A Whole LOTTA Cans & Bottles

I had a lot of cans & bottles in my garage... actually about 10 years worth. Today Andrew & I took them to the can redemption center in Mount Pleasant. That's the closest place, as far as I can tell in my research. Here in Iowa, we pay an extra nickel deposit on every can & bottle, but... the state is making it harder and harder to redeem those cans & bottles. Most places don't take very many at a time, and they have to be sorted, put into flats, and counted ahead of time. So (I know it shocks those of you who know me that I would actually procrastinate... HA), I put it off.

We had to just recycle the water bottles because the redemption center doesn't take those, but they did take $33.10 worth of my recycling today. That's 662 cans & bottles, for those of you who are counting. I'd guess I had at least 800 in my garage with the water bottles & the ones I just put in my recycling bin in Phase I of garage cleaning 2011.

It was work to get it done, but the $33.10 paid for our gas over there and for lunch at Little Mexico on the Mount Pleasant square, which was delightful, by the way. And, to channel my inner Kenny Nelson, I'd never just throw $33.10 out into the road, so I guess it was worth the effort. The guy at the redemption center even gave us some official bags, so I can sort now, and the next time, it will be much easier. It kind of makes me want to start drinking Diet Mountain Dew again. Who am I kidding? I want to start drinking Diet Mountain Dew every single day of my life. Stupid ulcer that can't handle stupid caffeine. Not drinking pop is seriously going to diminish the can intake in the garage. And that's probably a good thing.

My overall feeling, though, is that it's time to get rid of the 5-cent deposit/refund in Iowa. When they started the refund, there was no curbside recycling and a lot more litter. Times have changed! It's much easier now to just put the cans in the recycling bin instead of saving them and trying to get someone to take them. Any thoughts?