3 ms·

Yeah it is very cheap and viable to wash/reuse bottles, but this requires special handling and isn't compatible with the single-stream systems widely used in th

Yeah it is very cheap and viable to wash/reuse bottles, but this requires special handling and isn't compatible with the single-stream systems widely used in the US. In the US we throw everything into a truck and we expect recyclers to sort and re-melt a bunch of broken shards of assorted glass.

RetroTechie 5mo ago
Oh man, US is so behind the times in this respect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container-deposit_legislation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container-deposit_legislation In the NL, such 'reverse vending machines' are in every supermarket. They take PET soda bottles, soda cans (since 2023, €0.15 deposit per can), and a few (standardized) types of glass beer bottles. The latter are often bought in crates, which (with empty bottles in them), are taken by the machine as a whole. On average, these beer bottles do ~20 roundtrips between supermarket & brewer. It simply goes in reverse direction along the same logistics chain supplying those supermarkets. Non-deposit glass is collected in containers, seperate by color (clear/brown/green). Those have been around since early '80s or so. These days there's also containers for paper/cardboard, textiles, or even used frying oil/fat. Most supermarkets have smaller bins for batteries & small electronics. Germany even has multi-use PET bottles. From (extensive!) personal experience, these deposit schemes take a HUGE chunk out of beer/soda cans & bottles littered on roadsides, parks etc (some 75% reduction or so). But it is cultural thing too. Most people in European countries care for their environment, energy use etc. Most US people, no so much. Other countries: it varies.
- kube-system 5mo ago
  Not so much behind the times as it is that we’ve regressed. Reusable glass used to be more of a thing in the US. And deposit schemes gained popularity in the 70s, which some states still have. But the push for single-stream recycling has led many well intentioned people to believe that solution is good enough.

RetroTechie 5mo ago

Oh man, US is so behind the times in this respect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container-deposit_legislation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container-deposit_legislation In the NL, such 'reverse vending machines' are in every supermarket. They take PET soda bottles, soda cans (since 2023, €0.15 deposit per can), and a few (standardized) types of glass beer bottles. The latter are often bought in crates, which (with empty bottles in them), are taken by the machine as a whole. On average, these beer bottles do ~20 roundtrips between supermarket & brewer. It simply goes in reverse direction along the same logistics chain supplying those supermarkets. Non-deposit glass is collected in containers, seperate by color (clear/brown/green). Those have been around since early '80s or so. These days there's also containers for paper/cardboard, textiles, or even used frying oil/fat. Most supermarkets have smaller bins for batteries & small electronics. Germany even has multi-use PET bottles. From (extensive!) personal experience, these deposit schemes take a HUGE chunk out of beer/soda cans & bottles littered on roadsides, parks etc (some 75% reduction or so). But it is cultural thing too. Most people in European countries care for their environment, energy use etc. Most US people, no so much. Other countries: it varies.

kube-system 5mo ago
Not so much behind the times as it is that we’ve regressed. Reusable glass used to be more of a thing in the US. And deposit schemes gained popularity in the 70s, which some states still have. But the push for single-stream recycling has led many well intentioned people to believe that solution is good enough.