"Rally support for a recycling law"

"Rally support for a recycling law"

Letter to the editor by William D. Guinn, Knoxville 

Knoxville News-Sentinel 
August 13, 2010

The last few years have seen numerous letters to the editor complaining about trash on our roads.

Eleven states have enacted what is commonly called a "bottle bill." It is a bill requiring a deposit on aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles that encourages people to return their empty containers and reclaim their deposit. More information can be found online by searching "TN bottle bill."

Why do we not have a similar bill in Tennessee? Because some selfi sh special interests, principally the beverage industry, have used their lobbying power to keep this bill from going through the full Legislature for a vote.

States that have bottle bills experience 80 percent to 90 percent return on beverage containers.

These bills keep material that can be recycled such as aluminum, plastic and glass out of landfi lls, thereby cutting landfi ll costs. They reduce energy costs because recycling aluminum is less expensive than the smelting of ore. They create jobs for people to run redemption centers where the items are returned. It is estimated that there is a possibility of creating 500 redemption centers in Tennessee and 2,000 full- and part-time jobs.

What can you do about this bill? First, go online and educate yourself about the bill. Get all of the conservation organizations in the state to support this bill. Get your county commission to endorse this bill. Insist that your state lawmakers vote for the bill.

For more information about the bill, call me at 865-922-0879.