River of Recyclables

As a grant-funded project to illustrate the viability of a Maryland Bottle Bill, my anti-trash initiative (Baltimore Trash Talk) planned, promoted and executed two bottle return events. This involved design of promotional materials, volunteer recruitment, permitting, and flier distribution among other tasks.

Bottle bills encourage recycling and reduce litter. They require a refundable deposit on certain recyclable beverage containers, which can be returned for a refund. The amount of the deposit varies by state and container type, but is usually between 2 and 15 cents.

These two return events were held in Patterson Park in Southeast Baltimore City. As residents brought their returned containers, each container was counted and added to the “River of Recyclables”, creating a long winding display along a main thoroughfare adjacent to the park. Each contributor received 5 cents for each return.

The First event brought 15,000 returns. Six months later, the second return drew 52,000 returns. This information was then used to testify in support of the Bottle Bill to state government in Annapolis, MD.