Friday, June 15, 2012

Thwarted Again!


I was disappointed to read this article by Andy Metzer and Colleen Quinn in the Lowell Sun this morning.  It seems that any hope of eliminating the disparity in our state's bottle bill has been thwarted, yet again.  Does it make sense for the two identical containers pictured above to have the same value when empty?  The legislative members of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy don't think so.  They also seem confused as to the difference between what is a refundable deposit and what is a non-refundable tax.  Is it really that difficult or is it just me?

The container on the left is worth five cents when empty and therefore fewer will end up in the environment.
The container on the right is worth nothing when empty and therefore more will end up in the environment.

Common sense often eludes us.

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