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If you Texans are tired of plastic and glass bottles as well as aluminum cans littering your roads and waters, please consider urging your local governments to pass resolutions in support of the Texas Bottle Bill!

http://texasbottlebill.com/

I've often wondered why Texas did not charge a "deposit" on all bottles - glass and plastic - and on all cans as some states do. Hopefully this will get our Texas legislature in gear to do something positive!

Sherry I looked at the pictures in the link on the website link you posted. There is an incredible amount of litter in Texas from beverage bottles. I live in California and we have had the deposit on bottles and cans here for a long time. We don't have bottle litter everywhere because of the redeemable deposit. There are centers conveniently located for redemption of bottle deposits with an easy to access state website to find the location, hours of operation and telephone number of the recycling centers.

Litter is a major problem here also.

We just did a beach sweep the day after labor day. Our group picked up an 6 X 10 trailer load of trash. There were 2 tents, beach chairs, bottles, fireworks debris, etc.

I would love to take this stuff back to their lovely homes in other communities and states and dump it in their front yards!

When Mi had the deposit bill on the ballot (years ago) I voted against it. I did not want to pay the deposit, did not want to store the empties, did not want the long lines at stores to redeem them, and did not imagine that it would help the problem.

I was wrong.

It cleaned up the road ways a lot. Everything else was no big deal.

As a former NYer, where we had bottle bills back in the 50's, I wholeheartedly support bottle bills in Texas, where I live now. You'd be amazed how much money you could make returning the bottles to the stores. And, BTW, I never heard our local store owners complain.

Why anyone opposes this bill is beyond me. Here's an interesting blog: http://livinglightlyinwilliams...xas-bottle-bill.html

At the very least, Sherry, we could clean up the disgusting mess made by the Schlitterban tubers where thousands of beer and soda cans float down the Gruene River. Talk about a health hazard.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

The bottles will not go back to the store. You will take them to redemption centers. Businesses and jobs created. A great way for the school kids to do fund raising by picking up what litter does hit the roadsides and waterways.

I did find out that one of our city councils (largest town) in the county voted not to endorse the effort. Our county commissioners were all for it. One commissioner hires part-time help to pick up trash on the county roads. Another gets out there himself, especially when it's household garbage - he wants to find a piece of mail with the name and address!

I just wrote to one of my council members to encourage her to get our City to back the bottle bill. Our county has not yet signed up to endorse it. ????

As someone who used to pick up litter and cans on the street in my old DC neighborhood, I want to see more volunteers get involved AND a bill to make it official, not only in Texas. It just makes so much sense.

Come on, y'all. Having a bottle bill would suggest that we are stewards of this earth. Next thing you know, we'd be admitting that climate change is real. It's the old camel nose under the tent.

quote:

Originally posted by sms29s66:
Come on, y'all. Having a bottle bill would suggest that we are stewards of this earth. Next thing you know, we'd be admitting that climate change is real. It's the old camel nose under the tent.

LOL...no, it's the slippery slope.

LOL sms....
Yes. I will admit that climate change is real. Walked in to visit my mother one evening and she was on the verge of tears about global warming. I was rather flippant and ticked her off..."WHAT?! Don't you believe in it?" She asked.

"Yes, Mama...it's been going on since the end of the last ice age."

She looked real funny. Pursed (spelled correctly?) her lips. Nodded her head. That was the last I heard of "global warming."

quote:

Come on, y'all. Having a bottle bill would suggest that we are stewards of this earth. Next thing you know, we'd be admitting that climate change is real.

"Climate change" may be more palatable to the doubters but, I live on the left coast

Climate change is a fact. Whether or not humans are contributing to it is the question. Personally, I don't see how we could not be...all the bad things we do to our environment...like leaving trash laying around.

I walk a portion of our road a couple of times a year w/two bags...one for trash/misc. and one for cans. That's the only thing that gets recycled around here so far....WAY behind here!