I don't remember what it was that got me thinking about it, but I started thinking yesterday or the day before that we really need to implement a deposit on plastic water bottles to increase the amount of recycling of these. People are buying these in such great numbers, especially considering that in Washington, we have some of the purest cleanest water around. Actually, most places in the US have water that is just great for drinking! People are willing to pay 10x and more for bottled water, which is often actually not as clean and sometimes it's actually tap water that's just been bottled to make it more "convenient"!!
I understand that the problem is that recycling is less available outside of the home and office, where it really seems useful to carry bottled water. That's a whole separate issue, but perhaps by having a $.05 deposit on these bottles, something I believe has already been implemented in California and has been implemented with aluminum cans in a number of states, the rate of recycling of these would greatly increase. In Michigan, where there is a $0.10/bottle deposit, 95% of deposit containers are recycled! 95%!! That's pretty big time, I'd say. Adding initiative to the whole thing is one way that's almost a surefire way to get these items recycled, whether it's by the consumers who are using the bottles or people turning trash into cash. Regardless of who recycled them, they'd be getting recycled and decreasing our consumption of petroleum, which is already known to not be a limitless resource for us on this planet. They'd also be decreasing our output of garbage, which is seemingly becoming something we have an endless supply of, especially in the US where consumption of everything is just ridiculously high.
Perhaps we can move towards a statewide bottle deposit for Washington or even further, a national program that could help on an even greater scale, but something needs to be done to increase the sad rate of recyling of these items that have become a staple in so many people's purses, backpacks, cars, briefcases, hands, and everywhere else people can fit them. I'd still rather promote using reusable bottles and refilling them, which saves everybody from the waste and the added expense, but I'm not so disillusioned that I believe people are going to stop using bottled water, especially here in the US, where everything has to be about convenience and the slightest hassle is a big deal.
I understand that the problem is that recycling is less available outside of the home and office, where it really seems useful to carry bottled water. That's a whole separate issue, but perhaps by having a $.05 deposit on these bottles, something I believe has already been implemented in California and has been implemented with aluminum cans in a number of states, the rate of recycling of these would greatly increase. In Michigan, where there is a $0.10/bottle deposit, 95% of deposit containers are recycled! 95%!! That's pretty big time, I'd say. Adding initiative to the whole thing is one way that's almost a surefire way to get these items recycled, whether it's by the consumers who are using the bottles or people turning trash into cash. Regardless of who recycled them, they'd be getting recycled and decreasing our consumption of petroleum, which is already known to not be a limitless resource for us on this planet. They'd also be decreasing our output of garbage, which is seemingly becoming something we have an endless supply of, especially in the US where consumption of everything is just ridiculously high.
Perhaps we can move towards a statewide bottle deposit for Washington or even further, a national program that could help on an even greater scale, but something needs to be done to increase the sad rate of recyling of these items that have become a staple in so many people's purses, backpacks, cars, briefcases, hands, and everywhere else people can fit them. I'd still rather promote using reusable bottles and refilling them, which saves everybody from the waste and the added expense, but I'm not so disillusioned that I believe people are going to stop using bottled water, especially here in the US, where everything has to be about convenience and the slightest hassle is a big deal.
2 comments:
i'm in to move for the bottle return. Hey, remember when you used to collect cans when you were young, and we'd go in the van to take you to the dump? hahaha
That wasn't the dump! That was the recycling station. They paid for aluminum, paper, and such.
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