Letter to the Editor

For a clean city, pass the bottle bill

The 2011 Tennessee Beverage Container Recycling Refunds Act is in the legislative cycle in Nashville (SB337/HB289). This legislation, commonly known as the "bottle bill," proposes a 5-cent refundable deposit on beverage containers made of glass, plastic and aluminum. This measure will generate a network of small, self-supporting businesses ("redemption centers") that will provide a refund for these recycled materials while creating jobs and helping to boost Tennessee's overall recycling rates.

The theory is that if people have a financial incentive to recycle these items, then we would have fewer containers floating in our waterways and lining our riverbanks and roadways. I cannot agree more.

Memphis at one time was one of America's cleanest cities, but this, very apparently, is no longer the case. Unless our citizens make the decision to combat this problem, it will only get worse.

Knowledge of this bill and public support is a step in the right direction, and I'm proud that Shelby County is among the 17 county commissions to date that have endorsed the measure.

Betsy Bird

Memphis

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/apr/03/letter-clean-city-pass-bottle-bill/