• @[email protected]
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    7311 months ago

    Wow. This has been a thing in Canada for as long as I can remember. And I am, for Lemmy, damn near antediluvian.

  • Ab_intra
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    2511 months ago

    We’ve had this for plastic bottles forever here in Norway.

  • Magical Thinker
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    11 months ago

    Moving from CA to a place with no aluminum recycling was initially weird, then my city completely stopped picking up all recycling… because staff shortages, so the world is full of surprises (guess what else they outlawed here…)

  • Chemical Wonka
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    911 months ago

    Here in Germany we have Pfand system to return our bottles and get our cash back since 2003.

    • @[email protected]
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      11 months ago

      In my Canadian province, a mandatory deposit has been in place since 1970. I didn’t even realize this wasn’t standard elsewhere.

        • @[email protected]
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          11 months ago

          For things that can’t be recycled, I would agree. But if it can be, then it still needs to be brought to a recycling facility to make that happen. Without this incentive, a lot more of it will end up in landfills.

          • @Electromechanical_Supergiant
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            211 months ago

            If the companies had to pay per bottle, do you really think they’d still be using single use packaging like that?

            They’d install refill stations in stores and sell you a reusable bottle that you can fill up from their metered tap at the refill station.

            Companies created the problem of single use packaging; the onus is not on individuals to solve a problem created by companies.

            • @[email protected]
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              211 months ago

              Not if it costs more to develop, install, and maintain a refill system. Much more likely they would just raise the price to the consumer anyway.

                • @[email protected]
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                  211 months ago

                  And now it’s so far gone that doing the bare minimum for the environment is great for their image so let’s dump more money into advertising that than actually making a meaningful change.

            • @[email protected]
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              111 months ago

              If the companies had to pay per bottle, do you really think they’d still be using single use packaging like that?

              If it’s the same 5/10/25c per container, then they very likely will. Consumers have already decided that this price is worth paying for the convenience, so it makes little difference if companies paid this and passed on the cost to consumer, or if it’s transparently shown as a separate reimbursable fee. In the end, all the costs get passed on to consumers and it’s left to us to vote with our wallets. I think the main issue is that the cost of producing containers doesn’t reflect the true long term cost, and the solution to that is probably to impose a tax based on the amount of material used. That way, consumers making the choice that’s right for them will also mean making the choice that’s right for everyone else.

        • bean
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          211 months ago

          Glass and metal are pretty reusable 😅

  • @[email protected]
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    711 months ago

    They are introducing this in Ireland in 2024. Starting with cans and hard plastic containers. I think it’s a great idea. I do hope they expand it to include glass bottles though.

    • @[email protected]
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      1111 months ago

      As a German let me tell you it’s great. It always feels good to get money for bringing back empty stuff

    • @[email protected]
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      411 months ago

      Coca cola in particular had been lobbying against these systems for decades. People buy less if the cost is higher, so instead they want their dumb packaging to be spread everywhere.

      Beautiful profit interest saves us all

  • @[email protected]
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    311 months ago

    I was trading empty bottles and jars for some money since I was a kid in Estonia. That system is older than the Russian Federation.

  • @[email protected]
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    -511 months ago

    Sensationalized article doesn’t mention at all that you’re going to be paying that when you purchase in the first place.

    • @[email protected]
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      111 months ago

      Yeah, it’s kind of like those places that make you place a quarter in the shopping cart to use it, but it’s more annoying since you aren’t typically drinking at the store where you can return it. I get that it’s to encourage recycling, but what’s wrong with me throwing them in the recycling bin for regular street collection? In that case it’s still being recycled but I’m losing out on the fee for every single bottle/can which adds up.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 months ago

        Recyling can have multiple meanings. e.g in germany most bottles are meant to be used multiple times. e.g plastic bottles are refilled up to 20 times. throwing stuff in the recycling bin is only for things that are meant to be melted down and recast.

    • @[email protected]
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      011 months ago

      It’s a local news site that just states the facts. California citizens already are aware they pay for it at the counter.

      Nothing about this is sensationalized