Money back on bottles?

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Money back on bottles?
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Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 8:10 am Post subject: Money back on bottles?

I've just dropped my youngest son Robert off at the local cricket club. He's off on a four day cricket tour of Sussex. Anyway, thats the only possible excuse I have for my admission to listening to the ginger whinger on Radio 2 this morning. I was only listening while Robs mini bus arrived. Honest !

There was an interesting piece on it that caught my attention though. Some society or other for the preservation of rural England was suggesting that returnable deposits for plastic and glass bottles be reintroduced. The old ideas are the best as they say and I think its a good one. Bottles would suddenly become a valuable commodity instead of being the present scourge that they are today. I think its a cracking idea, lots of pocket money for kids and lots of tyding up done. Why doesn't the government implement it ?

As a kid, I remember collecting glass Tizer and Corona bottles and getting a few pence back on them. Those pennys were 'd's rather than'p's of course.

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 8:33 am Post subject:

Who pays?

If it's the company who produced the bottle originally then how do they go about getting 'their' bottles back which is the best option because then, just as with milk bottles, they can just be washed and reused. That's fine for a local organisation but if you're trying to ship your beer bottle back to Newcastle it's not so practical.

Alternatively if it's run collectively then why should any company pay, which would mean council or government incurring the cost and so make recycling less efficient and certainly less cost effective.

Nice idea but not sure how it would work for anything other than local companies and how many of those exist these days?

earthyvirgo

Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 8:39 am Post subject: Re: Money back on bottles?

Bodger wrote:

As a kid, I remember collecting glass Tizer and Corona bottles and getting a few pence back on them. Those pennys were 'd's rather than'p's of course.

It was on R4 too Bodger

It was CPRE.
I also think it's a great idea, and yes, I used to do it too.

I don't know if it still happens in other European countries but last time I was in Switzerland, there was a conveyor belt at the back of a supermarket, you put your bottles on it and the money back was dispensed at the end of the line. Brilliant idea.

EV

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 8:52 am Post subject:
Its certainly done in the states too. My mate over there is drinking himself rich If it works in other countries, why shouldn't it work here. There must be measures that the government can bring in to get it going here. A tax or a tarrif on bottles incentive for the companies selling their produce in bottles? and why not jars while we are at it?

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 8:58 am Post subject:

Bodger wrote:

Its certainly done in the states too. My mate over there is drinking himself rich

If it works in other countries, why shouldn't it work here. There must be measures that the government can bring in to get it going here. A tax or a tarrif on bottles incentive for the companies selling their produce in bottles? and why not jars while we are at it?

I believe they can recycle ali cans for cash too...? I seem to remember reading about some of the more hard core frugalites on one of the forums collecting cans out of the rubbish bins, and cleaning up after litterers in the street.

Kate

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 9:47 am Post subject: Re: Money back on bottles?

earthyvirgo wrote:

I don't know if it still happens in other European countries but last time I was in Switzerland, there was a conveyor belt at the back of a supermarket, you put your bottles on it and the money back was dispensed at the end of the line. Brilliant idea.

The wine bottles with the deposit on them had a row of stars on the neck. ISTR that non-approved bottles without the stars would come back out again if you tried to feed them in!

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 9:55 am Post subject:

A main part of the suggestion is to combat littering by plastic bottles. While people will make more of an effort to recycle glass one serving drinks bottles bought in the newsagent etc just get chucked.

Glass bottles were reused when distributed locally and fuel was relatively cheaper. And that only related to mainly to beer and soft drink in large bottles. Jamjars etc weren't covered. Mass reusing of drink bottles and jars would rely on a standard designs. I'd be interested to know if the other countries who pay deposits resused the glass or recycled after paying the deposit. So much or our glass recycling is voluntary.

My stash of Newcastle Brown bottles used to be my reserve in the last week of term and was turned to cash to pay for food.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 10:32 am Post subject:

Katieowl wrote:

Bodger wrote:

Its certainly done in the states too. My mate over there is drinking himself rich

I recycle aluminium and steel cans for cash, rather than giving them to the local authority to do the same, although they do get the glass, paper and plastic. However, when I see bin in towns overflowing with cans I have so far managed to resist the urge to collect them, and just curse the overly rich people who chuck them.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 11:11 am Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

You have nothing to loose but your reputation LOL!

Don't you have to collect an awful lot though to cash them in? Like a skip load?

OH has what he calls the 'plumbers benevolent fund' which is all the bits of metal off various building projects - copper pipes and fittings in the main - we tend to cash that in at Xmas and it can be quite lucrative.

Kate

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 11:17 am Post subject:

Don't worry about how to implement it - just copy what we do here. Yes soda and beer bottles & cans are returnable for 5 cents here. I think it's about time we step it up to 25 cents. (Some states have increased the deposit). It's worth noting, that a lot (most?) states don't have a bottle deposit law at all.

You can't actually "drink yourself rich" because you're paying the 5 cent deposit the same time you buy the beverage. You're just reclaiming your own money. And if you pick up other peoples' bottles/cans, you are reclaiming their lazy money.

I'd like to see the rate go up to 25 cents/bottle and also see the local breweries returning to re-usable glass bottles, not just recyclable. A few local dairies have returned to re-usable sterilized glass bottles ($1.50 deposit!)

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 11:20 am Post subject:

Katieowl wrote:

Rob R wrote:

You have nothing to loose but your reputation LOL!

Don't you have to collect an awful lot though to cash them in? Like a skip load?

Probably, I've never taken small amounts in so I'm not exactly sure but every little helps

I think maybe a dustbin full (crushed cans, that is) is the min.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 11:25 am Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

Probably, I've never taken small amounts in so I'm not exactly sure but every little helps

I think maybe a dustbin full (crushed cans, that is) is the min.

Actually that's not too bad at all methinks? I'll find out if anywhere nearby will take that quantity. I was thinking we didn't really do cans...but I'd forgotten our son's and our daughter's BF Stella and Strongbow consumption

Kate

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 10 11:30 am Post subject:
When we cashed in the steel ones not so long ago we must have had a few hundred kilo's, both our own and my mum's - I think it'd certainly be worth communities pooling their cans and using the money collectively.

Clara

Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 268
Location: the green green grass of wales

Posted: Sat Sep 18, 10 7:30 am Post subject:

I have no idea how it works - I guess it is more like incentivising people to recycle rather than actually reuse the bottles (yes that would be a logistical nightmare). But in Denmark you go to the supermarket, post your bottles into the bin and out comes your money. Magic (or barcodes?).

According to National Geographic Denmark recycles more glass than it uses (i.e. they sort out other countries too), so we should probably be taking a lead from them.

Cobnut

Joined: 29 Aug 2008
Posts: 475
Location: North Herefordshire

Posted: Sat Sep 18, 10 7:43 am Post subject:
I can just about remember Corona (does the company even still exist?) drinks coming in glass bottles that we would return for a few pence. I wonder how high the deposit would need to be before some people could be bothered to do it though. Still, I think it�s a great idea and would like to see its return, and I can imagine the streets would become cleaner too.

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