Tokasz, take two ~ BOTTLE BILL, is he for real???

[cheeky043]

"As for Tokasz, he has done nothing to help any of the communities facing environmental challenges except after much pleading from multiple organizations he supported our effort to re - fund the Superfund."

Now someone tell me Tokasz is a great guy because he wants to "CRUSH" with the bottle bill!

Dont even start on the clutter and storage space troubles for store owners.

WE NEED A STRONG BOTTLE BILL, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN NEED an even stronger bottle bill, one that is enforced to the heavens! What the heck is wrong with "good old boy Paul"

This is not one of those threads where Erieman can slam all those environmentally concerned folks.

Lets just discuss this bill and what will happen to our town should Tokasz get his way and we no longer have to return any bottles.

Let's get something out there before it starts, I DO not like to return bottles, it is a royal pain. BUT,

**I remember as a young boy seeing cans and bottles all over the roadways and in the parks. People did not care about throwing trash out the window of a speeding car "OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND" The problem was too many thought that same thing and what happened? Littered highways everywhere.

There will always be those people who will toss things anywhere they please but at least with the bottle bill others pick them up and return them.

One must take baby steps when considering this kind of change, we owe it to the future inhabitants of our Village/Town/City/Earth.

[ERIEMAN]

Originally posted by cheeky043
"As for Tokasz, he has done nothing to help any of the communities facing environmental challenges except after much pleading from multiple organizations he supported our effort to re - fund the Superfund."

Now someone tell me Tokasz is a great guy because he wants to "CRUSH" with the bottle bill!

Dont even start on the clutter and storage space troubles for store owners.

WE NEED A STRONG BOTTLE BILL, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN NEED an even stronger bottle bill, one that is enforced to the heavens! What the heck is wrong with "good old boy Paul"

This is not one of those threads where Erieman can slam all those environmentally concerned folks.

Lets just discuss this bill and what will happen to our town should Tokasz get his way and we no longer have to return any bottles.

Let's get something out there before it starts, I DO not like to return bottles, it is a royal pain. BUT,

**I remember as a young boy seeing cans and bottles all over the roadways and in the parks. People did not care about throwing trash out the window of a speeding car "OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND" The problem was too many thought that same thing and what happened? Littered highways everywhere.

There will always be those people who will toss things anywhere they please but at least with the bottle bill others pick them up and return them.

One must take baby steps when considering this kind of change, we owe it to the future inhabitants of our Village/Town/City/Earth.

The only thing being recycled here is the crap you see and hear on the television.

You don't really believe the things you say, do you?

[biker]

The bottle return surcharges have been wildly succesful.

Enough so that NYS made a wild grab for the funds.

When it was started, they (lawmakers) left it up to the industry to figure out how they were actually going to do the recycling. BICS was created to do the collection and disposal of the returned items.

Over the years, funds built up in BICS because: 1) left to itself, industry created something very efficient; 2)people bought beverages in state and then travelled out of state with them.

So the state tried to grab the built-up funds. I think it got beaten back.

I don't think the deposits have ever been raised. How many govt programs have not had their costs/taxes raised in 20 years?

And the parks and roadways are MUCH cleaner than before it was started.

Tokasz-you're just the next generation of NYS pukes trying to latch onto this. And one of the most arrogant guys I've ever seen interviewed on TV. You'd do well to remain the faceless, anonymous power-broker.

[Linda_D]

For those of you who didn't see it, here's Tokasz's arguments for replacing deposits with a "litter tax". New York does not need another tax, much of the revenue from which will go to pay bureaucrats in Albany.

I don't know about anybody else, but I never thought the current "bottle bill" was anything but a means of getting pop and beer containers off the sides of roads and into the recycling stream. By claiming that the bottle bill fails to address the recycling of other materials, Tokasz is simply raising a red herring. It was never intended to "solve" the solid waste problem, only to get more beer and pop containers into the recycling stream. It has done that wonderfully!

When the bottle bill was first proposed, opponents also bewailed the high "costs" -- which never materialized. In fact, it created a new industry that can't be out-sourced off-shore or relocated across the country. Combined with better enforcment, higher fines for littering and dumping, and a changed attitude toward littering on the part of the public, the bottle bill has helped make New York's parks and roadways cleaner than they've been in decades.

The bottle bill puts the "responsibility" -- in the form of deposits -- on those who actually use the product and not on "by-standers", and it rewards those who clean up "stray" bottles and cans in the form of cash for "bottle returns". No costly bureaucracy. No costly red-tape record keeping. Some storage issues for stores. Cleaner roadways and more recycling. It's probably one of the most effective laws that NYS legislature has passed in half a century

Don't try to fix something that's not broke! Expand it to cover other containers perhaps, but definitely leave the successful framework!

Let's stop nickel-and-diming New Yorkers
By PAUL TOKASZ

6/13/2005

Twenty-two years ago, New York State adopted the bottle bill as an answer to its litter and recycling needs. Today, we know that it has barely scratched the surface of this problem. While the bottle bill captures and recycles many bottles and cans, it ignores about 98 percent of the materials currently going into our landfills. Expanding the bottle bill will capture only another 0.2 percent.

I've proposed the Recycling for Communities Act (RCA), which is consumer-friendly and generates revenue to ensure that all containers and other materials can be recycled through enhanced community-based recycling programs. These programs will remove materials from the solid waste stream that the bottle bill ignores and make a real impact on both litter and waste management efforts. The idea that this proposal won't work or will raise prices more than expanding the bottle bill is inaccurate.

The revenues, generated through imposition of recycling fees on the producers, wholesalers and retailers of certain products, including newspaper manufacturers, would allow the state to spread out the cost to more of the contributors to the solid waste stream without unfairly targeting any specific industry. The fees will be so low and spread across so many products and industries that there will be no impact on consumer pricing.

The money generated will support municipal recycling programs and community-based litter abatement programs to cost-effectively retrieve and recycle all materials and collect litter from streets and public areas. Some of the money will also be used to promote recycling market development to ensure that collected materials will actually be reused or remade into new products.

A similar and successful recycling program exists in New Jersey. More materials are recycled there than in New York and less solid waste ends up in landfills without any additional costs to consumers.

The expanded bottle bill, while doing little to solve our solid waste problems, will come at a huge cost to consumers and New York State. One estimate is that if the bottle bill is expanded to cover additional beverages such as children's juice drinks, bottled waters and iced tea, the average increase in price for each bottle and can sold in stores will be 15 cents. Administration of the program will cost New Yorkers another $190 million on top of the current cost of $125 million.

In addition to the impact on consumers, expanding the bottle bill makes no sense for retailers. Grocery stores should be where we shop, not where we return dirty bottles and cans.

Curbside recycling was not in place 22 years ago when New York's bottle law was conceived. Today, most of us already take our recyclable materials to the end of the driveway each week, and under my proposal, these programs can be even more successful.

I encourage consumers to learn more about the costly bottle bill expansion and support efforts to create a real recycling program in New York.

Paul Tokasz of Cheektowaga is the State Assembly majority leader.

[ReformWNY]

We should just ban bottles and cans all together, and sell everything in earth friendly juice boxes made out of recycled newspapers.

[ERIEMAN]

Originally posted by biker
The bottle return surcharges have been wildly succesful.

Enough so that NYS made a wild grab for the funds.

When it was started, they (lawmakers) left it up to the industry to figure out how they were actually going to do the recycling. BICS was created to do the collection and disposal of the returned items.

Over the years, funds built up in BICS because: 1) left to itself, industry created something very efficient; 2)people bought beverages in state and then travelled out of state with them.

So the state tried to grab the built-up funds. I think it got beaten back.

I don't think the deposits have ever been raised. How many govt programs have not had their costs/taxes raised in 20 years?

And the parks and roadways are MUCH cleaner than before it was started.

Tokasz-you're just the next generation of NYS pukes trying to latch onto this. And one of the most arrogant guys I've ever seen interviewed on TV. You'd do well to remain the faceless, anonymous power-broker.

I agree with you, biker. While I don't entirely share the same sentiments with you on Tokasz, I do think his decision to repeal the bottle deposit bill is ridiculous, especially when it is one program out of hundreds that actually works. I read a month ago that he wanted to replace the deposit with a new tax or something like that. I'm not exactly a supporter of any new tax.

So, with that said, why sit on speakupwny.com complaining about it? If you feel that strongly about it, then start writing a letter. Better yet, give his office a call. What good does it do to complain but not act on it?

[ERIEMAN]

Originally posted by ReformWNY
We should just ban bottles and cans all together, and sell everything in earth friendly juice boxes made out of recycled newspapers.

and old bathrobes.

[Riven37]

Originally posted by ERIEMAN
I agree with you, biker. While I don't entirely share the same sentiments with you on Tokasz, I do think his decision to repeal the bottle deposit bill is ridiculous, especially when it is one program out of hundreds that actually works. I read a month ago that he wanted to replace the deposit with a new tax or something like that. I'm not exactly a supporter of any new tax.

So, with that said, why sit on speakupwny.com complaining about it? If you feel that strongly about it, then start writing a letter. Better yet, give his office a call. What good does it do to complain but not act on it?

You guys just hearing about this...yes Tokasz is for real not only does his bill tax the Wholeseler, Distribuator, and the Manufacture it will put people out of NY...It will cost nearly 100 % to live here.

[ERIEMAN]

Originally posted by Riven37
You guys just hearing about this...yes Tokasz is for real not only does his bill tax the Wholeseler, Distribuator, and the Manufacture it will put people out of NY...It will cost nearly 100 % to live here.

I stopped taking my empties to the store years ago. Especially since the stores stopped suppplying the bottle return desk with actual people. I hate standing in front of those smelly machines putting in one bottle at a time. Half of the damn bottles get falsely rejected and then you have to stick your hand into the abyss of rotten pepsi to get it out. I'd rather be changing diapers.

I also don't believe in recycling. I do it begrudgingly in my town, but thats only because I have to take it to the dump myself and they watch you like a hawk.

I see his point, though. But I am certainly not saying i agree with it. I'd love to know what the State wants to spend all of that additional revenue on.

[cheeky043]

LINDA_ D WROTE:
“By claiming that the bottle bill fails to address the recycling of other materials, Tokasz is simply raising a red herring. It was never intended to "solve" the solid waste problem, only to get more beer and pop containers into the recycling stream. It has done that wonderfully!”

“Combined with better enforcment, higher fines for littering and dumping, and a changed attitude toward littering on the part of the public, the bottle bill has helped make New York's parks and roadways cleaner than they've been in decades.”

“The bottle bill puts the "responsibility" -- in the form of deposits -- on those who actually use the product and not on "by-standers", and it rewards those who clean up "stray" bottles and cans in the form of cash for "bottle returns"



“No costly bureaucracy”
“No costly red-tape”

“It's probably one of the most effective laws that NYS legislature has passed in half a century”

“Don't try to fix something that's not broke! Expand it to cover other containers perhaps, but definitely leave the successful framework!”

Linda_ D:

Simply stated, Your INTELLECT is most stimulating.

**Perhaps the creation of an online petition to save and expand the bottle bill is warranted.

[ERIEMAN]

Originally posted by cheeky043
Linda_ D:

Simply stated, Your INTELLECT is most stimulating.

Why am I not surprised at that? You two remind me of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

**Perhaps the creation of an online petition to save and expand the bottle bill is warranted.

Yeah. Lets do an online petition. Because they work, right?

Please, lady...online petitions are for extremely lazy people. You want something done, you hoof it (pun intended) and go door to door.

[Linda_D]

Thanks for the compliment, cheeky!

As for you, Erieman, once again you demonstrate your good opinion of the world: on-line petioners are "lazy" ... priests are mostly homosexuals or pediphiles ... renters in Cedargrove Heights are all criminals ... and those are just three stereotypes that I recall off the top of my head. I could probably find more if I looked.

It sure must be hard being so-o-o perfect!

BTW, I think that letters to your Assemblyman and state senator are more effective than any petition. You can email them, but there's nothing like a big pile of snail-mail to get a politician's attention!

[ERIEMAN]

Originally posted by Linda_D
Thanks for the compliment, cheeky!

As for you, Erieman, once again you demonstrate your good opinion of the world: on-line petioners are "lazy" ... priests are mostly homosexuals or pediphiles ... renters in Cedargrove Heights are all criminals ... and those are just three stereotypes that I recall off the top of my head. I could probably find more if I looked.

It sure must be hard being so-o-o perfect!

It is extremely hard. It takes a lot of determination and perseverance, but I make do.

Online petitioners ARE lazy. Why get off your ass, brush of the cheese doodle crumbs, put on some clean clothes, and walk a petition door to door when you can just create a petition online on www.petitiononline.com? That way, when you are done signing the petitions to do away with Eminent Domain and to continue the bottle deposit bill, you can also sign the petition to get rid of Lindsey Lohan, or the one to get "50 Cent Naked".

Its certainly a lot easier than handwriting letter, isn't it. I'm sure a lot of politicians look at online petitions in great fear, especially when there are 50 signatures from some guy named "Stanley".

Also, I know three people who have entered the priesthood because they were afraid to tell their family that they were gay. If I know THREE people, how many others are out there? No, not all of them are gay, but right now, I'm sure there are many out there.

I have also stereotyped little old polish ladies, mexicans, and Catholics on this board as well. Now you won't have to scour the board to find that information.

[ReformWNY]

I'd love to know what the State wants to spend all of that additional revenue on.

Why.. Education of course! Just like the lottery money!
haha

[ReformWNY]

Your'e right erieman...
Luckily i found this one...
pour le maintien de France Inter sur la FM