Yes, ofcourse, the idea is that the materials will not only be COLLECTED for
recycling but also RECYCLED. And in deposit states, for the most part, they
are. Green glass poses a problem but most folks I talk to say that
eventually they are able to sell even that. One of the benefits of the
scrap materials coming from the 'bottle bill' is the fact that you have 1) a
steady, reliable stream of materials, 2) materials that are separated by
material type and color which result in materials that are clean and
virtually contaminant free. Because the materials are CLEAN and CONTAMINANT
FREE they bring a higher price than do materials collected via curbside
programs.
Once there is a guaranteed, steady supply of clean PEN markets will develop.
Regarding Lucy Doroshko's (Recycling Coordinator, MI DEP) comment that
Michigan's bottle bill is "a litter law": I won't disagree with that
statement but I would have to add that while bottle bills historically have
had as their primary goal LITTER REDUCTION, the issues of waste reduction as
well as resource and energy conservation were always recognized as benefits
of bottle bills. So I would have to say that Michigan's bottle bill and ALL
BOTTLE BILLS are far more than just LITTER LAWS.
Pat Franklin
At 10:42 PM 1/6/99 EST, Jango@aol.com wrote:
>Thanks to all who set me straight on the fact that deposits are generally
>beverage based as opposed to container material, and I do feel a bit as
>if I was in Dumb and Dumber cuz I sort of knew this (although you have to
>forgive my ignorance since I do live in Pennsylvania).
>
>Another question though: aren't most deposit system based on the idea
>that you can recycle or reuse the container in question? If that is so,
>is the industry planning on doing this at least in the deposit states
>they sell in? As I recall from all this talk, though I may well be wrong
>again, it doesn't sound like it has been determined whether you can reuse
>or recycle PEN...???????
>
>Just wondering...
>
>-dcb
>
>David Biddle
>7366 Rural Lane
>Philadelphia, PA 19119
>215-247-2974 (voice and fax)
>jango@aol.com
>
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Pat Franklin, Executive Director
Container Recycling Institute
1911 Ft Myer Drive, Ste 900
Arlington, VA 22209
tel: 703/276-9800 fax: 276-9587 email: cri@igc.org
on the web at www.igc.apc.org/cri/