CMV: Recycling Cans for $.05 isn't a good incentive across the board. If getting aluminum recycled is the goal, then a 1,000-10,000% tax deduction should be offered as an alternative.

This seems exclusive to Maine, where the consumer is charged up front

10 states do it this way, including some of the largest ones (CA and NY). It's not most, but it is not rare either.

There are 10 such states, as well as Guam. But AFAIK these are the only states that offer some incentive for recycling bottles: do you know differently?

The Wyoming legislature actually started looking at this as well. This also lists the 10 states with such laws.

This seems exclusive to Maine, where the consumer is charged up front. In a majority of the country, no such incentive exists. In WY, I think its closer to 80% ending up in the dumps, never to be recycled.

I'm not sure why you bring up the exclusivity. Does Wyoming have an incentive program to ensure more of the packaging is recycled? If not its not even a good comparison: currently Wyoming is doing nothing, so comparing it to a system that works fairly well is pretty moot. Florida is one place in particular I have been where the lack of incentive is very apparent: many people toss their beer cans out the window after they finish drinking them: they are littered along every road way in rural areas.

It seems to me you are arguing that when an incentive exists, it ought to be a better incentive than currently exists. However, in states where the incentive exists, there is a much higher recycling rate than in states where no such incentive exists. So long as its true, it seems that the currently incentive programs are working as intended, and instead of improving the programs there, our aim ought to be to extend those incentive programs to the remaining 40 states.

Lets look at it this way. Lets assume all states have a homogenous population/bottle usage. And lets say that in the 10 states that have bottle laws, there is a flat 80% recycling rate. Lets assume each state consumes 1 billion bottles/cans that meet recycling criteria annually. Lets also take your 20% recycling rate for Wyoming as the rate that is common in non-deposit states.

So in the US we have 50 billion bottles and cans consumed.
In the deposit states we have 10 billion cans consumed, 8 billion are recycled, and 2 billion go to waste.
In the remaining 40 states, we have 40 billion cans consumed. Of those, 8 billion are recycled, and 32 billion go to waste.

So the 10 states that have bottle laws are accounting for 50% of the recycling, such that overall we have a recycling rate of 32%. If we were to homogenize the current deposit laws that exist across all states, that would be an additional 48% impact (off the top), or a 150% improvement.

If instead we modified the existing laws in the existing states to give a higher incentive to begin with, the most we can possibly hope for is 100% compliance in those 10 states. That would bring our total recycle rate to 18 billion cans or 36% - still less than half of what it would be if we homogenized the bottle laws across all 50 states.

Your idea obviously assumes people are intelligent enough/willing enough to do the tedious task of keeping track of their redemption over the course of a year through proper documentation so that they can document it on their taxes. I think this would actually result in FAR lower compliance. There are several reasons for this: #1, the majority of the population is poor enough (especially those consuming high numbers of can/bottle products) that they would 1) be less incentivized if the pay off is not immediate, 2) don't have enough exemptions to use anything but the standard deductible. #2 the pay off will still be fairly low in the remaining population such that it may not seem worth it at the end of the year.

I thought Connecticuit was supposed to return the unclaimed deposit to the state?

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§22a-243 – 22a-246

In either case, I get your point.

Not to distract from other issues, but I think it would be fairly simple to just restrict the tax deduction option to private individuals, not let corporations benefit from it.

There are lots of things companies would do to cheat systems but they done cause law

I assume .05 is a market rate, and recycling centers themselves can't afford to offer more.

That's a separate issue. Recycling centers shouldn't be left alone with that problem. A deposit system works in many places.

Where is here?

Germany.

Who picks them up?

Typically retirees or unemployed people who look to make a bit extra money, or the homeless.

How do you get paid if someone else picks them up?

I don't. I mean, I can bring it away myself but I, too, am too lazy to do that. So I just put them near the next trash can, and soon enough they'll be picked up by someone who isn't. Consider it a convenience fee.

How do you get paid if someone else picks them up?

You don't, the people that pick them up do, that's why they do it.

Who picks them up?

How do you get paid if someone else picks them up?

I'm not the other guy, but here in germany you pay a deposit ("Pfand") of 25 cents when buying a can (the cost for different kinds of bottles etc. differs). You can then return them to pretty much any super market and get a coupon (for a lack of a better word) for the value of bottles and cans you have returned. The coupon can then be paid out or deducted from your shopping bill.

Well that was more an extreme counterpoint for effect, but still.

And so what, it's not supposed to help people, it's supposed to punish them for not bringing the can back. Or on the latter case, punish them for buying cans that the world doesn't need.

while not hurting lower class citizens by raising prices of goods.

It doesn't, though, if you look at the whole picture. If I pay 5 cents extra now and pay 5 cents less the next time... how does that constitute "raising prices of goods"?

I also wouldn't mind a bit of explanation on how your idea is better than tried and tested systems already in place elsewhere.

Also - even if you don't care about the 5 cents deposit enough to go out of your way to get it back and discard your cans* the old fashioned way, you're creating the possibility for someone who does value it enough to take care of the cans* in your stead. Hypothetically you could drop off a bag full of cans in some random homeless person's lap and they'd probably thank you for it.

Thanks! Here’s hoping recycling gets some major traction nationwide

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to u/ripcelinedionhusband (7∆).

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I think the nickel is built into the price, possibly invisibly to the end consumer, as with excise taxes on booze, gas, or cigarettes. Possibly elsewhere in the supply chain, e.g. when distributors acquire it or when they sell it to retailers. So it's still there, even when not taken at the point of sale, as in Maine.

So hypothetically, you pay more up front and get that much back later. The distributer or bottler buys back the cans from the redemption center. So nobody is out the 5¢, at least theoretically. I think the distributors, who buy them back from redemption centers, pay ¢3 or so in handling fees.

Your proposal basically charges the government for recycling, and the costs quickly wouldn't be worth it. Now, the original main purpose of these laws was, I think, to reduce litter. So what the value of that is (aesthetic benefit + saving on cleanup costs) would factor in, but I don't imagine it's much. It's apparently quite effective in reducing litter, though.

The deposit starts at the distributor. This is passed on to the retailer, and the retailer passes it on to the consumer. In states like Maine, we set up redemption centers who go through the process of collection, and they receive an incentive to return the bottle to the distributor, by paying the redemption centers an additional amount per item. In Connecticut (since I just looked up the law to respond to another comment):

(d) In addition to the refund value of a beverage container, a distributor shall pay to any dealer or operator of a redemption center a handling fee of at least one and one-half cents for each container of beer or other malt beverage and two cents for each beverage container of mineral waters, soda water and similar carbonated soft drinks or noncarbonated beverage returned for redemption.