8 ms·

Will never forget how I (German) walked into a Safeway in San Francisco with my bag full of bottles and asked the cashier where the deposit-machine is. She had

Will never forget how I (German) walked into a Safeway in San Francisco with my bag full of bottles and asked the cashier where the deposit-machine is. She had absolutely no clue what I was talking about.

acomjean 12y ago
New York has those bottle in/ cash out machines. If you have a bottle that the store doesn't sell it would reject it. Recycling is very regional. Some states don't have bottle deposits. Where I live now, they gave up on the rules that nobody followed (plastic # types in particular) and have "single stream" where everything that might be recyclable goes to one plant and is sorted by machines/people. I remember having to buy my bag in germany because I didn't have one. Ikea did the same thing here for a while (no bags), but they have plastic ones now.
- philfrasty 12y ago
  Haha you are absolutely right about the bag thing. Also people behind the cashier putting your stuff into bags was new to me (and convenient).
- mlwarren 12y ago
  The majority of states lack bottle deposits, unfortunately. If more states added bottle deposit rates of 5 or 10 cents then their recycling rates would increase[1]. [1] http://www.bottlebill.org/about/benefits/waste.htm http://www.bottlebill.org/about/benefits/waste.htm
maxerickson 12y ago
They just have a weird implementation of the redemption: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/Recyclers/Directory/Default.aspx?lang=en-US http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/Recyclers/Director... (I see California on all the returnables from my state (which requires stores accept any that they sell), so I wondered what you were talking about)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
hn_ 12y ago
East Coast has reverse vending machines (bottle deposit machines) to put the bottles in. It reads the barcode - at least all places I've even lived in the East have them. When I was in California visiting family we had to go to a recycling center to get them weighed. The policies are regional. I like California's policy so much better cause I buy a lot of beer that gets rejected in the reverse vending machines.
- ginko 12y ago
  >I like California's policy so much better cause I buy a lot of beer that gets rejected in the reverse vending machines. The problem with the recycling centers is that you pretty much need a car to return them. With in-store machines you can just bring the bottles with you when you go grocery shopping.
thrownaway2424 12y ago
If you were actually at the safeway in sf then the answer is that the bottle machine is in the parking lot. The one with the big queue of hobos and crazy people.
tmoullet 12y ago
Just about every grocery store in Oregon has those machines. I guess it depends highly state to state. When I was working for a summer in New Mexico, I was somewhat appalled how the waitresses at restaurants would collect beer bottles from tables and toss them into the trash.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
laurencerowe 12y ago
AFAICT the CA bottle deposit is a way of encouraging the homeless to sort garbage.

acomjean 12y ago

New York has those bottle in/ cash out machines. If you have a bottle that the store doesn't sell it would reject it. Recycling is very regional. Some states don't have bottle deposits. Where I live now, they gave up on the rules that nobody followed (plastic # types in particular) and have "single stream" where everything that might be recyclable goes to one plant and is sorted by machines/people. I remember having to buy my bag in germany because I didn't have one. Ikea did the same thing here for a while (no bags), but they have plastic ones now.

philfrasty 12y ago
Haha you are absolutely right about the bag thing. Also people behind the cashier putting your stuff into bags was new to me (and convenient).
mlwarren 12y ago
The majority of states lack bottle deposits, unfortunately. If more states added bottle deposit rates of 5 or 10 cents then their recycling rates would increase[1]. [1] http://www.bottlebill.org/about/benefits/waste.htm http://www.bottlebill.org/about/benefits/waste.htm

maxerickson 12y ago

They just have a weird implementation of the redemption: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/Recyclers/Directory/Default.aspx?lang=en-US http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/Recyclers/Director... (I see California on all the returnables from my state (which requires stores accept any that they sell), so I wondered what you were talking about)

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

hn_ 12y ago

East Coast has reverse vending machines (bottle deposit machines) to put the bottles in. It reads the barcode - at least all places I've even lived in the East have them. When I was in California visiting family we had to go to a recycling center to get them weighed. The policies are regional. I like California's policy so much better cause I buy a lot of beer that gets rejected in the reverse vending machines.

ginko 12y ago
>I like California's policy so much better cause I buy a lot of beer that gets rejected in the reverse vending machines. The problem with the recycling centers is that you pretty much need a car to return them. With in-store machines you can just bring the bottles with you when you go grocery shopping.

thrownaway2424 12y ago

If you were actually at the safeway in sf then the answer is that the bottle machine is in the parking lot. The one with the big queue of hobos and crazy people.

tmoullet 12y ago

Just about every grocery store in Oregon has those machines. I guess it depends highly state to state. When I was working for a summer in New Mexico, I was somewhat appalled how the waitresses at restaurants would collect beer bottles from tables and toss them into the trash.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

laurencerowe 12y ago

AFAICT the CA bottle deposit is a way of encouraging the homeless to sort garbage.