After writing this about can deposits, talking to folks at the community garden last night about the giant floating trash heaps in the oceans, reading this post by my friend about half marathons and plastic bags (Catchy tagline, eh? Click the link for the story.), recalling how my hometown ships our trash 45 miles to a neighboring town because we filled our dump up, and after receiving 3 cents off my groceries at Safeway because I brought my own bag, I got to thinking more about deposit programs. The basic premise: put a deposit on everything.
What if cardboard or newspapers were worth 10 cents a pound? How about plastic packaging running a cool 25 cents a pound? What if all things used for packaging and consumer goods had a deposit you paid up front but could recoup if you brought it back to a recycling center?
The philosophy is simple: put a value on everything so it creates a market for that waste. If companies had to pay the money to dispose of returned packaging then they would be incentivized to reduce, recycle, and reuse old packaging.
Currently that cost is on you and me: we buy a product, in the products price is the cost of the packaging, then we have to pay the garbageman to dispose of that trash. Instead, with a deposit system, the price for all of that would shift to the producer. If they used less packaging they would have a lower price, thus improving their competitive edge.
Living green means much more than emitting fewer greenhouse gases. It means eating food that has fewer chemicals applied to the land, it means using less water so rivers and aquifers don't run dry, and it means using less stuff--plastic, paper, etc--so as to create less trash. Wouldn't creating a value for what is currently considered waste do a lot to move us in that direction?
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4 comments:
Amen to that! I don't drink soda or bottled water, so I rarely have cans or bottles to deposit (except for beer of course), but I always save shopping bags to reuse as garbage bags, newspapers for wrapping or to recycle, etc. If there were a deposit for more things I think more people would start, money is a great motivator here in America!
In Germany, they charge for plastic bags, it’s a small fee 5 or 10 cents per bag. On a large shopping spree, this adds up...so most Germans (85-90%) bring their own baskets or cloth bags.
I think the systems for environmentally friendly and efficient living have been created by our friends across the pond, we simply need to look, learn and implement the systems here in the USA. These are not complicated systems, I think we just need someone to take the initiative to get them going here state side.
you have good ideas. you should run for city council.
Horray to this Mr./Mrs. Anonymous who is making me feel gooooood
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