From the NY Times:A good new deposit bill could encourage recycling of new classes of beverage bottles and also provide financing for curbside programs that capture other kinds of recyclable waste, like juice cartons, ketchup bottles and mayonnaise jars. These are all made from the same plastic and glass as soda, beer and water bottles, yet fewer than one in five of them are being recycled. Since such containers are not subject to deposit laws, their recycling is driven only by moral imperative or local ordinances, and these incentives function best when supported by robust curbside recycling programs or other easy recycling options.
Unfortunately, the New York Legislature passed a bottle law last month that not only fails to accomplish these goals but will actually harm the recycling programs New York has. It is an ugly sausage that was cooked up by lobbyists for makers of sugared drinks and their allies in the Legislature. Instead of requiring deposits for all the new beverage categories, as Gov. David Paterson originally proposed, New York’s new bottle law covers bottled water only — unless that water contains added sugar.
That’s not a misprint. The Legislature, which began the year promising to lead national efforts against obesity and diabetes, exempted from the deposit law all noncarbonated beverages that contain added sugar. That means consumers are expected to pay more for zero-calorie choices than they will for sugar-filled options like teas and sports and juice drinks. The markup will encourage millions of New Yorkers, and especially price-sensitive populations like the poor and children, to consume sugar-spiked beverages instead of water.
How about exempting NYC from this altogether since we already have mandatory recycling of most plastics, which in turn makes money for the City? Let's be honest: If you actually do bring your bottles back for the deposit, you usually have to stand in line behind a bum that monopolizes the smelly machine for a 1/2 hour until it's too full for you to use... the same bum that probably trespassed on your property hours earlier to rifle through your trash looking for bottles and cans to redeem. (And the NYPD will tell you that the "bum looking for recyclables" is now a ruse used by burglars.) Ramp up the sanitation/recycling enforcement and put an end to the madness once and for all.
14 comments:
Recycling in nyc is a joke.Go into most city owned buildings.........nothing.go to a firehouse or precinct...........everything goes into the dumpster...........
The Kennedy's are environmentalists only to the extent it doesnt block their Hyannisport views. Lobby your uncle, jackass.
Well, to be fair, it is very easy to get around buying bottled water on a consistent basis, use tap water.
If you don't like the taste, filter it through a Brita filter and chill. Add a twist of lemon or lime.
The time is now to start the recycling of bottled water containers.All too often they are discarded improperly or are added to the trash.
We are already mandated to recycle them. If people don't, the DOS should crack down on them. Crappy's right.
The state legislature shows how really inept they are by passing a bill like they did. Where are their counsel who should have known this crazy bill would not have held up under scrutiny from beverage companies and consumers? What a waste of time?
Let's be honest: If you actually do bring your bottles back for the deposit, you usually have to stand in line behind a bum that monopolizes the smelly machine for a 1/2 hour until it's too full for you to use...
Well stated, Crappy!
That's why I switched to drinking wine from beer. Who the hell wants to wait in line at the recycling window with 12 cans just to get 60 cents? I pay more for wine, but I feel like a high brow aristocrat when I wear my blue blazer and ascot, while quaffing down a fine glass of claret. And I don't have to worry about the 5 cent deposit!
I give my deposits to those in need.
I give my deposits to those in need.
Looks may sometimes be deceiving.
They used to collect all the cans in my old office in midtown. After they collected a garbage bag's worth of them, one guy would bring the bag on his way to Penn Station, and give it to someone whom he thought was "homeless". One day he gave them to a guy, and he replied, "Oh, thank you so much! My wife and I collect cans after work, so that we can finance our annual vacation trips!"
I can't imagine that fits your definition of "those in need".
its easier for the state to have the beer stores do the work this way the stores absorb all the cost and have the burden of salaries and other expenses
The Pols are in bed with anyone who has an expensive problem that could cause them pain. How in the world do you exempt water with flavors & sweetners vs plain water? It should be the other wy around however the flavored waters are a fast growing category and increasingly profitable for bottlers. Guess where all the Pols are going to work after they get defeated?
That's why I switched to drinking wine from beer... I don't have to worry about the 5 cent deposit!
Because for some of us it's all about the nickels, not about the recycling of resources.
"Oh, thank you so much! My wife and I collect cans after work, so that we can finance our annual vacation trips!"
I can't imagine that fits your definition of "those in need".
Nice anecdote, but the math just doesn't add up.
NY is one of only a handful of states in the country that has this stupid bottle deposit law. Most states just require curbside recycling, and the municipality actually makes money. All the state is trying to do is privatize rubbish collection by requiring the distributors of these beverages to pick up the empties. What's next you must ask yourself?
Drink Jack Daniels and don't worry about recycling!
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