February 7, 2008

Opinion

Patricia's Porch Talk: Of Bills And Bottles And Bottle Bills
by Patricia Paris

Did you know there used to be a law in Alabama that made it illegal to play dominoes on Sunday? And that, right here in Tennessee, once upon a time, there was a law making it illegal to carry a skunk into the state? But I believe that one was repealed.

And for one of the wackiest ever, have you heard about the active Mississippi 2008 Legislature's House Bill 282 which would prohibit food establishments from serving food to any person who is obese? Something tells me that one will not get the needed majority vote.

How they ever came up with such strange bills defies the imagination, but there are those that are presented again and again with persistence, because they are believed to have merit. The Tennessee Bottle Bill is such a bill.

Several states have already taken a huge bite out of their trash heaps by proposing a deposit on bottles. They guessed correctly that many intelligent, reasonable people would religiously round up their bottles and return them if it would put money in their pockets. With the passing of bottle bills, gathering and returning bottles provides a source of income for the needy, the greedy, and your everyday budget-conscious citizen, while diminishing the number of unsightly bottles and cans along rivers, roadsides, and parks as much as 50 percent.

Last year's bottle bill (Senate Bill 1408/House Bill 1829) was "rolled" to this year.
It boggles the mind wondering how this bill was ever defeated the first time around since pickup programs haven't been able to compete with the growing trash heaps. Educating the public apparently hasn't worked either; the trash is still there and at unacceptable levels.

The bottle bill is not to be confused with a tax. It is not a tax. In simple terms, it means that many bottles will never hit the ground and that for every bottle-tossing jerk that comes along, someone much smarter will come along and not only pick up behind them (at no expense to us) but also make a few cents on it. The proposed deposit would apply to beer and soft drinks as well as bottled water, juices, and sports drinks with the resultant goal, based on existing programs, of boosting Tennessee's overall redemption rate to as much as 70-80 percent.

For a comprehensive view of the bill and its likely amendments, I urge you to read up on this project at the Pride of Place/2008 Bottle Bill website, sponsored by Scenic Tennessee.

The bill now has 14 cosponsors (eight Democrats and six Republicans). If you, the concerned citizens of our beautiful state, share these concerns, I hope you will speak out.

There is still time to call your state representative's office before next week's vote.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_121575.asp