I buy a 12 pack of water on sale for $2 at a big grocery store. It costs $3.20 because I have to pay the 10 cent bottle deposit on each bottle.
Then, when I go to the recycle place, they give me 60 cents for my 12 bottles – that’s HALF of what I paid for the deposit. AND they won’t take certain beverage containers for refund at ALL, but I still have to pay 10 cent deposit.
What the hell is up with that? Where can I get my whole 10 cents? Why do they charge me 5 cents to recycle? Why do they charge a deposit on some containers that you can’t get even half of it back on?
I mean it’s better than getting nothing by blue bagging them, but still, where do they get off?
I want my damned $
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2009.
Sigh… I’m sure someone sooner or later will eventually explain all this much better than I can, but here I go anyway:
It’s been like this here in Nova Scotia for a long time, bud, and most of us have gotten pretty used to it. The other five cents goes towards paying the workers to sort those recyclables, plus other environmental issues as well I believe. Check out http://www.rrfb.com if you’re interested in more in-depth information.
There is nowhere in Nova Scotia that you can get your whole 10 cents back that you paid on the deposit that I know of, although some bottles do give you more money back than others.
I think that’s pretty much it qpmz. The 10 cent fee is a 5 cent deposit and a 5 cent fee for paying for the recycling services. That’s the way it was sold when they implemented it.
Interesting, qpmzwonxeibcruv, I never really worried about it – the only things I return are beer bottles – the rest I put out in a blue bag…
I do, however, recall that when I lived in Ontario you got the entire deposit back… wonder how they paid their workers?
Save yourself a ton of money and get a reusable plastic container, fill it with tap or filtered water. No deposit, no piss off. I can’t believe people are still buying bottled water. Whoever came up with that idea saw suckers in droves.
Aww, thanks guys!
“environmental issues” should have been “environmental initiatives.” Stupid cold.
TTFN does have a good, simple, and cheap idea as well, seeing as tap water here in Halifax is apparently already some of the best in the world.
don’t you get it all back for beer bottles though?
if not, you should.. they sell that shit at such a fucking markup it ain’t funny….
and have it practically monopolized anyways.
the other stores that sell it have to buy it from the gubment so…..
It is the government, what do you expect ?
Remember the day you went to the store or the bottle man and he gave you the whole deposit back ? Then along came the government and after listening too much to EAC and others they dreamed up the RRFB and bingo – half your money disappears into the ether; swallowed up for TV ads, newspaper ads, salaries for bureaucrats and appointees. The Salvation Army recycles all kind of stuff for nothing; God forbid the government would help them with a few dollars for keeping a lot of clothes and junk out of a landfill.
It’s a nickel… If I dropped one I wouldn’t waste my time picking it up… Don’t worry, you’ll get over it… Just think, if you drove your bottles to the depot you likely lost the money you gained in gas expenses… Blue bag it and be done with the hassle…
Why pay for water in the first place? Pepsi I can understand but water I cannot.
Sorry OP, but you’re a douche for buying bottled water in the first place.
You can get water refills at grocery stores in reusable containers if you’re that set on buying water.
Honestly, I use a brita filter and find the water tastes better because some of the bottled stuff has a plasticy taste from being in the bottle so long. It’s like 7 bucks for a filter and I change it every three months. The brita jug cost me 12 bucks. A lot cheaper than constantly buying water.
On another note: I bought a new alarm clock last week and for a $12 alarm clock I was charged $3 something for a “recycling fee.” That works out to a 25% tax, essentially, on top of the 13% I already paid. And what got me was how this store I bought it from said I “bought” two items — meaning I apparently “bought” an environmental recycling fee! *eyeroll*
Consider that 10 cents an idot tax for buying water.
A – Bottled water is not safer, actually it has far few regulations and regulators than the stuff that comes out of your tap. Most of it is not even “spring water”. it is bottled from filtered municipal water supplies.
B – Carbon footprint. Considering the factories that produce the plastic bottles, the trucks that ship it and the coolers that keep it cold in the convenience stores that bottle of water might as well be a Hummer towing whaling harpoon that runs on the tears of 9/11 widows for fuck sakes………and thats all before they get tossed in a land fill for a million years.
LOGiC – pretty sure most people that drive their recyclables wait till they have more than a couple dollars worth to do so, aside from crackheads dumpster diving for indian smoke money.
My mom says when she was a kid, they would refer to dumb folks by saying “He’s so stupid we could sell him rocks and water!”
People spend for the sake of spending…and to say it’s just a nickle, LOGiC….well tell that to the couple that put their 5 kids through college with their nickles…
lovinglife, can you say with 100% certainty that the ground water in my well is “better” than the water you buy in a bottle? The world is bigger than you. Grow up.
I would have posted this bitch myself if I hadn’t gotten over the shock of the rip-off sanctioned by government in Ontario. I originally come from Alberta and refunding bottle depots are BIG business especially when their business is combined with a recyclable goods depot.
Why you bitches are happy paying a “refundable” deposit to the (US?) manufacturer of a product then think it’s okay that they keep that money even though it’s advertised right on the product that a REFUNDABLE deposit will be charged… you bitches just aren’t yourselves today! The AB gov’t LEGISLATED refundable bottle deposits making manufacturers responsible for their POLLUTION. It seems eastern governments don’t care to make manufacturers responsible for the permanently polluting products they produce. What’s up with that?
Kay – Can I say YOUR well water is safer than bottled?……..well of course not you short sighted twat. As usual you read one thing and interpreted another? How is that government job treating you?
Did you notice that when I made that statement I didn’t mention you by name? thats because it was not specific to your situation. *puts on most condescending voice he can* ya know Kay the world is bigger than you. I was talking in generalities, not Kay specific anecdotes.
and another thing, I didn’t say tap water is 100% safe all the time ( see: Walketon and the Milwaukee incident ). What i said was “bottled water is not safer”, which is the nonsense BS people tell them selves to feel good about spending money on bottled water.
That fact that bottled water has not been shown to have any health or safety benefits above and beyond tap water is not my opinion to be argued with – it is the general consensus of the scientist who study these things.
Your mind must be clouded from all the mercury and uranium in your well water .If you are looking to buy some water I also have some air for sale I will give you a good price on.
PS – BURRRRRRN!
Government job? What? Where did that come from?
I keep bottled water because my tap runs off of a well. If you want to speak in generalities you MUST include the rural population. That was my point! What part of this is confusing?
If you want to talk really general… tap water the world over is DANGEROUS. Beer is a more common beverage in strange countries than water BECAUSE the water is foul. Yes we live in Canada and those who live in cities should enjoy the nice clean bleach flavoured and safe tap water but, peon, some of us buy it because we have to.
Asshole.
What’s with the name-calling and sheep-like behavour, kay? Hypocrite much?
At least there’s a reason for it, Fat. Or have you missed that?
Your “double standard” or “double kaydard” isn’t a valid reason. Nice try but not really =)
Just another cash scam under the guise of “the Environement”.
I just wish we could do our refunds at the local store like in Quebec. Those machines are sweet.