NY bottle recycling, Crayola Colors of the World

Raising nickel deposit is only the first step

New York’s outdated bottle bill has needed amending for quite some time “Doubling deposits,” News, Oct. 25]. The 5 cent bottle deposit, instituted over 40 years ago, is no longer enough to change behavior.

Raising the redemption cost to 10 cents will incentivize a greater redemption of this marketable resource. And, yes, wine and liquor bottles should also be included in the bill.

We are happy this issue is being discussed in Albany. However, we have additional opportunities to fix this problem.

First, the law should clearly require that collected bottles be recycled after they are deposited. Second, the state should strengthen markets for recyclables by incentivizing manufacturers who use these materials to set up shop here in New York. When redeemed glass is properly color-sorted, it becomes a sought-after commodity which would drive local industry. Further, all construction in the state should be required to use glass as a building material to create a circular economy.

The funds collected by the increased deposit should be earmarked for public education to encourage commercial and residential recycling. Recycling programs will succeed if they are easy and the benefits widely understood.

— Mark Haubner, Riverhead

The writer cofounded Taking a Lead on Zero Waste.

As a conscientious consumer, I always bring returns to the recycling center. For the most part, grocery stores often have machines that are filled and can’t accept more cans or bottles.

Recently, I had a problem with the recycling bottle machine at a local business, and when I spoke to the manager, he developed an attitude regarding this issue. So, I contacted the major store customer service and state Attorney General Letitia James’ office, neither of whom replied to my letter.

The store had opened at 8 a.m., and the machine was filled to the brim by 8:15 a.m.

I don’t know how many bottles and cans were left at the machines and in the trash can by the machines. This happens all the time, making one wonder, why recycle?

Raising the deposit won’t fully solve this problem. Having the recycle machines checked and in working order would resolve this issue.

Lastly, they indeed should add deposits on all the bottles mentioned in the article.

— Frank Knight, Mastic

I have lived on Long Island my entire life and take bottles back to the supermarket to recycle them and get back the 5 cent deposit. The phrase “get back” says it all. We pay that nickel every time it is automatically added to the purchase price of most bottles of water and soft drinks.

Many people aren’t aware that the 5 cents they get at the recycling center is being returned to them. It is an incentive to do the right thing and not simply throw the bottle away. If the refund is doubled, that extra nickel might be noticed more in the purchase price, especially when buying a case.

I feel for those who have to collect discarded bottles to take to recycling centers in order to buy food. Yet I often see these people with hundreds of bottles of all types that do clog the machines or cause those with just a few bottles to wait.

I am all for conservation. Anything that will help keep plastic and glass out of our landfills and oceans is a positive step. I do think it is time to increase the deposit and add other types of bottles.

— Melanie Seinfeld, East Meadow

Color this controversy a shade of ridiculous

It is beyond ridiculous that Connetquot school board trustee Jaclyn Napolitano-Furno believes that buying crayons is bringing social justice teaching into kindergarten [“New crayons inflame old controversy,” Opinion, Oct. 18]. One parent objected to funding Crayola’s Colors of the World crayons; yet more than 175 boxes were donated by districtwide parents.

I am at a loss as to how Napolitano-Furno makes a connection between the colors of crayons and the teaching of social justice. She states, “What I’m not for are the conversations that could go along with it in bringing race into our classrooms in a derogatory manner.” What is she talking about? So, in addition to being afraid of books, members of the school board are afraid of conversations, too.

— Victoria Cautela, Oakdale

I cannot understand how “social justice” is viewed as a negative. We live in a society and should be taught that everyone’s rights need to be considered.

If people whose skin tones were already represented object to the same representation for others, they might think of the accommodations that students already make for the sake of other students — peanut-free zones are just one example.

Is having parents spend a few more dollars really that awful? I think it would be a teaching tool to let young students understand that they will be sharing their classroom with children who do not look exactly like them.

Even if they are in the majority as far as race is concerned, there’s value to understanding the experience of others.

— Wendy Schack, East Williston