Bottle TAX Being Proposed

[Wizard777]

Fight brews on Maryland drink deposit law

In a bid to boost recycling and reduce litter, a trio of lawmakers announced plans Monday to push for legislation that would levy a refundable nickel deposit on every beverage container sold in Maryland.

But the announcement drew prompt opposition from beverage distributors and merchants, who argued it would hurt their sales and employment, and undercut rather than help recycling.

Dels. Maggie McIntosh and John A. Olszewski Jr., Democrats representing Baltimore City and Baltimore County, respectively, said they would soon introduce a bill titled "Recycle for Real," which if passed would make Maryland just the 11th state to require deposits on all bottled and canned drinks sold.

[Norman]

Uggg! This is such a pain in the butt in other states.

[Wizard777]

There are hidden costs to this that have not been mentioned. The cost of a police officer to steak out a neighborhood to catch the guy with a truck stealing the neighborhoods recyclying. Then there's the cost of housing him in jail until he makes bail. The cost of the trial.

Then there are unintended consequences. When I was a kid there was a deposit on glass bottles. We kids went all over the city rounding up glass bottles where ever we could find them. Then we turned them into the store for the deposit. Then we used the money to buy cigarette's with. So kids you only have to collect a little over 100 bottles to get a pack of cigarettes. It also drew homeless and other scavengers into suburban neighborhoods to hit the big bottle stashes.

What happened to all the recycling? Not a single bottle in single yellow tote anywhere. If the bottle is free I don't mind giving it back to a recycling company. But if I have to pay for the bottle them I want my money back. So who gets all the nickles for the bottles that go into the recycling totes? Is that a bonus for the recycling companies.......providing the guy above with the truck doesn't get to them first. Does the store get to keep the money? If I'm willing to throw a nickel away in the Trash/Recycling. Why wouldn't I throw away that same nickel at the inner harbor, park or beach because they don't have trash cans conveneintly placed?

[Norman]

There is no recycling...you have to take your own empties in to the store or a redemption center to get your nickle back.

[octoburn]

There are hidden costs to this that have not been mentioned. The cost of a police officer to steak out a neighborhood to catch the guy with a truck stealing the neighborhoods recyclying. Then there's the cost of housing him in jail until he makes bail. The cost of the trial.

Then there are unintended consequences. When I was a kid there was a deposit on glass bottles. We kids went all over the city rounding up glass bottles where ever we could find them. Then we turned them into the store for the deposit. Then we used the money to buy cigarette's with. So kids you only have to collect a little over 100 bottles to get a pack of cigarettes. It also drew homeless and other scavengers into suburban neighborhoods to hit the big bottle stashes.

What happened to all the recycling? Not a single bottle in single yellow tote anywhere. If the bottle is free I don't mind giving it back to a recycling company. But if I have to pay for the bottle them I want my money back. So who gets all the nickles for the bottles that go into the recycling totes? Is that a bonus for the recycling companies.......providing the guy above with the truck doesn't get to them first. Does the store get to keep the money? If I'm willing to throw a nickel away in the Trash/Recycling. Why wouldn't I throw away that same nickel at the inner harbor, park or beach because they don't have trash cans conveneintly placed?

I don't doubt that people will be raiding trashcans on recycling days at all ~ even to the point of entering someone's property to do so if this passes.

[Wizard777]

Uggg! This is such a pain in the butt in other states.

We used to have it on glass bottles years and years ago. Then we did away with it when we got these plastic bottles that were so cheap to make they were disposable. You could just throw them away.

It's not nearly the pain in the arse as these law makers that are going to die if they can't another Nickel out what little is left of people's pay checks. Welcome to Maryland where it's a new year of new taxes.

What part of Maryland is a TAX HELL do they not understand? If they enact one more tax they will have to quit calling them Tax Payers and start calling them State Slaves indentured to the poltical whims, ideals and agenda of the select elect few. They've already firmly established that Marylanders have no right to enjoy the fruits of their labors while someone in Annapolis has an unfunded stupid idea.

[Wizard777]

There is no recycling...you have to take your own empties in to the store or a redemption center to get your nickle back.

I'm sure these stores are going to love the idea of having to store trash in a building they are trying to sell food out of. If you thought the produce and meat departments could generate some funny smells. Wait until you get a whiff of decaying sugar and all the bugs it will draw. Can you drench a store in pesticides and still claim to carry some organic products?

[MDvet]

There is no recycling...you have to take your own empties in to the store or a redemption center to get your nickle back.

more unintended consequences

small stores incurring additional expanse to process empties

who will pay for operating cost of redemption center. If the bottle deposit is 5 cents, I am assuming I will get back 5 cents. If so, who is going to pay for the redemption center.

It will also hurt the poor people more. I live in a house with backyard, so no big deal for me to collect my bottles for redemption later. But if you live in a small house or no car, not easy to store your bottles for redemption.

It amazes me how MD politicians that supposedly look out for the well being of unfortnate propose regressive taxes.

[Norman]

more unintended consequences

small stores incurring additional expanse to process empties

who will pay for operating cost of redemption center. If the bottle deposit is 5 cents, I am assuming I will get back 5 cents. If so, who is going to pay for the redemption center.

It will also hurt the poor people more. I live in a house with backyard, so no big deal for me to collect my bottles for redemption later. But if you live in a small house or no car, not easy to store your bottles for redemption.

It amazes me how MD politicians that supposedly look out for the well being of unfortnate propose regressive taxes.

Not sure how it all works, but I've lived in other states that have had bottle deposits for many years. One thing that seems to be stuck in my head is that there are a percentage of bottles/cans that never get returned no matter how hard they try. I believe that the retailer gets in on part of that money somehow.

[Wizard777]

more unintended consequences

small stores incurring additional expanse to process empties

who will pay for operating cost of redemption center. If the bottle deposit is 5 cents, I am assuming I will get back 5 cents. If so, who is going to pay for the redemption center.

It will also hurt the poor people more. I live in a house with backyard, so no big deal for me to collect my bottles for redemption later. But if you live in a small house or no car, not easy to store your bottles for redemption.

It amazes me how MD politicians that supposedly look out for the well being of unfortnate propose regressive taxes.

Now a days stores will not count change. If you have more than 1.00 in coin they'll send you to that coin counting machine and tell you to come back with the reciept it gives you. They can take that. Apparently counting money is not part of a cashiers duties. Now they expect cashiers to count 100's of bottles and cans that are .05 each when they won't even count 100 Nickels. Cashiers will have to be able to make Pay Outs. A P/O requires a Store Manager, District Manager and Head of Corporate Security to be present. That's because P/O's are more commonly called THEFT! At the very least it's theft until proven to be otherwise.

So I get my groceries and go to check out. The cashier rings it up, I give them 100 coupons to sort through while I go out to the car and haul in 50 trash bags full of bottles and cans that I'm going to use to pay for the groceries with. How's that going to work with these new self check out lanes that force customers to work for the store without pay or benefits?

[Norman]

They have machines that do the redemption also in grocery stores. It reads the bar code on the can/bottle when you stick it in to make sure it was indeed purchased in the redemption State....otherwise no nickle for you!

It really is a pain in the butt, but they've been doing it for a long time other places...so I guess they've worked the bugs out

[Wizard777]

I'll bet them rotten SOB's are going to want us to wash those damned things before we turn them in.

After seeing they make for coming up with stupid idea's to tax Marylanders into Oblivion. A nickel is not nearly enough. No one in this state can wash those damned things for less than 150,000.00 a year with 1 month sick leave, 2 months vacation, insurance, a pension that will pay 150,000.00 a year for life and a 4% COLA so we can afford the next dumb idea to come out of Annapolis.

[Wizard777]

They have machines that do the redemption also in grocery stores. It reads the bar code on the can/bottle when you stick it in to make sure it was indeed purchased in the redemption State....otherwise no nickle for you!

It really is a pain in the butt, but they've been doing it for a long time other places...so I guess they've worked the bugs out

This is Maryland. They'll get our money and we'll get the damned bugs. Just look at the damned speed camera's. They are such good stewards of our finances they don't even make sure something works before they spend millions and billions of our dollars on it. As long as they get their campaign contributions they don't care if we get saddled with a bunch of over priced junk.

[Norman]

I'll bet them rotten SOB's are going to want us to wash those damned things before we turn them in.

Well, you're already supposed to rinse them out for recycling....but no, they won't take them if they're dirty.

[ybnormal]

I don't know about elsewhere in the state, but, in Howard County, litter increased ten-fold after the county recycling program started. The material blows out of the back of the recycling trucks, recycling material is blown out of its containers put out by irresponsible people on days during high winds, etc. As long as humans are involved, no tax is going to reduce the litter problem. It's just one more money mongering scheme by the state.

[Norman]

I don't know about elsewhere in the state, but, in Howard County, litter increased ten-fold after the county recycling program started. The material blows out of the back of the recycling trucks, recycling material is blown out of its containers put out by irresponsible people on days during high winds, etc. As long as humans are involved, no tax is going to reduce the litter problem. It's just one more money mongering scheme by the state.

That's part of the reason states went to deposits...heck, there are people that make their living (such that it is) by walking streets/roads picking up bottles and cans and turning them in for the deposit. It was big business for the homeless in NYC.

Funny story:

Back in the small town I grew up in, one summer evening I was watching a slow-pitch softball game that some friends were playing in. I was enjoying a chilled adult beverage or two and a local character came up and asked me if he could have a one of my brewskis. He was a guy from the local half-way house (he was what they called mentally retarded back then.) He did odd jobs around the town for spending money (including collecting bottles and cans for the deposit)...but anyways I give him the brew and the son of a gun opens it up and proceeds to dump it on the ground just so he can get the deposit!!!!

[ybnormal]

That's part of the reason states went to deposits...heck, there are people that make their living (such that it is) by walking streets/roads picking up bottles and cans and turning them in for the deposit. It was big business for the homeless in NYC.

Funny story:

Back in the small town I grew up in, one summer evening I was watching a slow-pitch softball game that some friends were playing in. I was enjoying a chilled adult beverage or two and a local character came up and asked me if he could have a one of my brewskis. He was a guy from the local half-way house (he was what they called mentally retarded back then.) He did odd jobs around the town for spending money (including collecting bottles and cans for the deposit)...but anyways I give him the brew and the son of a gun opens it up and proceeds to dump it on the ground just so he can get the deposit!!!!

I hear you, but, in this case, bottles and cans aren't creating the most litter, it's all the paper and plastic bags strewn everywhere. This and all the McDonald's and other fast food bags and debris people toss out their car windows.

[Wizard777]

Well, you're already supposed to rinse them out for recycling....but no, they won't take them if they're dirty.

Who in the hell washes their trash before they set it out? That's just crazy. It sounds like an OCD thing. They probably even make a pill for it.

[Norman]

Who in the hell washes their trash before they set it out? That's just crazy. It sounds like an OCD thing. They probably even make a pill for it.

It's not trash, it's recycling!

[MDvet]

Who in the hell washes their trash before they set it out? That's just crazy. It sounds like an OCD thing. They probably even make a pill for it.

Recyling is manual intensive process and machines don't go good job cleaning recycles and dirty recycles increases cost of reycling.

Simple, a soup can with leftover soup. How do you separate organic material from the metal? Some of of big wash machine or melting it (which will take more energy and additional pollution if the can is not clean).