3 ms·

In Finland there's a 15 cent refund on small plastic bottles and 40 cents on large ones. It may not sound like much, but its enough that at any time of day you

by swebs 8y ago

In Finland there's a 15 cent refund on small plastic bottles and 40 cents on large ones. It may not sound like much, but its enough that at any time of day you can see people combing the parks and searching through public trash cans for any sort of recyclables. It is essentially crowdsourcing sorting to the local alcoholics. Win-win

mc32 8y ago
I think it mostly works but can result in anyi social behavior like people rummaging ghtu and ransacking your “recyclables” bin for the rubbish company. They are known to occasinally leave things strewn about after hitting their jackpots.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  Here in Copenhagen, little shelves have been added to public trash cans, so you can put your empty bottles/cans there, instead of throwing them in, if you don't want to return them. That way, there's no need to rummage through the trash, possibly making a huge mess.
c0nducktr 8y ago
Michigan has a 10 cent deposit on bottle and cans, and it works well as an incentive to recycle. A little annoying having to take them back instead of just tossing them in my recycle bin, but it's not too inconvenient.
ac29 8y ago
With a refund that high, wouldn't it discourage curbside recycling programs run by cities in favor of less efficient individual recycling efforts? In the US, states with refunds are usually 5 or 10 cents. So, a week's worth of recycling is maybe worth $2-3 - not really worth sorting and taking yourself. If it was worth $20/week or more, you'd have a lot more people opting to do it themselves, leading to a ton of otherwise unneeded car trips.
- swebs 8y ago
  The recycling truck still comes by every week since there's a lot of stuff you can't get a refund for. Cardboard, newspapers, imported bottles, etc. Most people return them on when going to the supermarket since every supermarket has bottle return machines, so there are really no additional trips necessary.

by swebs 8y ago

mc32 8y ago

I think it mostly works but can result in anyi social behavior like people rummaging ghtu and ransacking your “recyclables” bin for the rubbish company. They are known to occasinally leave things strewn about after hitting their jackpots.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
Here in Copenhagen, little shelves have been added to public trash cans, so you can put your empty bottles/cans there, instead of throwing them in, if you don't want to return them. That way, there's no need to rummage through the trash, possibly making a huge mess.

c0nducktr 8y ago

Michigan has a 10 cent deposit on bottle and cans, and it works well as an incentive to recycle. A little annoying having to take them back instead of just tossing them in my recycle bin, but it's not too inconvenient.

ac29 8y ago

With a refund that high, wouldn't it discourage curbside recycling programs run by cities in favor of less efficient individual recycling efforts? In the US, states with refunds are usually 5 or 10 cents. So, a week's worth of recycling is maybe worth $2-3 - not really worth sorting and taking yourself. If it was worth $20/week or more, you'd have a lot more people opting to do it themselves, leading to a ton of otherwise unneeded car trips.

swebs 8y ago
The recycling truck still comes by every week since there's a lot of stuff you can't get a refund for. Cardboard, newspapers, imported bottles, etc. Most people return them on when going to the supermarket since every supermarket has bottle return machines, so there are really no additional trips necessary.