Crosby's Marketplace is a proud member of the North Shore community and we try hard to be a good citizen and operate a business our customers enjoy and are proud of. As part of our business strategy, we work to do the right thing for the environment and run a sustainable business. For instance:
We recycle most of our waste, including all our corrugated cardboard, shrink wrap, bottles, cans and paper.
We reduced our distribution of paper and plastic bags by more than 33 percent in less than three years by promoting the use of reusable bags.
We won an award for changing to LED lighting in all refrigerated cases.
I am asking citizens to examine the facts before supporting expansion of the bottle bill, a matter currently before the Legislature.
I feel strongly that expansion will not only hurt my business, but will be counterproductive to comprehensive recycling efforts.
Expanding the bottle deposit law will hurt consumers and raise prices in a weak economy. Expansion would also yield disappointing environmental results, promote fraud and harm existing recycling programs.
A more fiscally and environmentally responsible approach would be to invest in our existing recycling infrastructure and enhance the convenience and effectiveness of curbside and drop-off programs.
Just look at the impact:
For consumers: 1.) They face price increases of at least $58 million per year for products like juice, iced tea and bottled water. 2.) The average noncarbonated beverage would cost 5 cents more to cover these costs, plus another 5 cents for the deposit. 3.) Consumers can't afford another $116 million per year for groceries on top of the recent sales tax hike. 4.) The current bottle bill is already expensive to operate. The current deposit/redemption system is the most costly approach for consumers, retailers and beverage distributors.
For supermarkets and grocery stores: 1.) Grocers would bear the brunt of a more complicated bottle law, which means higher grocery prices. 2.) Stores would need more reverse vending machines (RVMs) to handle empties: meaning higher costs to lease and maintain the machines, plus costs to remodel stores. 3.) This would mean more staff and space to handle containers that won't fit in RVMs. The manual redemption of larger containers is time-consuming and will mean longer waits for consumers.
The real kicker is that for all of this cost and effort, the return is not worth the nickels you put out for this privilege. For all the expense and effort, expanding deposits to noncarbonated, nonalcoholic beverages would increase the state's 35 percent recycling rate by about one-eighth of 1 percent. The additional material recycled would equal about 3 pounds per person per year at a cost 10 times higher than recycling the same material at the curb.
With noncarbonated beverages averaging only 1.3 percent of litter, the impact on roads and parks would be minimal, as well.
The effort to expand the bottle bill is all about the money and not recycling. Expansion is motivated largely by the hope that it would raise revenue for the state from unclaimed deposits. If consumers don't return containers, the state gets more nickels.
The bottle bill is an outdated law that costs too much and does too little. Let's make comprehensive recycling the success it should be and support efforts to strengthen these programs.
• • •
Jim Crosby of Danvers is founder of Crosby's Supermarkets, a family-owned supermarket chain with stores in Salem, Marblehead, Hamilton and Manchester-by-the-Sea.
No Limits for Disabled Hunters at Mich. Base
Victim Identified in Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Radioactive Bluefin Tuna Crossed the Pacific
90 Guns Seized, Dozens Arrested in Oakland
Raw Video: Hail Storm Batters Oklahoma City
6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee
California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin
Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40
Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later
Judge's Ruling Halts Tenn. Mosque Construction
Romney in Las Vegas on Texas Primary Day
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Even Fla. Police Shocked by Face-Mauling Attack
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
