Josefa Marín, a long-time canner from Brooklyn, represents thousands of immigrants who recycle cans and bottles in New York City. Despite their significant contribution to environmental sustainability, such as keeping containers out of landfills, their work goes unrecognized. Marín advocates for updating the outdated Returnable Container Act while highlighting the stagnant bottle deposit of 5 cents. By increasing the deposit to 10 cents and expanding eligible containers, she believes it will enhance canners' earnings and improve recycling rates, ultimately benefiting the bustling metropolis they serve.
Marín and environmental advocates argue that expanding the types of beverage containers and raising the deposit fee to a dime would boost canners' earnings and improve recycling rates.
We are the ones doing the work that the American citizens don't do,
It's like our second home,” Marín said, reflecting on the hours she and other canners spend at Sure We Can, the recycling hub.
While the cost of living in New York has soared, the deposit on a bottle remains just 5 cents—unchanged since the 1980s.
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