4 ms·

It's a deposit just like how some states do for cans. You pay extra when you buy it, and when you bring it back to be recycled you get the money back

nemothekid 4y ago
I guess I'm not seeing how this is fundamentally different than a tax.
- dec0dedab0de 4y ago
  Because you get it back. If anything, the state run deposit programs lose money from people returning cans from out of the state. But it doesn't even have to be state run. It could simply be mandated that the manufacturers buy back their old batteries for a minimum price.
  - nemothekid 4y ago
    >If anything, the state run deposit programs lose money from people returning cans from out of the state. The state also loses money here, unless the cost of running this program is neligible. >But it doesn't even have to be state run. It could simply be mandated that the manufacturers buy back their old batteries for a minimum price. I'm not saying this is a bad program, but this still walks, talks, and quacks like a tax.
  - this_was_posted 4y ago
    Wait a minute. You mean you get five cents here and ten cents there. You could round up bottles here and run them out to Michigan for the difference.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  Have you ever hired a car before? You pay for the time you have the car, and you also pay a certain amount as a "deposit". This is money that the rental place keeps, and when you bring the car back undamaged they give you the deposit back. If you damage the car, you don't get your deposit back. This is the same idea. Buy a device with a battery, pay some small amount as a deposit, get your deposit back when you bring it back for recycling.
  - nemothekid 4y ago
    So when I go buy a device, I pay some extra amount, enforced by the state. I can then get that back (a deposit, or dare I say, refund), when I return the battery. I'm not saying I don't like the idea, but this is a tax with a different name. And we haven't even gotten to how someone pays for the infrastructure for all this battery cleanup.

nemothekid 4y ago

I guess I'm not seeing how this is fundamentally different than a tax.

dec0dedab0de 4y ago
Because you get it back. If anything, the state run deposit programs lose money from people returning cans from out of the state. But it doesn't even have to be state run. It could simply be mandated that the manufacturers buy back their old batteries for a minimum price.
- nemothekid 4y ago
  >If anything, the state run deposit programs lose money from people returning cans from out of the state. The state also loses money here, unless the cost of running this program is neligible. >But it doesn't even have to be state run. It could simply be mandated that the manufacturers buy back their old batteries for a minimum price. I'm not saying this is a bad program, but this still walks, talks, and quacks like a tax.
- this_was_posted 4y ago
  Wait a minute. You mean you get five cents here and ten cents there. You could round up bottles here and run them out to Michigan for the difference.
Gordonjcp 4y ago
Have you ever hired a car before? You pay for the time you have the car, and you also pay a certain amount as a "deposit". This is money that the rental place keeps, and when you bring the car back undamaged they give you the deposit back. If you damage the car, you don't get your deposit back. This is the same idea. Buy a device with a battery, pay some small amount as a deposit, get your deposit back when you bring it back for recycling.
- nemothekid 4y ago
  So when I go buy a device, I pay some extra amount, enforced by the state. I can then get that back (a deposit, or dare I say, refund), when I return the battery. I'm not saying I don't like the idea, but this is a tax with a different name. And we haven't even gotten to how someone pays for the infrastructure for all this battery cleanup.