July 2, 2007
Opinion
Curbside recycling cleans up but 'bottle bill' is best
Bill Partington
I'm so glad to see that Sherry Boas, in her "Simply
Living" column," is taking on some hot subjects, such as
the fact that most Florida aquatic life is safe to swim with, and that
we still badly need a "bottle bill' similar to those enacted in
other states.
During the 1980s environmentalists tried to get a bottle bill passed
by the Florida Legislature, similar to those then working in about
nine other states. The League of Women Voters had a study made of the
costs and benefits of other states, which strongly indicated it would
also work here. We were told that about 150 lobbyists representing
beverages, bottlers, supermarkets, convenience stores and their friends
were fighting it, an awesome army that contribute to campaigns.
Naturally, we lost.
The Florida Beverage Association not surprisingly
claims that a bottle bill does not improve recycling rates, most waste
is other materials, it increases direct costs to consumers, is a "messy
and expensive system," and that curbside volunteer recycling is
more effective. None of this is true according to what we can see and
hear from bottle-bill states.
I visited Northeastern states often during the 1970s and 1980s and
saw firsthand how well bottle bills worked in four New England states.
Beverage cans, bottles and some other containers' labels stated that
these were refundable in those four states plus New York, and people
were bringing them in by the bagful to redemption counters at markets
or, in Connecticut, to redemption machines.
Instead of many (most?) refundable containers being lost to landfills,
as happens in Florida because there is no financial incentive to recycle,
all sorts of fellow nickel-nursers not only saved them for the next
trip to the market but also picked them up from streets and institutional
wastebaskets. Roadsides were policed by others and street people were
coming in with grocery carts loaded with cans. A beer can tossed from
a moving car is collected almost as soon as it hits the road.
Opponents of bottle bills also claim that the containers pose sanitation
problems, which apparently is easily resolved. In fact, most markets,
once they set up redemption tables, say that they get more business
-- sort of like cashing in coupons. Also there has been almost no need
for added state personnel, because it all happens in the private business
sector.
I always explore vacant lots as well wild woodlands, and the reduction
of beverage containers, broken glass and other litter in Massachusetts
after the bottle bill went into effect was dramatic.
By contrast, in nearby Rhode Island, which did not have the law, litter
was piling up, especially the durable beverage containers.
In Florida's Ocala National Forest, beer cans and bottles and other
recyclable items are so common that disgusted visitors on field trips
often fill bags with them.
We have made some headway in recycling in Florida, but a bottle bill
would increase our efforts tremendously and at minimal cost.
There's nothing like financial incentive to make us better citizens.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-myword02x07jul02,0,3473775.story
