My parents collect cans for a living • Hacker News Board

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#311

Post by ratww » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

swlp21 wrote: post #303

Aissen wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saw that at your neighboor's in Copenhagen, and after the first outrage of paying +50cts per drink, I understood that I was seeing a glimpse the future… If littering is equivalent to throwing money, you simply won't do it. Weird side-effect: homeless people might ask for your empty bottle and do the collection. Not sure how I feel about that though…

> homeless people might ask for your empty bottle and do the collection I lived in Alberta 10 years ago and this was totally a thing. One homeless guy hung around the apartment and if you were carrying drink containers he would come and say "Can I take them to the store for you?". Of course, he meant could he get the deposit money on them too. He would hang around until he could fill two or three large garbage bags t…

When I lived in Brazil there was no reliable municipal recycling in my city, and no bottle deposit, so instead of throwing paper, cans and bottles into the common garbage, we just left it properly separated at the door and a homeless guy with a cart would pick it up weekly and get it recycled.

They were pretty much running a public utility service I'd otherwise have to pay for with taxes.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#312

Post by rhuru » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:45 PM UTC

rladd wrote: post #53

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 california the fee per bottle and can goes to state as taxes. You can get it back by turning in bottles and cans at a recycling center but the California state had made it impossible to return these cans for money. They have systematically shut down automated recycling redemption machines, caused long lines at in person centers and so on.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#313

Post by 2390123 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:51 PM UTC

kstenerud wrote: post #27

My family used to do this all the time when we were kids. We'd go along the ditches on the side of the road and make a family outing of it on weekends. At the beach my brother and I would drag big plastic garbage bags around and collect as much as we could from people who were happy to help some kids out and also happy to be rid of the bottles and cans. You could make some decent coin at it, but that was also in the…

I grew up in the same neighborhood as the writer, even went to the same college. It was normal that my family members collected cans. We all struggled to get by and that struggle is something that you will never forget. It keeps you grounded especially when you're in a tech industry that often forgets about how it is for people at the bottom of our society. Value that twitch and that feeling. I consider it sort of a lower brain stem function that reminds us of where we came from, what we had to do and why we have to be there for others going through the same.

My partner teases me about it but I collect every single can/bottle from my household and any other place I can find them and put them into trashbags in the trunk of my car. I often have no space to store other things in the trunk. When I'm back in my old neighborhood visiting family, I make it a point to stop and give these bags to individuals collecting. I know there are better ways to give back and donate but it's something that I will never stop doing because I know people appreciate reaching them on their level and letting them know we don't judge it, in fact we support it.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#314

Post by smt88 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:51 PM UTC

kkjjkgjjgg wrote: post #68

smt88 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It's worse somewhere else" isn't relevant to whether it's acceptable in the US. The US has the resources to reward hard workers with financial stability. It also benefits from brain-draining other countries with this promise. If the US continues to slide away from the "American Dream," the brains and prosperity will end up somewhere else.

So how much do you want to pay for bottle collecting? When you say "the US has the resources to reward hard workers", in this case you mean everybody who buys a bottle should pay more. Or how would you envision it to play out?

We could easily turn bottle-collecting into a job with guaranteed hours and pay.

Bottle-collecting is a poor example for the broader issue I was discussing. Those programs are intended for the (mostly homeless) poor to pick up trash they see instead of leaving it behind. It does what it's supposed to do.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#315

Post by 2390123 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

throw8932894 wrote: post #23

sien wrote: post #7

From the article "Jessica is a proud first-generation Ecuadorian-American and a second-year Percy Ellis Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) student at Baruch College majoring in business management with a minor in law and policy." Jessia is the American dream. First generation, got to college and writing like that. Lots of Americans concentrate on what is wrong with America. There is value in…

Quoted post unavailable.

Her parents collected cans to give their child an education and now her writing is on the front page of hackernews.

They fucking made it.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#316

Post by namdnay » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

cgriswald wrote: post #288

namdnay wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when it's a 100% rebate for the vast majority of people i think it does? the money doesn't go to the state, it goes to the organisation that handles the recycling, and you get a 100% rebate for doing the normal thing

In California the money goes from bottlers to a state agency and the program is essentially used to fund curbside recycling programs. The costs get passed down to consumers. While it’s indirect, it’s essentially a government service you’re taxed for that you pay either with your wallet or your labor. Additionally, since the deposit is not exempted from sales tax, the consumer also pays more sales tax than they would…

the sales tax thing is a bit silly!

for the rest, the only alternative I see would be for the government to get ouf of it completely and say it's up to each seller/distributor to handle their own bottles, but I guess this would require more complicated logistics?

I'm pretty sure that's what happens for glass bottles in Germany, I remember bringing back plastic crates of bottles to the brewery, and buying beer in big sturdy 50cl bottles that had obviously been refilled dozens of times already

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#317

Post by smt88 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 4:54 PM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #304

smt88 wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most hard workers in the U.S. are rewarded with financial stability. Not everyone, but enough that people still flock here from other countries where that's less true. You think restaurant workers are lazy? Factory workers? Amazon fulfillment workers? Why do people need two or three exhausting jobs to make a living? > Well gee, I guess the U.S. should stop being such a great place for immigrants, so talented people…

> Why do people need two or three exhausting jobs to make a living? Most. Not all. The U.S. can still do better, but there needs to be some perspective on how the U.S. stacks up against the rest of the world. Better than most countries, not as good as some. > Whatever you mean, the US needs young workers to resolve our massive labor shortage and we need educated workers to be our next generation of scientists, doctor…

From a US perspective, braining other countries' brains is good. I understand the term is negative, but I didn't mean it that way.

We don't need to ask how the US stacks up against the rest of the world -- only our economic peers. Compared to many Western European countries and Canada, we are not investing our excess resources as well into social safety.

I'm not a socialist and don't support UBS, but the floor of poverty in the US needs to be much higher (for all our sakes).

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#318

Post by function_seven » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 5:02 PM UTC

rhuru wrote: post #312

rladd wrote: post #53

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 california the fee per bottle and can goes to state as taxes. You can get it back by turning in bottles and cans at a recycling center but the California state had made it impossible to return these cans for money. They have systematically shut down automated recycling redemption machines, caused long lines at in person centers and so on.

> They have systematically shut down automated recycling redemption machines

I remember these machines outside of every grocery store, and now I don't see them anywhere anymore. It never occurred to me it was a purposeful effort, but then again I never gave it much thought.

What caused the machines to disappear?

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#319

Post by elil17 » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

x0x0 wrote: post #52

elil17 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The writing in this article is incredible and I have nothing but admiration for the author and her family. But, to me, this situation is what’s wrong with America. Why are people who are clearly so hard working struggling to get by?

You may find some books on the economic history of the US interesting. I suspect Jessica's parents immigrated and have very little formal education. Possible causes: trade liberalization means low skill workers in the US are competing with similar workers across the entire world. Simultaneously: 10th, 25th, and even median wages have barely moved in well over 20 years. Many of the jobs previously open to unskilled pe…

I think it’s important to consider how we got here, but I think it’s more important to consider what we can do about it. Many social policies could make life easier for people like Jessica and her family.

Re: My parents collect cans for a living

#320

Post by tdeck » Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 5:11 PM UTC

rladd wrote: post #53

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.

Where I live we have curbside recycling and people are paid a living wage to come by in a truck and pick it up. However, the folks 'collecting" these cans are actually taking them out of the bins during the night / morning before pickup.