4 ms·

But it's such a small deposit. I'd rather see a $1 or $2 deposit to encourage more people to do their own recycling, to discourage single usage containers, whic

But it's such a small deposit. I'd rather see a $1 or $2 deposit to encourage more people to do their own recycling, to discourage single usage containers, which I think the US's culture would benefit from.

ars 7y ago
For $1 I'd be happy to make and ship bottles complete with authentic looking labels to you. i.e. if it wasn't obvious, that would have way too much fraud.
- tehlike 7y ago
  Reminds me of this: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hanoi-rat-massacre-1902 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hanoi-rat-massacre-190... When a measure becomes the target, it ceases to be a good measure.
- allovernow 7y ago
  That's an interesting point. I bet the price of plastic has gone down since the original value was chosen. I wonder what price point makes fraud economical on a large enough scale to attract someone with access to manufacturing...
- labster 7y ago
  Heck, even at 2.5 and 5 cents, California had a bottle recycling rate of 102% a few years back. Just bringing legit bottles across the border was a profitable activity until they started cracking down.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  That’s already happened: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/05/fraudster-made-1m-from-recycling-bottles-german-court-hears https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/05/fraudster-made...
gjs278 7y ago
that’s absurdly elitist of you to suggest this. the damage the cans cost us is not anywhere near a dollar either.
grecy 7y ago
I agree wholeheartedly. It should be a much bigger deposit, and then bottles should be reused rather than recycled (which is the worst of the three things we should be doing). On Ontario, Canada it's simply a way of life that you bring in a box of empty beer bottles and put them on a rack on your way into the beer store in replacement for the box of full beer you're about to pick up. So in that way you only ever pay the deposit once.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  It’s getting more and more annoying because a lot of urban Beer Store properties are getting redeveloped into other buildings. And the Beer Stores that replace them often don’t take bottles back. At least in Toronto anyway. Meanwhile more and more liquor and beer sales are coming through the Liquor stores, which collect deposits on everything but give no refunds.

ars 7y ago

For $1 I'd be happy to make and ship bottles complete with authentic looking labels to you. i.e. if it wasn't obvious, that would have way too much fraud.

tehlike 7y ago
Reminds me of this: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hanoi-rat-massacre-1902 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hanoi-rat-massacre-190... When a measure becomes the target, it ceases to be a good measure.
allovernow 7y ago
That's an interesting point. I bet the price of plastic has gone down since the original value was chosen. I wonder what price point makes fraud economical on a large enough scale to attract someone with access to manufacturing...
labster 7y ago
Heck, even at 2.5 and 5 cents, California had a bottle recycling rate of 102% a few years back. Just bringing legit bottles across the border was a profitable activity until they started cracking down.
Scoundreller 7y ago
That’s already happened: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/05/fraudster-made-1m-from-recycling-bottles-german-court-hears https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/05/fraudster-made...

gjs278 7y ago

that’s absurdly elitist of you to suggest this. the damage the cans cost us is not anywhere near a dollar either.

grecy 7y ago

I agree wholeheartedly. It should be a much bigger deposit, and then bottles should be reused rather than recycled (which is the worst of the three things we should be doing). On Ontario, Canada it's simply a way of life that you bring in a box of empty beer bottles and put them on a rack on your way into the beer store in replacement for the box of full beer you're about to pick up. So in that way you only ever pay the deposit once.

Scoundreller 7y ago
It’s getting more and more annoying because a lot of urban Beer Store properties are getting redeveloped into other buildings. And the Beer Stores that replace them often don’t take bottles back. At least in Toronto anyway. Meanwhile more and more liquor and beer sales are coming through the Liquor stores, which collect deposits on everything but give no refunds.