Uniform Container Act
From NPR, April 7, 2022, "Today, For the first time, researchers find microplastics deep in the lungs of living people. The research, done at Hull York Medical School in England and published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, is the first robust study to identify the plastics in the lungs of living people. The plastics have previously been found in human blood, excrement and in the depths of the ocean."
It is time for a national Uniform Container Act.
The total plastic bottle recycling collection rate in the United States is below 30 percent. In other words, 70 percent of plastic containers are not recycled in the United States, and instead are ending up in our landfills or worse, in our oceans and now our lungs.
The argument against returnable bottles used to be that they were inconvenient for consumers, and retailers found the program messy on many levels. Now, with most communities already collecting recyclables, uniform, reusable, bottles, jars and containers of assorted sizes and shapes could readily be collected right along with the recyclables. These reusables could be sent from the municipal recycling centers to distribution centers where manufacturers would pay a fee for the label-free, sanitized containers of their choice. The fee would go to the distribution and municipal recycling centers, as well as toward the production of additional reusable containers. If a manufacturer chooses a custom reusable design, they would be responsible for all additional fees involved. Jobs would be created. The young folks of our country will see that we care about their future. However, most importantly, a dramatic reduction in waste and pollution would be immediate.
It is time for a national Uniform Container Act.
The total plastic bottle recycling collection rate in the United States is below 30 percent. In other words, 70 percent of plastic containers are not recycled in the United States, and instead are ending up in our landfills or worse, in our oceans and now our lungs.
The argument against returnable bottles used to be that they were inconvenient for consumers, and retailers found the program messy on many levels. Now, with most communities already collecting recyclables, uniform, reusable, bottles, jars and containers of assorted sizes and shapes could readily be collected right along with the recyclables. These reusables could be sent from the municipal recycling centers to distribution centers where manufacturers would pay a fee for the label-free, sanitized containers of their choice. The fee would go to the distribution and municipal recycling centers, as well as toward the production of additional reusable containers. If a manufacturer chooses a custom reusable design, they would be responsible for all additional fees involved. Jobs would be created. The young folks of our country will see that we care about their future. However, most importantly, a dramatic reduction in waste and pollution would be immediate.
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