[OKC] Seminole Lawmaker to Propose 5 cent Deposit Law

[bfiggins at cox.net]

Kelly,

I spent most of last summer in California.  Their deposit law is a great compliment to their various recycling programs.  Plastics gathered in my community are not worth anything.  The City of Mustang pays to OEMA haul the plastics and OEMA gives them away to either Greenstar or Waste Management.  When the economy soured, those companies charged communities to accept plastics.

In California, many people do not bother to redeem their cans or bottles.  They will drop those items into their community recycling programs which in turn get to redeem them.  These deposits work as a price support for the recycling centers.  What is worthless for communities now would be worth 5 cents an item under such a bill.

For an experiment, I took a weeks worth of bottles to a grocery store to see how the process works.   Most grocery stores have a collection once a week.  There is a trailer in the parking lot where they weigh your bottles and cans.  The staff gives you a receipt which you take into the store to redeem for cash.  Residents tell me that most people just use it like a coupon for their next purchase.

The California bill does have some drawbacks.  Their law is based on the item in the container (juice, pop, water) instead of the type of container.  This was done to exclude the wine industry.  One unintended effect is that the juice pouches (e.g., Capri Sun) are included.  I spoke with one California employee that said that these containers are foil, plastic, and glue making them unrecyclable.  I would rather see the Oklahoma bill based on aluminum bottles, aluminum drink cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.

Brian

Kelley C Smith wrote:
>
> As I hit send, I had another thought.
>
> I guess one down side might be that it might take some profitability out of the curbside recycling program.
>
> But i would still support the bill.
>
> K
>
>
> 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
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> To unsubscribe or change to digest delivery mode:
>> http://www.sustainableokc.org/mailman/listinfo/okc
>> Go to the bottom of the website, enter your email address, and then edit your options.
>>
>> To subscribe:
>> http://www.sustainableokc.org/mailman/listinfo/okc