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Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst

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taodude
05/04/09

In reply to Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst
Does it actually pay off, economically, to recycle plastic bottles, or are they just trying to reduce landfill clutter?
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@taodude: That can depend on the area. Some places it is much more expensive to landfill than other places. In places where landfilling is expensive, just the cost of landfilling can be higher than the cost of recycling. Even if the cost of landfilling is less than the cost of recycling, factoring in the saved money of not having to produce new plastic may be enough to drive the cost of not recycling up higher than the cost of recycling, especially as the cost of plastic production has gone up. Also, if we ever sign into a cap and trade agreement, the savings from reduced emissions could make recycling more economical. Additionally, the method of recycling has an effect. Making a bench out of old milk jugs is cheaper than making plastic pellets for reuse. However, yes, there is a big part of the recycling push that is an effort to reduce landfill clutter.
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saigumi
05/04/09

In reply to Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst
We had one of these at the grocery back when I was a kid. Mind you, this was before recycling got hyped and it was hard to find a place recycling aluminum in the city (think late 1980's). Yeah, over 20 years ago.

The machine crushed the can and gave you a penny for every 2 cans you put in. I would collect a ton of them and while my mom grocery shopped, would laboriously put in each can, wait for it to crush, and repeat for about an hour. At the end, you just hit the payout button and it would spit out a few dollars and some change.
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@saigumi: You mean you didn't have to either crush your cans with your foot or use those little plastic things with the handle that you would pull down to crush the can?
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Curves
05/04/09

In reply to Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst
Or you could recycle and not get paid for it, because its the "right" thing to do. I even take home from work, excess magazines, junk mail, etc, to recycle since we have no way to recycle at work.

My motivation: A planet fit to leave our children.
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wootsee
05/04/09

@Curves:If we ever do human cloning, then clone more "Curves", she has a heart of gold.
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Curves
05/04/09

@wootsee: Thats very sweet of you, but I think its a sense of personal responsibility and a good manners from a very temporary guest on this planet.
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@Curves: My friends think I'm weird for sorting our trash from our recyclables after lunch. The thing is, though, on campus all recyclables go in one container, so it's not even that tough to recycle on campus. It's not like I'm separating the #3 plastics from the #6 plastics or even the paper from the plastic. They also think that it's weird that on the days that I forget to bring my water bottle and do use a cup I don't take a lid just because it's extra waste that is unnecessary.
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Xeno
05/04/09

@Curves: I find in the case of cans that it's just easier not to drink soda at all.
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FredicvsMaximvs
05/04/09

@ceilingFANBOY: Hey, I do that too! I've also stopped using straws. I find I'm always saving the plastic cups and taking them home to recycle.

It's really eye-opening when you stop and really think about where you can reduce your consumption of stuff like that.

Now, if only they'd start making plastic forks and knives recyclable...
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Curves
05/04/09

@Xeno wishes there was a preview button: I generally dont drink soda myself (although I love the occasional root beer) since Aspartame scares the hell out of me. Something not right about that stuff....I think we will some day find out that its is making people very, very sick.
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@FredicvsMaximvs: Yea, I find that if you are just taking your drink to a table, lids and straws are a frivolous waste. It's one thing if you are planning on carrying your drink across campus or getting in a car and driving, but you shouldn't need a lid or straw when sitting at a table. It's not even like those lids protect you from spilling things. They pop off too easy to prevent spills. Either way, I prefer to just fill up my water bottle because I don't get charged $.25 for my water that way and I can carry it around all day. Days that I have my water bottle with me (which is basically every day now) I drink the equivalent of 6-8 cups of water whereas days that I don't remember my water bottle I am more likely to drink soda and not drink nearly the amount you are supposed to in a day.
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weatherman
05/04/09

In reply to Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst
Ideally you'd be able to pee in them too, just take "full life-cycle recycling" to its natural conclusion.
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SgtBeavis
05/04/09

In reply to Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst
I've never been an advocate of recycling but if there is a mechanism put in place to give me an incentive to do it, I'll bite.

Now where is the Dr. Pepper machine?
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@SgtBeavis: It's one thing for one to not recycle, but why would one not advocate it?
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whitespider
05/04/09

In reply to Envirobank Reverse Vending Machines Quench Guilt, Not Thirst
First. This is pretty cool. I like the idea a lot, but would it be wise for them cost-wise? I think in states where they charge a few cents more (Michigan does 10 cents) it's a nice idea.
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mattattaxx
05/04/09

@whitespider: I think they increase the payment they give you buy supplementing it with ads you watch before getting your coupon/voucher/cash/etc.

Makes it a gr8 idea for cities, since people will have incentive to recycle instead of throwing it on the ground, but I can see it being abused (homeless shopping cart ladies, anyone?)
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tyskkvinna
05/04/09

@mattattaxx: In Michigan, where you get 10 cents per can, you see a lot of homeless wandering around searching for cans. It's not really a problem. They pick up the litter, they get some cash for it. *shrug* Never struck me as abusing the system, quite the opposite.
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@tyskkvinna: It's easy to think of it as though the state is getting people to clean the streets for free while decreasing the unemployment rate. The money that they are paying the trash pickers was already reserved for payment to people who bring in bottles anyway, so it's money that they really weren't expecting to keep.
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SpruceStreetPhil
05/04/09

@ceilingFANBOY: they call it a tax but is it really? I wouldn't ever consider that money the governments, its just a really good scheme to force people to recycle, and for the ones that don't they pay a fine/tax. I really like the idea...

(even after countless hours of standing in front of those machines as a child unloading trash bags full of sticky cans and bottles as my mother shopped)
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ceilingFANBOY
05/04/09

@SpruceStreetPhil: It's an extra charge imposed by the government, so yea, it's a tax. It's just like income tax, you can get a refund (except this one you can get a 100% refund no matter how much you get taxed).
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