I think it was the sight of me hauling a garbage bag full of aluminum cans through the office last Friday morning, a week ago that is, that sparked the conversation with a couple co-workers about recycling and redeeming cans and bottles in states that charge a deposit on beverage containers. It got me to thinking about all the containers and other trash I don't bother to pick up most days. I'll stop on a dime for a penny and make a U-turn for a can. Sadly, I think there are far more plastic bottles out there than cans. And there they stay.
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| I had an eye for plastic bottles today -- a blight upon our fair city. The construction shirt was an unexpected bonus. |
So today I made it a point to pick up the bottles I passed, just to take a tally. The numbers are below and I am certain I missed a few, though I did make an effort to walk a couple yards down the railroad tracks to pick up three containers left there. (The train had just passed, so I figured it was safe.) It's disgusting the amount of trash on our streets, and a good portion of it is single-use plastic beverage containers.
I editorialized on the subject three years ago when I still had to write an editorial each week. You can read it here, but I'll give you the nutshell take. So-called bottle bill states see a greater recovery rate of plastic bottles through recycling than states that simply recycle. The majority of those states have seen a large reduction in plastic bottle waste. The deposit not only encourages recycling, it discourages littering.
Will some people still toss their water and soda bottles? Sure. But you know what? At a nickel or dime apiece, they'll quickly attract attention by folks looking to cash in on the free source of income. Aluminum cans are one thing -- it takes about 33 to make a pound, which sells for 44 cents (minus 10 percent for impurities) at G&M Distributors' recycling center in Galesburg. By comparison, 33 plastic pop bottles at a nickel each would net you $1.65. That would add up quickly.
I'm just old enough to remember the days of glass pop bottles on which you paid a deposit; the money was refunded when you returned the bottles to the store. If you bought more pop, you essentially rolled it over. If you were giving it up for lent or whatever, you pocketed the change or bought some candy bars. It's really not that difficult. And again, the lazy mopes who still wouldn't bother to hold onto their bottles until they found a depository would simply be out a few cents and the resulting littler likely wouldn't be around long because some thrifty soul would snatch 'em up for a mini-payday.
Today's Stats
Temp: 81 degrees F
Distance: 2.7 miles
Weekly Total: 12.95 miles
Treasure: 1 orange sleeveless T-shirt with reflective stripes (thanks, Gunther Construction); 11 plastic bottles; 1 glass bottle; four aluminum cans.
iPod Playlist (shuffle)
You Keep Me Hangin' On - Kim Wilde
Give Me Back My Wig (live) - Luther Allison
Veracruz - Santana
Walk Between the Raindrops - James McMurtry
Handle With Care - Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (Concert for George)
I Can Dream About You - Dan Hartman
One Lonely Night - REO Speedwagon
The Grand Illusion - Styx
I editorialized on the subject three years ago when I still had to write an editorial each week. You can read it here, but I'll give you the nutshell take. So-called bottle bill states see a greater recovery rate of plastic bottles through recycling than states that simply recycle. The majority of those states have seen a large reduction in plastic bottle waste. The deposit not only encourages recycling, it discourages littering.
Will some people still toss their water and soda bottles? Sure. But you know what? At a nickel or dime apiece, they'll quickly attract attention by folks looking to cash in on the free source of income. Aluminum cans are one thing -- it takes about 33 to make a pound, which sells for 44 cents (minus 10 percent for impurities) at G&M Distributors' recycling center in Galesburg. By comparison, 33 plastic pop bottles at a nickel each would net you $1.65. That would add up quickly.
I'm just old enough to remember the days of glass pop bottles on which you paid a deposit; the money was refunded when you returned the bottles to the store. If you bought more pop, you essentially rolled it over. If you were giving it up for lent or whatever, you pocketed the change or bought some candy bars. It's really not that difficult. And again, the lazy mopes who still wouldn't bother to hold onto their bottles until they found a depository would simply be out a few cents and the resulting littler likely wouldn't be around long because some thrifty soul would snatch 'em up for a mini-payday.
Today's Stats
Temp: 81 degrees F
Distance: 2.7 miles
Weekly Total: 12.95 miles
Treasure: 1 orange sleeveless T-shirt with reflective stripes (thanks, Gunther Construction); 11 plastic bottles; 1 glass bottle; four aluminum cans.
iPod Playlist (shuffle)
You Keep Me Hangin' On - Kim Wilde
Give Me Back My Wig (live) - Luther Allison
Veracruz - Santana
Walk Between the Raindrops - James McMurtry
Handle With Care - Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (Concert for George)
I Can Dream About You - Dan Hartman
One Lonely Night - REO Speedwagon
The Grand Illusion - Styx
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