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GoogleMarge Davis of Mt. Juliet appeared before commissioners to answer questions about it. Davis is coordinator of Pride Of Place, an organization formed to promote the bill, and also vice president of Scenic Tennessee Inc., which formed Pride Of Place.
Bottles would not be redeemed at the stores where they were purchased, as they were in the old days of returnable glass soft drink bottles. Instead, they would be accepted at recycling centers. Those centers would receive funding from unclaimed deposits and would also be able to sell the containers and materials collected.
Davis said the county would see no direct revenue from a bottle bill but would benefit through reduced tipping fees and transportation costs if the bill reduced the number of beverage containers disposed of in landfills. Commissioner Bobby Vannatta, a farmer, noted the problem of roadside litter causing damage to farm equipment. Davis said that the Tennessee Farm Bureau has endorsed the bill but has not actively lobbied for it.
The bill would not apply to liquor, wine or dairy products. Davis said the organizers made a practical decision to limit the bill so that they wouldn't need to face off against as many industry lobbyists. But she said a bottle bill would help increase the market for recycled glass, which could indirectly result in more wine and liquor bottles being recycled.
In other action Tuesday night:
* Commissioners approved an agreement with FirstBank to provide the county's banking services. The contract was awarded by competitive bid.
* Commissioners approved a budget amendment allowing Bedford County Agriculture and Education Center to purchase a tractor.
* Dempsey, Dilling and Associates was approved as an engineering consultant for Bedford County Planning Commission.
* A special revenue fund was created for the lease payments received by the county from the new operator of Bedford County Nursing Home.
* Commissioners heard quarterly reports from various county department heads.
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Wonderful! It would be great if the city/county agreed to do any incentive program that would reduce the amount of bottles that are being dumped into our landfills. Recycling is so important for the conservation of our land! Recycle, people, recycle!!!!
How far will we have to drive to redeem these bottles? Spend $10 in gas to redeem $8 in bottles. Not even to mention the exhaust from our cars to get to the centers. Perfect sense from our government as usual. I guess we'll be spending money for recycle bins too.
We recycle alot and but since our local convience center doesn't have a place for plastic, we've been taking them to Murfreesboro to recycle them. Is there going to be a place where we can take the bottles here in Shelbyville/ Bedford County?
This has nothing to do with recycling. It is just a tax with a "Green" face.
GREAT GREAT - maybe now more people will recycle, and not throw cans/bottles/etc out of the car into ditches. I'm all for it!
We need a good recycling program = maybe one that will pick up at curbside?
there is a place for plastics...not sure of the name. it's over in the same area as before.
PoorMe,
It is a measure to keep our roadways & other areas clean. I am amazed at the slobs this state has & how they think nothing about littering.
You can call it a "tax" if you wish but people that return their empty bottles will get their money back. People that clean up the roadways in front of their homes will get a little bit of money for their efforts.
Slobs & alcoholics will pay the tax. They ought to make it a quarter deposit! I am tired of picking up "Bud light" cans up & down the road in front of my house.
BEDFORDBRAINS,
How far do you have to drive to buy the bottles? In other states retailers who sell the bottles & cans also redeem them.
JohnC,
I grew up in this state and the implication that I am a "slob" did not go unnoticed. I can tell by your condescending tone that you are one of those transplants that think the south is a cesspool of inbred rednecks.
I grew up picking up coke bottles and selling them, I am not a kid and I do understand the concept. I also have a farm with over a mile of road frontage and I pickup litter everyday, do you?
Not just "Bud Light" cans and bottles but people clean out their refrigerator and dump it there, used tires on the side of the road became common after the "Tipping" fee was introduced at the landfill, old televisions, couches and chairs that people would rather dump than take it to the convenience center, and I could go on.
I don't need a lecture from you about what this is supposed to accomplish but I am realistic enough to know what this is. It's a tax past specifically at this time to generate revenue.
When we were kids you could return coke bottles to any store, the process for retuning these items are going to make it cost prohibitive for anyone other than those who are just picking up littler, same people that are doing it now.... You will not see a difference in the amount of litter. The only benefit I can see is the people who have always picked up litter may recover some of their expenses.
Don't get me wrong I hope this works and pray you don't trip while looking down your nose that the rest of us. (I hope you don't file a lawsuit because I said a prayer).
PoorMe,
I agree. We don't own a farm, but live out here in the country and it seems like everyday, we have to go out and clean the ditches because of the lazy people who would rather throw things out of their windows instead of waiting until they got home or to their destination with a trash can.
And unfortunately, the government can rise prices, tack on more taxes,etc, but the people who are lazy now, will continue to be lazy. Nothing is going to stop these people. It may encourage others to start recycling, but I doubt it.
TN needs a deposit law. It would greatly reduce litter and about triple the recycling rate. There are many benefits to this program. I noticed some other comments regarding "slobs" and I assure you that there are probably about as many or more slobs in other states. Thats not the point, the point is a deposit program is one way, a very good way, to help cleanup our environment. This is not a tax, it's a refundable deposit. I truely believe Marge Davis is a concerned citizen caring about her community and environment, thats all. In otherwords she wouldn't benefit from this if it were a "tax." It's not, and infact the deposit program could save a lot of money on litter cleanup, and local trash disposal and recycling program costs.
PoorMe,
Are you saying you throw bottles & cans from your vehicle onto the roadside? If not, how did you get the impression I called you a slob?
You seem to have a lot of false impressions. I was born and raised in Tennessee & yes, I own land in Bedford county. I have also lived in other states with bottle laws while I was in the service. The roadsides didn't have nearly the mess we have here in Tennessee.
Just what would you call someone who throws trash out their window for others to pick up?
Here is the definition of the word;
slob
Noun
Informal a lazy and untidy person [Irish Gaelic slab mud]
Kind of fits the act, doesn't it?
Does everyone do it in Tennessee? No & I never said they did.
I still contend that the only people who will pay a "tax" if this law passes are slobs & alcoholics. I feel pity for neither.
JohnC,
PoorMe made the assumption that you were calling all Tennesseans slobs, because of the poor wording in which you commented.
You said, "the slobs in this state." As if there are not slobs in every state. I've been all over the world, and every county, state, parish, providence, and country has its fair share of slobs. So before you try to belittle someone by copy and pasting definitions, try to analyze your own statements.
As for the bill itself, I agree. It's another tax added on under the guise of being green. People who think that this will put a sudden stop to littering are the same who think that continuing to lower the speed limit on 231 will put an end to any and all wrecks.
We cannot appease litterbugs any more than we can restrict bad drivers. People will continue to litter just as they will continue to be an idiot behind the wheel. Is it because we are all slobs? No. It is because people just don't care. People will continue to do whatever they please, whether it be getting wasted and puking in your front yard, or dropping toilets and puppies on PoorMe's property.
TubeSock,
I am sure people will continue to throw bottles & cans out their windows. For them this will be a tax, a SLOB tax. I am all for a slob tax. We are paying for roadside cleanup through taxation already, why not reduce that cost to all taxpayers and shift it to the slobs?
You go ahead and lobby your representatives to stop this law if you wish. I am going to let them know I want it.
Maybe the deposit law will wake a few of these slobs up who didn't realize littering was bad behavior?
And you think that the roadside clean-up will be reduced with this in play? It will stay the same because funding for so is allocated annually. It seems that there was another story recently where costs to the county would be reduced but people would pay out of pocket for the service in question. Now where did I read that? I'm not quite sure.
If we are going to introduce another tax, then why not do it on the front end? Let's legislate an extra tax to be added to the purchase price. And why stop there? Let's commission an entire brigade of citizens to sit on the side of the road waiting for someone to litter. They will be like hall monitors, except on the roadways. Plus, it will help with unemployment.
Keep relying on the government to fix every problem. That's what we will get. Restrictions and appeasements for all.
TubeSock,
You seem to be confused. I will help you out seeing as I am a kind & gentle person.
tax;
1. A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government.
2. A fee or dues levied on the members of an organization to meet its expenses.
3. A burdensome or excessive demand; a strain.
tr.v. taxed, tax·ing, tax·es
A DEPOSIT is returned upon the receipt of the item said deposit was placed on. You pay a nickle deposit when you purchase the can & it is returned when you bring the can back. Does that sound like a tax?
I am sure that the people who drink & drive will not appreciate the new law. They would be forced to either "keep the evidence" in their vehicle or forfeit the deposit.
If you are worried about "government control" you are free to throw your cans & bottles where you please.
There you go with your copying and pasting again. I'm not confused about anything. Where do you think the deposit will come from, Webster?
When it was a return on Coke bottles, the companies themselves worked out the return and deposit. The returns will be at a government run institution. I suppose that you think Andy the garbage man will pay out of pocket.
Definitions of moron on the Web:
*idiot: a person of subnormal intelligence
*a city in Argentina, to the west of Buenos Aires
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Oh...and to debunk your final bit of stupidity...what do you think tax refunds are? Maybe we should file for deposit refunds every April?