Re: [greenyes] Estimating bottles "lost" to bottle bill

[Jenny Gitlitz <jenny.gitlitz@no.address>]

Susan,
If I'm not mistaken, the scenario you describe is one where bottles and cans
in a non-deposit state are being [illegally] redeemed in a neighboring
deposit state.  Is that correct?

There are studies documenting this type of interstate fraud, but they are
written from the perspective of the bottle bill state which must pay out
nickels or dime deposits it never collected, thus losing millions of dollars
a year (both the beverage distributors and the state managing entity), not
from the perpective of the non-bottle bill state "losing" bottles to its
neighbor.  

You might even say there are benefits to the non-bottle bill state, city, or
county from this out-of-state illegal redemption, because there are fewer
containers left to pay to recycle at curbside or pay to dispose of through
trash collection.  Since bulky, low-value glass and plastic comprise the
lion's share of beverage container weight at curbside, you can imagine how
there is a net revenue loss through their collection.

In any case, we are not are of any attempts to "credit" illegal out-of-state
redemption as part of a state or county's desire to document progress toward
reaching any official recycling goal.

Non-bottle bill states seeking to reach ambitious recycling goals would do
better to fight to pass their own bottle bills, rather than cook the books
on the backs of their bottle bill neighbors!

Regards,

Jenny 

Please note the following changes to my contact info:
New fax number: (413) 403-0233
New mobile phone number: (413) 822-0115

--Jenny

Jennifer Gitlitz
Research Director, Container Recycling Institute

Home Office:
2 Pomeroy Ave.
Dalton, MA 01226
Tel. (413) 684-4746
Mobile: (413) 822-0115
Fax: (413) 403-0233
Email: jgitlitz@no.address

Container Recycling Institute headquarters:
1911 N. Ft. Myer Dr. #702
Arlington, VA 22209-1603
Tel. (703) 276-9800
Fax: (703) 276-9587
www.container-recycling.org
www.bottlebill.org


On 9/12/03 11:13 AM, Susan Bush at suhubu@no.address wrote:

> Does anyone know of an incidence, or a study addressing the following:
> A County (or State or Municipality for that matter) is not located in a bottle
> bill state, but is in close proximity to one, and desires to estimate the
> quanity of materials generated in the jurisdiction that are recovered in the
> bottle bill state.
> 
> If a jurisdiction wants "credit" for recycling these materials that are
> brought to bottle bill states (as opposed to landfilling them) -- how would
> they go about this?
> 
> Similarly, are there any jurisdictions out there that are crediting backyard
> composting tons as "recycled" ? If so, how is this estimation being made? I'd
> assume a certain number of pounds per each houshold that has a bin?
> 
> Any feedback on these issues would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Susan Bush