Letter to the Editor

Pass deposit bill to curb litter in the 'Garbage State'

Your April 20 editorial, "Litter everywhere/Take responsibility," asked readers to take more personal responsibility for preventing the litter that's everywhere in southern New Jersey. I'd like to suggest a more effective approach to getting aluminum cans and glass and plastic bottles off our roadsides, beaches, marshes, playing fields and everywhere else.

Legislation pending in Trenton would require 10-cent or 20-cent refundable deposits on all beverage containers sold in New Jersey. The Smart Container Act (A930/S1467) is sponsored or co-sponsored by 10 state senators and Assembly representatives, all from northern or central New Jersey. It's time to join our neighboring states of New York and Delaware - and many others, including Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine - that are visibly far less "trashier."

The problem of littered bottles and cans in our communities (and much other roadside trash) is massive and seems to be increasing year by year. New Jersey's current voluntary mechanism for removing litter, a small tax, is deplorably ineffective, offering no incentive for litterers to refrain from littering or for the public to clean up litter.

In past years, when New Jersey had a bottle industry, the industry lobbied against bottle legislation as a likely infringement on glass production. Until last year, there was also opposition from the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, which would have suffered a reduced recycling volume. But now even the ACUA can't market its recyclables. So, hopefully, these opponents will now be supportive.

This legislation imposes no new taxes and no net cost to the consumer; in fact, it would enable the elimination of the current litter tax. It would even stimulate the economy by providing the opportunity for children and others to scavenge the roadsides for bottles and cans that can be turned in for pocket money.

Everyone offended by the degree to which the Garden State has become the Garbage State should not hesitate to urge our state legislators to enact this legislation.

DICK COLBY

Egg Harbor City

(Editor's note: Dick Colby is chairman of the Atlantic County Parks and Environment Advisory Commission.)

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/letters/article_17746b4b-1429-5541-b19d-96c44149de1f.html