I have nothing economic to offer, but only the observation that the effects of having bottle deposits have been striking. I recall as a kid that litter in the form of bottles and cans was ubiquitous, now returnable are rarely seen as litter. Bottles that don't have deposits associated with them, such as bottled water, I see not infrequently on the ground.
Interestingly (to me), is how bottle and can deposits also act as sort of a transfer. I don't think there is a university in Michigan where there isn't a "can man" who collects cans from classrooms where students, figuring that it isn't worth $0.10 to carry a bottle home with them, have left many behind. And I recall one summer in California, where the deposit is only a penny, seeing the garbage bins behind bars and restaurants being looted by the less-than-well-to-do. As far as efficiency is concerned, I'm no help. But living with bottle deposits suggests that they work so well that I wish the state would legislate cigarette filter deposits. -jsh __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus � Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
