KKB's Reasons for not supporting TN Bottle Bill
First let me say that I am not affiliated with any anti-litter organizations. I don't have memberships to any of them and have never worked with any of them. I am just an individual citizen with a hearts desire to see something done about the huge amount of litter in my home state of Tennessee.If you have kept up with any of the Bottle Bill project, then you know that it was struck down this year by a vote of 8-1 in the Tennessee house of reps. Only one brave soul stood up and voted for the bill, Rep. Ben West Jr. from Hermitage, TN. My very own representative from Knoxville, Harry Brooks, whom I voted for last time, voted against the bill.
Go over to the Keep Knoxville Beautiful (KKB) website and check out their reasons, er, I mean, "official position" for not supporting the Bottle Bill. Then check out their proposed pay-as-you-throw program. Get real, do they really believe that the same folks that are throwing their trash out the car window are going to all of a sudden take it to a convienence center and PAY to throw it away???
Go and tell Bubba-Joe and Wanda-Sue about this great new "pay-as-you-throw" program and see the reaction that you get. Then after they pelt you with a few Budweiser empties, tell them you were only kidding and then explain that they can get 5 cents a piece for those empty Buds through the Bottle Bill program. Their reaction may magically transform and dollar signs will probably start scrolling over their eyeballs. Can't you just see ol' Bubba and Wanda out on the roadside scrounging for some returnables? Sounds like a new added benefit to me.
KKB has a quote on their website that says: "According to national studies, bottles and cans represent about 8% of roadside litter." They use this "statistic" as one of the basis for rejecting the bottle bill. I don't know if this figure is correct or not, I don't know how it was measured, but I do know that when I pick up litter in my neighborhood in Knox County, the amount of beer bottles and cans far outweigh all of the other trash.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-KKB, I think they are a great organization that is beneficial to our community. I just don't quite understand their stance on the Bottle Bill.
Would anyone care to comment?
4 Comments:
It's no big secret, the KKB is in the back pocket of the local bottlers and convienence store owners who oppose the bottle bill. You can't bite the hand that feeds you.
Hi anonymous, sorry I'm just now responding to your comments, I fell a little behind.
I have looked into the funding of KKB and yes, they do receive money from the special interest groups you mentioned, in fact, KKB was started by these same groups. Regardless of this, I'm not sure that is the entire reason behind their non-support of the bottle bill project. I really feel that they are misguided in their thinking in this instance. It seems that they have lost touch with the "man on the street."
Thanks for your input.
After reading the info, it looks to me like KKB is trying to tackle the litter control and recycling arguments. The PAYT system is considered a comprehensive recycling program - KKB never suggests it will fix the litter problem.
Hi anonymous, I honestly believe that KKB is trying to make great efforts in tackling the litter control and recycling arguments.
You are correct, they do not suggest that the PAYT system will fix the litter problem, however, they do propose the PAYT as an alternative solution to the bottle bill project. From the KKB site:
"Is There Something Better Out There? The answer is yes. KKB would like to encourage a public discussion of shifting our entire solid waste management system in Tennessee to a pay-as-you-throw program."
Yes, PAYT is "considered a comprehensive recycling program," but when it comes to paying to throw away garbage -vs- getting paid to throw it away, I believe that the mindset in the area that I live in will opt for the latter.
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