New Jersey debates bottle deposit law
I'll admit it. I live in a state with a bottle deposit law, but I don't take my bottles back to the store to get my deposit back. It's just not what I'm used to doing, and I don't buy a lot of bottled beverages. Of course, I put my used bottles out on the curb for recycling, so the environmental impact of my bottle consumption is the same whether I return my bottles to the store or not. But a lot of people don't recycle their bottles. And there's at least some evidence that bottle deposit laws can help convince them to do so.
Michigan, for example, claims a 97% bottle recycling rate. And Michigian has a statewide bottle deposit law, as do 10 other state. Now New Jersey lawmakers are considering becoming the 12th estate to enact a bottle deposit law. And the usual debate is coming up: would a bottle deposit law actually encourage recycling, or is it just another tax on New Jersey shoppers?
On the one hand, if you return your bottles to the store, you get back your money. So that's not exactly a tax, is it? But it takes time and effort to pack up all of your used bottles and take them with you. Or what happens to that beverage bottle you buy while you're out? Do you carry it all the way home so that you can stick it in the recycling bin?
What do you think? Are bottle deposit programs the best way to encourage recycling?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-13-2008 @ 4:22PM
matt said...
I am in Michigan. There is a reason we have 97% return rate on bottles, it's 10-cents per bottle/can! That's kind of a lot of money when you think of it. Only 10 cans and you have $1.
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5-14-2008 @ 7:52AM
the other matt said...
i live in michigan too, and when i visit friends in non-returnable states, the vast majority of cans and bottles end up in the trash. there's no reason for this...the only people who should complain are beer and soda distributors, since they handle the returns.
another benefit - you almost NEVER see empty cans and bottles by the sides of the road. everyone - and i mean everyone - holds onto their empties until they get to a recycler.
a great, great idea.
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