Piles of Cans and Bottles

If you were to go in the basement of my house in Endicott, you would walk into my bar, “The Freezone Bar and Grill”. It’s a fully stocked bar with a beer fridge and eight TV's. Yes, eight. To the left of the steps is a door that leads to another room, the laundry room. In that room are the washer and dryer on one side, and the furnace, hot water heater and another little storage room on the other. Right in the middle of the room, up against the wall, is where I keep my returnables. Right now, and I’m not exaggerating, there are 13 garbage bags filled to the top with cans and bottles. I really should take them back soon. But do we even need to do this?

I grew up across the border in PA and we didn’t have to do any of this. We would put our cans in the recycle bin and put it out with the cardboard and stuff. We didn’t have to put up a nickel deposit or take them back to the store to get a refund. Now when you take them back, if you take them to a place with a machine, you should pack a lunch. First, you will have to wait in line for everyone else that is dealing with this crap. And if you have more than a dollars’ worth of returns, there is a good chance that you will either fill or Jam the machine. If you take them to a return center, you have to stand in line and wonder if the person counting them isn’t daydreaming and losing count unless it’s in your favor, then daydream away.

I still think we should get rid of the deposits and make it mandatory that people recycle them. Anyone caught with cans in their garbage could face fines.
That would work for me and I wouldn’t have to spend a Saturday morning getting my money back one nickel at a time.