141–150 of 419 posts
Only about half the otherwise identical cans and bottles you see are returnable for deposit due to legalese reasons, like the wrong store or the wrong state.
For example, a huge portion of Poland Spring bottles have a red strip on the label, and these are not returnable because they were bought in a 24-pack.
This is why I have always thought that can and bottle deposit prices should keep up with inflation: to give the collectors a living wage.
The cost of food is suppressed, because our elites, leaders and politicians know what happens when that too is subjected to inflation as well, and that is revolution. Meanwhile, as far as I can see, the frog-boiling of regular people has been steady at least since the 60's. Back then the cost of a nice apartment was about one or two years pay. Today it's easily 10 years pay, and so the former middle class opt out of…
Don't worry, just go ahead and don't forget to wince when looking at demographics stats, South Korea and Japan will be your guide.
I've tried it a few of times just out of curiosity, and it's a frustrating exercise in paying attention to detail and being rejected over and over. Only about half the otherwise identical cans and bottles you see are returnable for deposit due to legalese reasons, like the wrong store or the wrong state. For example, a huge portion of Poland Spring bottles have a red strip on the label, and these are not returnable b…
The next time I went, I had the bottles all counted, and I told the guy right as I was giving him the bag. He weighed it, threw it into a common bin, and pretended not to have heard the count. The next time he said something about having to count it out with me, or something. It was a frustrating experience, and it seemed lousy to be scammed when I was going doing all the things I was supposed to do to recycle.
Then I got a sodastream, and my bottle usage plummeted.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They would soon get used to it. People are hardly going to give up drinking sugary soft drinks because of high deposit values. They might be reluctant but if there is no other way to get that sugary hit they will do it and eventually it will be just how things are done.
You're right that they won't give up drinking soda! But the experience of Philadelphia, [1] which imposed a per-ounce soda tax (later repealed) shows us that these tend to drive consumers to other jurisdictions (NJ) to buy groceries. This means Philadelphia lost out not only on soda sales, but also on other groceries purchased at the same time. Another issue that arises is that people will actually transport recyclab…
Germany pays a lot more for cans and bottles than Poland does, but you can't return Polish bottles and cans in German stores because the barcodes and labels are different - you can cross the border without any issue, but there is no way to exploit the economic imbalance in recyclables returns.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Weird side-effect: homeless people might ask for your empty bottle and do the collection. Not sure how I feel about that though… It becomes a respectful cooperation. When you party in a park, you place your containers next to a trash so a homeless can pick it up without searching the trash. They basically help you partying hard (and not caring/carrying about the bottles) and earn (by hard work) a bit of money.
I don't know about "respectful" for both parties. Bottle collectors trying to take/steal not yet empty bottles and cans has become more of a rule than an exception in parks in central Stockholm. I'm still very much in favour of container deposit but I'm growing really tired of forceful collecting.
Here in Czechia it's 3czk deposit for ~20czk full drink price and I've never noticed anybody even asking for the bottles, yet alone "stealing" them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Weird side-effect: homeless people might ask for your empty bottle and do the collection. Not sure how I feel about that though… It becomes a respectful cooperation. When you party in a park, you place your containers next to a trash so a homeless can pick it up without searching the trash. They basically help you partying hard (and not caring/carrying about the bottles) and earn (by hard work) a bit of money.
In Germany -at least the cities I'm familiar with- everyone places their cans and bottles next to the trash-can. German bottles often have "pfand gehört daneben" (Deposits belong next to it) printed on them[0]. And some cities even placed special holders alongside the trashcans[1]. Like with many things, Germans have made deposit collection into an efficient job. [0] https://kaiserkiwi.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/f…
They should at least have a 25 cent deposit as well. Right now no homeless person picks those up, because it's just not worth it.
Even with 25 cents there would still be a disincentive due to the weight, but I also don't want to incentivize bottle makers to produce more plastic, for them to lower the price at the counter.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're right that they won't give up drinking soda! But the experience of Philadelphia, [1] which imposed a per-ounce soda tax (later repealed) shows us that these tend to drive consumers to other jurisdictions (NJ) to buy groceries. This means Philadelphia lost out not only on soda sales, but also on other groceries purchased at the same time. Another issue that arises is that people will actually transport recyclab…
The thing I don't get about US though......people keep pointing out that US States are as big if not bigger than most European countries - and over there companies somehow manage to create completely unique packaging for every country, distribute their product and keep stock of what's where. Why not in the US? If this sort of thing is enough of an issue, why not make sure that each state gets different barcode, or sl…
It rather seems to be the other way around: it's easier to devise a system where you go by something unique and country-specific like a bar-code (to avoid counterfeiting business), so that's why it's like that (of course, there's also living standard difference between countries).
Still, even if there was an incentive discrepancy, it's easy for all the countries to match upward since this is basically just "loaning" bottles/cans out, and you only need to pay out "once" for your regular supply of whatever drinks you like to get, and after that, you are just re-starting the "loan".
FWIW, it's been like that in Serbia since forever, but only for the same product where the producer cared (you'd get an entire beer case, and then once you are through it, you bring it back to the store, and pick up another one): this allowed them to keep the price down and get more turnaround for their drinks.
I sure prefer the legal framework that allows returning it regardless of the specifics (producer or such).
This is why I have always thought that can and bottle deposit prices should keep up with inflation: to give the collectors a living wage.
Here in Norway a half litre or smaller container has a deposit of 2 kr, bigger containers are 3 kr (22 and 33 US cent respectively). But it isn't the size of the deposit that drives the return rate (95% or more here in Norway) it is the ease of doing it. Here all shops that sell such goods are required to accept the containers in return even if they were not purchased in that shop and even if they are of a different…
The whole deposit system is extremely convenient when you are drinking in the park or beach, where you usually don't want to bring all the bottles back again, but you'll get people coming by and ask if you have any deposit bottles to give to them.
Not to be contrarian, but it seems like the shame around poverty is just as strong as it ever was. Or else why are all these stories and anecdotes on the form "My parents collected cans but I made a career and I don't collect cans" or "I used to collect cans but then I got some kind of break through my hard work and now I don't collect cans anymore". It's a lot like depression: "I used to be depressed but then I work…
I had the same thought as I was reading. It was all "our struggles make us stronger", not "being poor isn't something to be ashamed about". I had the opposite reaction of most people here, I found it sad that she has to act like the fact that she grew up poor was some personal deficiency she needed to overcome, rather than a tragedy that largely happens randomly due to the circumstances of your birth.
People shouldn't have "to be supportive". It's like telling someone you have diabetes and being relieved when they don't make fun of you. No, not making fun of you should be the default.
As they should. About a decade ago in Toronto, Ontario, Canada we actually made collecting cans out of recycling bins illegal. The city claimed that these "scavengers" were taking their rightful profits. I shit you not. [0] [0] https://toronto.citynews.ca/2008/08/07/city-to-crack-down-on...
The only truly recyclable products are aluminum cans, clean paper and clear glass. Aluminum cans and clean cardboard are the only thing that really pays to recycle. If for profit companies, or even thousands of individuals, are going around scooping all the aluminum and clean cardboard first, the system quickly collapses as it becomes a huge expense and blue bins become simply another garbage bin.
These scavengers were also exacerbating contamination in process -- our blue bins would regularly get dumped out on the street or sidewalk and the blue recycling bags ripped open so the "sorter" could find the cans faster.
To be clear, there are no "profits" in recycling ... it's a loss with some cost recovery.