. I grew up in Iowa

It was easy to return soda bottles. You would take the empties when you went. Several grocery stores have recycling centers but I understand what you are saying. It would be much easier if all stores had recycling centers. Unfortunately, there are a lot of homeless where I live. They are constantly going through trash cans the night before pick ups. Before my husband and I were both disabled we used to just give them the bottles and cans. Now every penny counts.

[Kindigger]

70. Now only the homeless pick up cans?

Geez, and I thought it was a hobby in Iowa. I learned it from my dad, who saved up the nickles until he had enough to take my mom to Europe.

I celebrate 'Earth Month' rather than Earth Day. I 'pick' all the two lane highways in the county at least once. Last year I made close to $1,000 in can deposits--20,000 cans!

[Irishonly]

75. We chose to give the cans and bottles to the homeless

We don't live too far from a park where many of them stay. An elderly gentleman we know collects cans and bottles on his evening "constitutional" (as he calls them) and with the money he collects gets his haircut once a month and takes his wife out for dinner.

Every day should be 'Earth Day". Congratulations on you efforts and your pay day.:hi:

[Irishonly]

76. Self delete-double post

[Kindigger]

69. For one thing...

you aren't driving down the road drinking a jar of mayonnaise. Roadside litter was the first reason for bottle deposits. :P

As far as taking stuff to the recycling center:
I live in a tiny apartment. Every day when I leave the house I take my grocery bag of recyclables, and put it in the trunk. When I have several bags I make that the day I stop to buy gas near the recycling center so I can dump it off.

[Gormy Cuss]

73. But on that basis, most food-to-go wrappers should have had deposits and beer shouldn't.

Juices should have deposits too, but they didn't in all states. There really is no reason to draw the line where it was drawn other than at the time most deposit laws were passed soft drinks and beer were sold in glass bottles and aluminum cans, the former refillable and the latter easily recyclable at the time. Now there's no reason to stop there. Why not deposits on all jars and cans if it's such an effective method of recycling?

Bottle deposit laws are a nice Earth Day approach to recycling but not terribly practical today. For every person like you who carts around empties in a trunk until the day that you can combine the trip with a fill-up there are dozens who can't or won't store empties in the car. Some people don't have cars or don't drive often enough for that to be a practical approach. Some people don't like the stale order of aging beer and soda bottles in their vehicles. Others have such a slow rate of usage that it would take months to make it worthwhile to stop at a recycling center and go through the redemption process.

[tabbycat31]

36. I grew up in a bottle deposit state

and my family drank a lot of soda. All the grocery stores (well the larger ones) in the area have bottle and can redemption machines, and they will give you a nickel a can. My parents have a big garbage bag by the basement stairwell just for cans, and will return them when the bag gets filled.

It was an instant source of cash for me growing up. Whenever the bag was filled, my dad wanted nothing to do with it and would let either me or my sister return the cans/bottles and keep the cash. On a good day I would net $5.

I actually wouldn't mind NJ adding a bottle deposit even to things like bottled water. They're already a cash strapped state, and it would be a much-needed source of revenue. THe problem with the bottle deposits is that NY (where I'm from) it only applied to soda. They would redeem beer cans and bottles but there was no deposit. Since the 80s, people drink more than soda (bottled water, snapple, etc). I would apply it to everything.

I recycle everything. I have curbside pickup, and it alternates the cans/bottles with the cardboard/newspapers. It gets picked up on Mondays. Trash on the other hand gets picked up twice a week. Half the time I forget to put out the recycling because I don't remember what they're taking that week.

[swishyfeet]

38. The bottle bill was useful when I was a kid

...when I needed a way to collect a few bucks, but in the last 20 years as an adult, I have NEVER taken a bottle or can back to redeem the deposit. Nowadays I just throw it in with my recycling and someone gets to keep my deposit.

When I was young and the deposit was a much higher percentage of the cost, I saw far more people returning bottles and cans for refund than I do now so I'm not the only one getting ripped off.

I would guess states with bottle bills have better recycling rates because it's (at least here in Oregon) part of the culture. With very good curbside recycling, the bottle bill here in Oregon is way past it's time.

[rucognizant]

40. Here in Maine........

A guy lived on campus in a trailor and put himself through all 4 years of college, on $ from collected bottles!
A Mexican couple in LA put several of their kids through cllege that way...........and when I was a non-traditional student in my 50's, I kept an eye on the ledge in 1 classroom that was accumulating a can collection. On the last day of school, I checked trash bag in hand and sure enough they were mine!
Here in my town, we have dovetail of purposes.....The young bucks, making good money bringing in lobsters, throw their cans & bottles out of the pick-ups on my road, then the retired folks, shortchanged on our SS incomes, walk the road pick them up and turn them in for extra $. We also get our healthy exercise walking the road, bag in hand, with out paying gymn fees!!
In NJ they were a little too anal, town giving out buckets for the various colors of glass and kinds of metal, 5 or 6 in all. None of them had covers so even under the porch roof they got water blown in which froze in the winter. But I could take batteries, and used turps,etc to the county complex. Here the dump is a 40 mile turn around, you have to pay for disposal of flourescent bulbs and other things, and have to live with your trash until you can afford to take it in. The good news is there is a seperate shed with clothes hanging on rakes, free for the taking. I have a lovely alpaca, angora, wool LL Bean cable knit sweater almost new,from there. I get compliments every time I wear it!

[defendandprotect]

74. Don't we have to stop making plastic . . . ? Including plastic bottles???

[mod mom]

42. I think free recycling and pay per bag of trash. rec'd

[eggplant]

43. Honestly, this is one of the least important things for the feds to be focusing on right now.

As someone who lives in a rural agricultural community (population density ~80 people/square mile), whose streets DON'T EVEN HAVE CURBS, the idea of manditory curbside recycling makes me laugh. We don't even have municipal trash collection. Everyone has to bring their crap to the dump^h^h^h^h "transfer station" and pays a per-bag fee. Recycling is free.

Of all of the green R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), recycle is the least important.

Let's maybe keep our collective eyes on the ball and ensure that people have places to live and work, and enough to eat. This is just a distraction.

[DS1]

44. If they'd pick up once a week instead of every two, I'd be for it

one stupid blue bin isn't big enough to hold a household's worth of recycling, so some of mine goes in the trash.

[tritsofme]

45. Here in the Chicago area, we put our recycling out with the trash. No sorting

or any of that.

Please don't make it any more complicated.

[Blue-Jay]

47. Forcing folks to recycle by passing a law is stupid.

Don't get me wrong; I'm a big believer in limiting waste. Between recycling and composting, we barely throw away any garbage. That said, you're never going to effectively FORCE people to recycle. Perhaps if the average family saved money by recycling they would more receptive to the idea. Like it or not, most folks don't appreciate more laws to regulate their behavior.

[Gregorian]

49. I would much prefer a national population awareness program.

[quidam56]

53. China has already BANNED plastic bags

we should too. We are choking the Earth. End Mountaintop Removal ! http://www.wisecountyissues.com

[MasonJar]

54. Whole Foods bags say "I used to be a plastic bottle." (the ones

that are brought back over and over.) America needs to grow up and get out of the "moran" rut.

[customerserviceguy]

56. I just hope that it does not lead to reduction of choices

Case in point: I moved to NY nearly two years ago, and there are very few craft beers or microbrews offered in NY at the grocery stores that are allowed to sell beer. That's because they have machines outside which are designed to read the UPC on each deposited container to verify that a particular store sells that beer. Apparently, after entering UPC's for Bud, Miller, Coors and those beers sold by those distributors, they don't want to have to bother with having to enter in any more. But over in New Jersey, the beer stores generally sell more varieties of micro/craft brews that I favor. No deposit law there to be concerned about.

I'll admit, it might not be a fair comparison, since grocery stores in NJ do not sell beer, except Whole Foods for some unknown reason. Maybe the liquor/wine/beer stores in NJ know they're dealing with a more upscale customer who has more to spend on discretionary drinks than the average grocery store customer.

However, I came from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon has a deposit law, Washington (where I lived) does not. Each state had a great variety of micros in the grocery stores, but they were catering to a market that practically worships great beer! If we had a national deposit law, then I sure hope that choice does not become restricted.

[badgerpup]

57. I'd settle for some recycling FACILITIES in my state...

I'm a bit OCD on recycling...save my aluminum cans, foil, tin cans, plastic, and cardboard stuff to take down to the local recycling center. The cardboard and plastic is 'donation only'.

There is nothing in place for glass...I 'recycle' as much as possible at the local health food store and for my own use, but the rest ends up in the landfill.

This bugs me...we're supposed to be all about 'green jobs'...
What's greener than recycling?

Just putting the little arrowy logo and "Please recycle" on a product does NOT automatically make it happen or solve the problem...
there have to be facilities in place to be able to do so. :banghead:

[Quantess]

59. In Oregon, it's only .05 per can or bottle and it has been since the 1970s.

I think it should be adjusted for inflation. At least up to .10

Any bottles or cans laying around always do get picked up by broke people. It's great for reducing litter, as well as recycling.

[happygoluckytoyou]

60. RAISE THE FEES...AND THE RETURN $.... until the streets are clean... MARKET DRIVEN ECOLOGY !! ! ! !

[deaniac21]

61. Ban Glass!

[trthnd4jstc]

62. I would put more people to work: American Jobs, and the trash will be recycled into

More crap to package what most people drink and eat. It's crazy. It would be nice that the food was healthier, but, oh yeah, food doesn't have to be healthy, just taste good.

[Reterr]

65. Error: You've already recommended that thread.

I agree completely.

[steelmania75]

72. We do need a recycling law, becuase nobody recycles, including myself at times