Easy plastic waste solution is staring us in the face.

[BobTheSubgenius]

21. Depending on size and type, beverage deposits here reange from 5 to 20 cents.

You never see abandoned returnable bottles or cans lying around for long. Some homeless and poor people spend hours every day walking around, picking them up. I have a nodding and "How are you today?" relationship with some regulars in my area. There are several return depots around, and they recycle tens of thousands of containers a day.

Additionally, any business that sells beverages with a deposit on the container is obliged by law to refund that deposit on the item's return.

Curbside recycling was started over 2 decades ago, and some results are impressive. Each year, we're told, enough paper is recycled to save 500 acres of trees. The landfill had its usable life expectancy extended by at least 30 years, and that was before the local govt's instituted curbside pickup of compost recyclables, plus a free drive-in depot for larger loads. The parks departments use the compost to fertilize their landscapes.

The landfill harvests methane and uses it to power its operation. Not ideal, granted, but the methane is produced come hell or high water, so you might as well make use of it.

One of the most common comments I hear from visitors to the area is how clean the streets are. These programs are a large part of that.