STRONGER COMMUNITIES

The marching band at Liverpool (NY) High School raised $3,467 in a single day's "bottle drive"

In states with beverage container deposits, "bottle drives" and donation bins collectively raise tens of millions of dollars each year on behalf of schools, nonprofit groups, special projects and community causes. Here in Tennessee, a conservative estimate is that 3 to 5 percent of all redemptions will be donated; that's $6 million to $10 million a year. And donations aren't the only way POP will help deserving people in Tennessee. Agencies that work with the homeless and special-needs individuals have already said they will open nonprofit redemption centers to provide jobs, job training and program income. And as they have done for more than a century, thrifty families, retirees, students and anyone else wishing to supplement their incomes will be able to do so simply by picking up and turning in somebody else's discarded deposit-eligible container.