Coca Cola and their beverage containers

[Aussie Willy]

In Australia one of our states has a Container Deposit Scheme, which means for each beverage you purchase you can return the bottle and get a deposit back. Community groups can use this as a method of fundraising.

Interestingly though in Australia Coca Cola have challenged the Northern Territory (which is not a state) and threatened with legal action if they were to introduce it.

http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Whatels...ng-scheme.html

In that state that does have it, 85% of beverage containers get recycled whereas the rest of the country only has 35%.

I don't drink Coke because I think it is disgusting stuff. But just goes to show though that many big companies don't give a shit about the environment. They would prefer to totally ignore their social responsibilities, instead of maybe doing something about rubbish they help generate in the first place.

[Garden Kitty]

In that state that does have it, 85% of beverage containers get recycled whereas the rest of the country only has 35%.

I don't drink Coke because I think it is disgusting stuff. But just goes to show though that many big companies don't give a shit about the environment.

Sadly, those percentages seem to show most people don't care either unless there is a financial incentive for them.

[Aussie Willy]

Sadly, those percentages seem to show most people don't care either unless there is a financial incentive for them.

I totally agree. Makes me really angry that people just dispose of rubbish without any thought for the consequences. But I think sometimes things need to be done which appeal to people's selfish needs and it is a cost to protect our environment from idiots.

I think for most things in this world money talks. I discovered recently taxi drivers in Sydney by law don't need to wear a seatbelt. So even though it is a proven safety device for drivers which might just save their lives, they don't wear them because there is no financial incentive to wear them.

[FigureSpins]

I don't drink Coke because I think it is disgusting stuff. But just goes to show though that many big companies don't give a shit about the environment. They would prefer to totally ignore their social responsibilities, instead of maybe doing something about rubbish they help generate in the first place.

I like Coca-Cola - the drink, the company and the legend. I've been to their Atlanta Museum and sampled many different Coke products. I feel the way you do about Vegemite, so to each his own.

Did you read Coca-Cola Amatil's reasoning? They felt that it would discourage people from buying their products. They're in business to sell Coca-Cola, so this is a threat to their market. However, they also said that bottle deposits are "old-fashioned" approaches that don't work. I the mandatory recycling programs are far more effective at keeping recyclables out of the trash, so I agree with Coca-Cola's stance on the issue. It's also more far-reaching and comprehensive, so plastic take-out containers, water bottles and glass milk bottles also stay out of the trash.

Have you ever seen the Seinfeld episode with Newman driving a mail truck filled with cans/bottles from NY to another state to get a higher deposit/item? It's a hilarious episode, but it's also a statement about redemption laws vs. recycling laws. In NYC, can men and women roam the streets, trespassing on people's properties, digging through trash pails to find cans/bottles to take back to the store for deposits. Many people who have reason to cross a bridge to NJ, will buy their soda/beer there to avoid the deposit, then just chuck the can/bottle in the trash. Still others will take the NJ cans to NY stores and ask for a return of the deposit they never paid. It's really difficult to keep the items from crossing state lines.

There's really more to the story than what this article presents, so I think you should check out some other sources and think about the situation.

[MacMadame]

Here in California, most cities have curb site recycling that we can put our drink bottles and cans into. Even though that means we don't get the CVC money back, most people do it.

So it's not just about money, but also about convenience. It's easy to throw my bottles, cans and paper into the bin (we don't even have to pre-sort) so most people do it.

[Aussie Willy]

I like Coca-Cola - the drink, the company and the legend. I've been to their Atlanta Museum and sampled many different Coke products. I feel the way you do about Vegemite, so to each his own.

Just because I am Australian please don't assume I like Vegemite.

[AndyWarhol]

Just because I am Australian please don't assume I like Vegemite.

YOU DONT LIKE VEGEMITE??!!

I try to always recycle. Unfortunately for me (well fortunately really) I live on the boarder of Carlton and Fitzroy, and hipsters keep stealing my green recycle bin.

[vesperholly]

I don't drink Coke because I think it is disgusting stuff. But just goes to show though that many big companies don't give a shit about the environment. They would prefer to totally ignore their social responsibilities, instead of maybe doing something about rubbish they help generate in the first place.

Typical capitalist corporation, more interested in money than anything else.

New York state has long had an incentivized recycling program. 5 cents for every bottle. They just changed our law recently so that water bottles and iced tea are also charged a deposit fee and recyclable for money.

I admit I would be far less careful to recycle my bottles if there wasn't a deposit, but I do recycle both at home and at work, and that's not incentivized.

[milanessa]

Florida doesn't have a bottle deposit - I don't know what the percentage is for recycling versus trash but they do make it pretty easy. Curbside pick up once a week (same day as trash day) and the only sorting necessary is separating paper from the glass/plastic/metal items. They gave us 2 bins to make that easy.

I wish they'd take styrofoam. A local grocery store will take it (don't know where it ends up) but I always forget to drop it off there.

[KatieC]

Where I live you get criticized if you throw something in the garbage that's recyclable. Family, friends, total strangers will look down their noses! Not much goes in the garbage anymore, cept kitty litter.
You do pay a deposit for beer bottles and take them back. Not sure if you pay a deposit for wine bottles but they take those back at the store now too. Used batteries I can now drop off at the grocery store, instead of saving them to take to the recycling centre/dump.

[milanessa]

How does anyone know what's in your garbage can, Katie?

[sk8er1964]

Michigan has a bottle deposit. 10 cents per bottle for all carbonated beverages. When we drove from Michigan to Minneapolis a few years ago, as the snows were mostly melted, I was shocked at how much trash we saw along the sides of the highways from people throwing cans and bottles out their windows. You just don't see that here in Michigan.

Having the deposit is a pain for retailers and for people like us who are a bit lazy about taking them back and have to store them , but they are an awesome fundraiser as Aussie Willie mentioned. My son's hockey team made almost $900 in about five hours doing a bottle drive a few months ago.

Oh, one more thing. Not all areas offer recycling. Around here, people have to contract for their own garbage pick up and I would assume recycling is extra. (We don't have anyone pick up our trash because we can take it to the landfill for free.)

[Aussie Willy]

I try to always recycle. Unfortunately for me (well fortunately really) I live on the boarder of Carlton and Fitzroy, and hipsters keep stealing my green recycle bin.

Bastards!!!

I recycle basically anything that I can. So I generate a lot more recycled rubbish than regular rubbish.

I remember when I was a kid our school used to have paper drives. They collected old newspapers because they would get money for them. Every so often our Primary school had one and a lot of people kept the papers for when the school came around to collect. It was a really nice community thing because it was a small school and made people feel a part of it.

Aluminum cans too were another thing to collect because we used to get money for those.

[KatieC]

How does anyone know what's in your garbage can, Katie?

I count myself lucky that they don't right now! But some communities have a law about using only clear plastic garbage bags so everyone can tell if you recycle - I think that's disgusting.

I meant if someone sees you throwing out a recyclable in the garbage. Then they're likely to snark at you. And we recycle all cardboard, all paper, most plastics, cans, all glass, styrofoam and envelopes. Plus kitchen waste and yard waste, and that's just what's picked up. You go to the dump with large recyclables, like wood, left over paint, appliances and electronics, and then only have to pay for the actual garbage.

[Skittl1321]

We have a bottle deposit and it is a huge pain in the butt. Everything else goes curbside, but cans and coke bottles have to go be deposited back one by one into a finicky machine. I know lots of people who hrow them away because it isnt worth the trouble, and litter downtown is terrible because people think they are doing homeless people a favor by throwing cans on the street for them to pick up.

I hate the bottle bill, but clearly coca cola has not been able to fight them here.

[Really]

I can't remember NOT taking beer and pop bottles back for refunds. Over the years recycling deposits have been added to the purchase price to get people to recycle beverage containers, and more and more types of containers now have the recycling deposit/refund. And yes, all Coke product containers are refundable here. It's just not an issue here; just business as usual.