[umvi]

> This is why I have always thought that can and bottle deposit prices should keep up with inflation: to give the collectors a living wage

It's not just inflation you have to keep up with but also falling material costs as aluminum is more mass produced, etc.

Where does the money come from for the refunds? Without government subsidies I don't think it would make economic sense for a recycling center to pay $.50 or even $.25 per can if the amount of aluminum scrap is only worth $.10

[i_am_proteus]

Typically these function as deposit programs: e.g. $0.10 per can is levied at retail purchase, to be hypothetically returned when the can is turned in for recycling, effectively creating bounties for the pickup and recycle of cans discarded rather than recycled.

[umvi]

Ah, so GP is essentially proposing raising prices on canned and bottled goods then to allow collectors to have living wage. That is a tricky needle to thread though because raise refund prices too much and fewer people will litter because it's like throwing money on the ground.

[PeterisP]

"raise refund prices too much and fewer people will litter" - what drawbacks would that have?

[night862]

Deposit is paid by the purchaser, you reclaim the .5 or .10 deposit when you return them for recycling.