I’ve been had. Conned. Bamboozled, even. All this time I thought Maine was giving away free money. All “putting its money where its mouth is.” All, “this is how we give back.” Like a smaller eco-friendly cute-state version of the upcoming “boost the economy” checks. Check this out:
I’ve never lived in a place that gives you money back for bottles. Heck, I’ve spent the last 11 years living in a city with one of the worst recycling programs in the nation. So I got all excited when I got to Maine and learned that for every bottle and can I turn in at the “bottle reclamation center,” I get 5 cents back. Do you have any idea how much diet coke I drink? That’s a college education, right there. Three weeks ago I turned in 20 bottles and I got a whole dollar back. A dollar! That I didn’t have before. Illinois wouldn’t have given me a dollar. I could almost afford to buy another bottle of diet coke with money like that. I was very proud of that dollar.
But wait just a minute. The joke IS ON ME. It turns out that free money ain’t so free. You see this????
Do you see that little phrase on the receipt? That’s right. BOTTLE DEPOSIT. Turns out they charge you 5 cents extra when you buy the bottle in the first place. CHUMP CHANGE.
TRULY.
Posted by anne
