To the Editor:
Re “In New York, Making Ends Meet on the 5-Cent Recycling Deposit” (front page, Dec. 26):
I have worked for the waste and recycling services industry for nearly 30 years all over the Northeast, including New York City.
Your article portrays canners in a noble way, but to my way of thinking it is misleading. Canner (scavenging) activity is really not helpful to the system of managing bottles and containers after their useful life. Many cities and communities have anti-scavenging laws to prevent those among us who look for valuable materials placed at the curb in trash bins, recycling containers or commercial dumpsters.
These laws help keep scavengers safe, and help prevent litter, vectors, and other public health and safety-related problems. Anti-scavenging laws also help protect the fiscal health of communities, since scavenging activity diverts revenue from being credited to the community’s balance sheet.
Life on the street is difficult, and we should be working to get those who scavenge into programs that are available through city, faith and nonprofit communities. We can and should do much better for them!
New York should, going forward, establish a bottle deposit law only for wine and liquor bottles. Glass does not do well in curbside recycling programs because it breaks. Aluminum and plastic bottles and cans, on the other hand, are perfect for curbside recycling and for our sustainability goals.
Steve Changaris
Auburn, Mass.
The writer is Northeast regional vice president of the National Waste & Recycling Association.
To the Editor:
When I worked to pass New York’s bottle bill in 1982, I made the point that children would pick up empty beverage containers to supplement their allowances. Little did I know that the growing problem of income inequality would result in thousands of people relying on nickel deposits as a source of income.
New York’s bottle bill is a litter prevention and recycling success. Canners, whom I prefer to call redeemers, provide a public service.
It makes sense to update the 1982 law by increasing the nickel deposit to a dime and by adding noncarbonated beverage containers such as iced teas and wine and liquor. The Department of Sanitation is opposed because it does not want to lose money from recyclables from its curbside recycling program.
This can be remedied by the city providing funding to nonprofit organizations to establish new redemption centers, which would make life easier for the redeemers. The redemption center could be required to send material to recycling companies that the city has contracts with.
We’re facing a plastic pollution crisis with nine million tons of plastic worldwide entering the ocean each year. The state bottle bill is effective in preventing plastic containers from being littered and entering water bodies. That alone should inspire New York City government to help ensure the success of this program and making life a little easier for the many redeemers who are keeping city parks and streets cleaner.
Judith Enck
Bennington, Vt.
The writer is a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator and the founder of Beyond Plastics.
"can" - Google News
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Can Collectors: Nuisance or Public Service? - The New York Times
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