 A canner in Germany | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Activity sectors | Recycling |
| Description | |
Related jobs | waste picker |
A canner participates in canning, the collection and redemption of deposit-marked beverage containers for recycling. [1] Canning is an activity undertaken by individuals or small teams, typically to earn an income. [2] Canning is only possible in nations, states, or municipalities which have enacted container-deposit legislation. [2] [3]
The primary aim of container-deposit legislation is mitigation of the environmental impact of materials used in the creation of the containers, especially plastic. [2] [4] Another purpose is to facilitate the recycling of container materials such as glass and aluminum, as well as plastic. [2] As there is a wide variety across different political entities which operate container-deposit programs, in terms of infrastructural support and deposit amount, the economic viability of canning as an income-generating activity varies from municipality to municipality. [2] In 2012, the German Federal Environment Agency reported that 96% of deposit-market containers were returned via their program. [2]
Canners, or those who collect and redeem deposit-marked beverage containers, are a familiar sight in many cities, whether combing areas following major events, searching through trash containers, or transporting their collected bottles and cans to redemption sites. [5]
Sociologists have made several observations about canning. In a 2014 dissertation, Sebastian J. Moser stated that it is not poverty that unites the "otherwise very heterogeneous group of bottle collectors, but the longing for a fixed daily structure and a task that is reminiscent of work." [6] [7] Canning activity can also be a source of community in a group often characterized by solitary experiences and disconnection. Income from canning varies widely between individuals. In New York City, where as many as 8,000 people support themselves this way, [8] canning can often bring in over 100 to 200 dollars a day for the canner. [9] In Germany, canners earn an average of 100 to 150 euros each month. Another study indicated German canners earn around 3 to 10 euros each day. [10] In addition to income, canners have stated that the activity can be a hobby, for pleasure or productivity, as well as done for the purpose of improving the environment. [11]
The sociologist Stefan Sell sees lack of income as the primary motivation for canning. In particular, he noted a sharp rise in low-wage jobs, a fall in collective bargaining in many industries and a devaluation of the welfare state model since the early 1990s as causes for the emergence of this practice. [12] In Germany, canners have become symbols of an increasingly poor society. [13]
According to the social scientists Catterfeld and Knecht, it is not just the yield in terms of income which gives insight into the phenomenon of canning. Another factor is availability of materials, or the readiness of consumers to leave bottles and cans in places accessible by canners. In Germany, shifts in public perception over time resulted in more material being offered by consumers specifically to canners, and a shift in the perceived social stigma of canning as an occupation. These shifts have been attributed to shifts in legislation, as well as the cultural impact of increased canner visibility during the 2006 World Cup. [11] [12]
In New York City, canners are an ethnically diverse community, with the vast majority of them living below the poverty line. [8] Among canners at Sure We Can, a redemption center in Brooklyn, around 25 percent of the canners are over the age of 60, 7 percent are physically disabled, and 5 percent experience chronic homelessness. [8] In Brooklyn, the canners are largely immigrants. [8] About 75 percent of canners at Sure We Can were born outside the United States, with 54 percent of all the canners identifying as Latinx/Hispanic. [8]
In Germany, 80–85% of canners are male, and a majority are over the age of 65. The second largest group is young immigrants. [10] Many experience poverty, but homelessness is relatively uncommon. [12]
New York City is a hotbed of canning activity, largely due to the city's high population density mixed with New York State's current deposit laws. [3] Canning remains a contentious issue in the city, with the canners often facing pushback from the city government, the New York City Department of Sanitation, and recycling collection companies. [14] Sure We Can, a redemption center co-founded by nun Ana Martinez de Luco, is the only canner–friendly redemption center in the city, providing lockers and communal space for the canners to sort their collections of redeemables. [15]
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
The Oregon Bottle Bill is a container-deposit legislation enacted in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 that went into effect in October 1972. It was the first such legislation in the United States. It was amended in 2007 and 2011. It requires applicable beverages in applicable sizes in glass, plastic or metal cans or bottles sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value. The refund value was initially 5 cents until April 1, 2017, when it increased to 10 cents. The Oregon Legislature has given the Oregon Liquor Control Commission the authority to administer and enforce the Bottle Bill. Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), a private cooperative owned by retailers and beverage distributors, administers the collection and transportation of returned containers and keeps all the unclaimed deposits. Materials from returned containers are sold by the OBRC and proceeds are handed out to beverage distributors. In 2022, the bottle bill was expanded to include canned wine, which will become eligible for redemption on July 1, 2025.
Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer. It is a deposit-refund system.
A reverse vending machine (RVM) is a machine that allows a person to insert a used or empty glass bottle, plastic bottle, or aluminum can in exchange for a reward. After inserting the recyclable item, it is then compacted, sorted, and analyzed according to the number of ounces, materials, and brand using the universal product code on the bottle or can. Once the item has been scanned and approved, it is then crushed and sorted into the proper storage space for the classified material. Upon processing the item, the machine rewards people with incentives, such as cash or coupons.
Glass recycling is the processing of waste glass into usable products. Glass that is crushed or imploded and ready to be remelted is called cullet. There are two types of cullet: internal and external. Internal cullet is composed of defective products detected and rejected by a quality control process during the industrial process of glass manufacturing, transition phases of product changes and production offcuts. External cullet is waste glass that has been collected or reprocessed with the purpose of recycling. External cullet is classified as waste. The word "cullet", when used in the context of end-of-waste, will always refer to external cullet.
California Redemption Value (CRV), also known as California Refund Value, is a regulatory fee paid on recyclable beverage containers in the U.S. state of California. The fee was established by the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act of 1986 and further extended to additional beverage types in California State Senate Bill No. 1013, signed into law on September 28, 2022, and taking effect on January 1, 2024; since 2010 the program has been administered by the Cal/EPA California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
This article outlines the position and trends of recycling in Canada. Since the 1980s, most mid to large municipalities in most provinces have recycling programs, relying on curbside collection with either bins, boxes, or bags. These systems are not standardized, and the specific process differs for each province. Certain provinces have container-deposit systems in place for bottles, cans, and other beverage containers.
Recycling in the Netherlands is under the responsibility of local authorities. Different localities implement different systems, and also within a municipality there can be multiple regimes. Municipalities publish a yearly calendar of the pickup dates and the addresses of the waste separation and recycling stations.
Tom Szaky is the CEO and founder of TerraCycle, a private, US-based business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey that turns non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste into raw material to be used in new products.
The Tennessee Bottle Bill is citizen-supported container-deposit recycling legislation, which if enacted will place a 5-cent deposit on beverage containers sold in Tennessee. The bill applies to containers made of aluminum/bimetal, glass or any plastic, containing soft drinks, beer/malt beverages, carbonated or non-carbonated waters, plain or flavored waters, energy drinks, juices, iced teas or iced coffees. Milk/dairy, nutritional drinks and wine and spirits are not included in the program.
There are ten states in the United States of America with container deposit legislation, popularly called "bottle bills" after the Oregon Bottle Bill, the first such legislation that was passed.
The Ontario Deposit Return Program (ODRP), also simply known as Bag it Back, is a regulation of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its purpose is to divert recyclable materials from landfill or low-quality recycling uses by charging a fee for each alcoholic beverage container sold in the province, and processing the material for re-use or other recycling activities once the containers are returned for a refund of the deposit fee. Customers forfeit the deposit fee if the container is not returned.
Bottles are able to be recycled and this is generally a positive option. Bottles are collected via kerbside collection or returned using a bottle deposit system. Currently just over half of plastic bottles are recycled globally. About 1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and only about 50% are recycled.
Container deposit legislation (CDL), also known as a container deposit scheme (CDS), is a scheme that was first implemented in South Australia in 1977 and over the decades has spread to the Northern Territory in 2012, New South Wales in 2017, the Australian Capital Territory in June 2018, Queensland in November 2018, Western Australia in October 2020 and Victoria in November 2023. The scheme is due to commence in the last remaining state of Tasmania in mid-2025.
The Massachusetts Bottle Bill is a container-deposit legislation dealing with recycling in the United States that originally passed in the U.S. state of Massachusetts in 1982 as the Beverage Container Recovery Law. Implemented in 1983, the law requires containers of carbonated beverages to be returnable with a minimum return value of $0.05. The bottle bill does not cover containers of non-carbonated beverages like water, tea, or sports drinks. The law also establishes the handling fee paid by distributors to redemption centers, $0.0325 per unit as of July 5, 2013, and to retailers $0.0225 per unit. As the number of non-deposit beverage containers has increased to represent over one-third of beverage containers sold, the Bottle Bill has no influence on these non-deposit containers, with the result that these containers are three times more likely to be found as litter in Massachusetts communities. Additional studies indicate that beverage containers covered by the state's container deposit system are redeemed at approximately 70% and another 9% are recycled via curbside programs. Conversely, containers that are not covered, such as bottled water, juices, and sports drinks, are recycled at approximately 25%.
The history of bottle recycling in the United States has been characterized by four distinct stages. In the first stage, during the late 18th century and early 19th century, most bottles were reused or returned. When bottles were mass-produced, people started throwing them out, which led to the introduction of bottle deposits. However, during the second stage, after World War II, consumption patterns changed and nonreturnable containers became popular, which littered the environment. Some states implemented "bottle bills" that instituted deposits. The beverage-container industry first implemented private recycling programs and then pushed for municipal curbside recycling as an alternative to "bottle bills". More recently, PET bottles have largely replaced other materials. The United States used to be the front-runner when it came to recycling PET, but European countries have since outpaced the US.
Packaging waste, the part of the waste that consists of packaging and packaging material, is a major part of the total global waste, and the major part of the packaging waste consists of single-use plastic food packaging, a hallmark of throwaway culture. Notable examples for which the need for regulation was recognized early, are "containers of liquids for human consumption", i.e. plastic bottles and the like. In Europe, the Germans top the list of packaging waste producers with more than 220 kilos of packaging per capita.
Sure We Can is a nonprofit redemption center and community hub based in Brooklyn, New York. Sure We Can provides container-deposit redemption services to the Brooklyn, New York area. Additionally, the organization serves as a community hub for the canner community that redeems there and for local environmental causes that promote the organizations dedication to sustainability.
GrowNYC is an environmental organization founded in 1970 and based in New York City, originally named the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC). GrowNYC is dedicated to the improvement New York City's quality of life through environmental programs, including Farmers' markets, community recycling, gardening, and environmental education.
New York City's waste management system is a refuse removal system primarily run by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The department maintains the waste collection infrastructure and hires public and private contractors who remove the city's waste. For the city's population of more than eight million, The DSNY collects approximately eleven thousand tons a day of garbage, including compostable material and recycling.
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