Overcoming obstacles to recycling

There was a time when returning an empty pop bottle was worth a few cents in your pocket. Beverage companies gave customers an incentive to bring them back to, in essence, recycle them.

With the 1950s came the convenient "No deposit no return," and few seemed worried about litter or garbage dumps. In time, however, an environmental movement was born, and new ways of recycling emerged - with a social consciousness providing the incentive.

In 2009, is that enough?

Owners of one suburban dairy business believe we need more incentive to make sure their bottles get reused. North Aurora-based Oberweis, which home-delivers milk and also sells it at stores throughout the region, is increasing the financial incentive for customers to return bottles from 85 cents to $1.50.

"We have had a hard time going out and marketing our business as environmentally friendly as we've seen our return of bottles go down," company president Joe Oberweis told Daily Herald reporter Josh Stockinger.

Perhaps those missing-in-action bottles have found their way to a recycling center, or maybe some are used to store loose change. It's proof that, while we may want to be green, it's not always convenient.

It made us wonder whether the Oberweis situation was a reflection on the state of recycling overall. There are bright spots. About 80 percent of homeowners recycle. It's holding steady, county officials say, despite the recession-fueled decline in demand for recycled materials.

It's no secret recycling costs money. In many towns, homeowners absorb costs of curbside recycling. Apartment dwellers often have to bring recyclables to drop-off centers.

Commercial recycling continues to lag, as businesses usually have to pay extra fees. And county leaders fear state spending cuts will close hazardous waste centers, making recycling some items virtually impossible. These remain obstacles.

Some suburbs are moving in the right direction by adopting "commercial franchising," in which they hire one hauler for all their businesses. Mount Prospect, Hoffman Estates and some Lake County towns have made recycling virtually free for small businesses.

The state has taken some positive steps, too. A law that takes effect in January bans electronic items from Illinois landfills starting in 2012 and requires manufacturers to take responsibility for recycling while providing incentives for reuse. Another recent law lowers the regulatory hurdles for reuse of food scraps.

Oberweis made a decision he hopes will make his business more environmentally friendly. Perhaps the buzz over green living makes this the right time for Illinois lawmakers to follow his lead and consider mandating bottle deposits statewide. States like Michigan and Iowa are finding their programs have significantly reduced solid waste and litter and have helped fund environmental efforts.

Or perhaps there are better ideas. With all the focus on living green, we'd like to hear them.