Re: Are You Old Enough To Remember?
Scott Begin (sbegin@MCS.NET)
Fri, 20 Aug 1999 18:56:39 -0500
At 12:32 PM 8/20/99 -0500, Charles W. Pourciau wrote:
>Are You Old Enough To Remember?
> ..all soft drinks came in bottles and you could get a deposit back.
Yes, and I just turned 30...don't you not feel quite as old???
Now if you indicated that the deposit was a penny or anything less than a
nickel, then you got me. I'm not that old
Although I'm sure that the first deposits were required on beverage bottles
due to the high cost of the bottles (and to insure that they came back),
there are now a number of states where deposit laws were enacted for
environmental concerns.
I don't remember specifically which states have the laws any more, but I
know Michigan still has them (most containers 10 cents each, some used to
be 5 cents, but that could have changed). I though that several other
midwest/northern plains states (Iowa and Minnesota come to mind), a couple
of New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut), as well as California
had the laws. I could be wrong about which states have them (I haven't
traveled to these places and / or I haven't bought canned/bottled soft
drinks when traveling).
I'm most familiar with Michigan's Law, as I am a native and lived there
until I got a job in Illinois 8 years ago. It was passed in the late
1970's / early 1980's with the goal of reducing litter. I believe it has
worked, as it gives a financial incentive to for someone to pick up the
containers. In Michigan, it is 10 cents on most containers, although I
remember some beer bottles were 5 cents each.
There are still times when people don't care about the deposit (fairs,
college classrooms), but there were usually people just as willing to do
the work of returning the cans for the deposit. At times, I collected
cans/bottles for the deposits, but at other times, it was a hassle (I don't
drink a lot of pop) collecting them and keeping track of what belonged to me.
Now as an Illinois resident, I try to avoid buying something with a deposit
if I go to Michigan, just to reduce the problem of returning it. However,
in the 1990's it is much easier to be environmentally conscious and
recycling the containers (which I do wherever possible).
Even though I avoid paying deposits, in general, I like the idea as it does
increase recycling of the containers better than any method I know.
Yours in Scouting,
Scott A. Begin Troop 348, Oak Forest, IL, Calumet Council
sbegin@mcs.net
