[OKC] Seminole Lawmaker to Propose 5 cent Deposit Law

[Kelley C Smith]

I spent a summer in Oregon in the 80's (wow that was a while back!). At 
the time, the economy in Oregon was at least as bad if not worse than it 
is here right now. One plus was that unemployed or underemployed people 
would collect bottles and cans and sell them back. There were almost no 
unredeemed deposits. It was a source of some income for industrious 
underemployed people.

I'm with you on the 80/20 split. Retailers should be compensated 
something for their time and expense .

Kelley

Brian Figgins wrote:
> Last week, Oklahoma State Representative Ryan Kiesel announced that he 
> plans to introduce a bottle and can deposit law next legislative 
> session. 
> <http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-lawmaker-ryan-kiesel-to-propose-bottle-deposit-program/article/3403675> Many 
> states have bottle deposit <http://www.bottlebill.org/> laws now.  
> These laws fight litter, promote better health, and support existing 
> recycling programs. 
>
> A deposit bill is not a tax on anyone... except perhaps a tax on the 
> lazy.  People who purchase a can or bottle pay an extra $.05 fee which 
> they get back when they return the item.
>
> The details of the bill have yet to be determined and I have some 
> questions myself.  Will Oklahoma keep 100% of the unredeemed deposits 
> like Connecticut or return 100% of them to the retailers and bottlers 
> like Oregon?
>
> I would hope we would be closer to the New York model where the state 
> keeps 80% of the unredeemed deposits and the retailers get the other 
> 20%. After all, the retailers would be the ones to collect the bottles 
> and cans and have to recycle them.  I can't see Oklahoma passing such 
> a bill if we don't allow them to keep some of the unredeemed deposits 
> but the state would lose a lot of incentive if they did not get to 
> keep some.
>
> Let me know what you think.
>
> Brian Figgins
>
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