By Nancy Schulz, executive director VT Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition
posted
Jan 24, 2013
Dear Editor,
The Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition is just that: a
coalition. We believe that Vermonters are interested in supporting
bicycling and walking for many diverse reasons. The same is true
for recycling, and in particular the bottle bill - people can view
it from many different perspectives, and still find something worth
preserving and expanding.
In one respect, cyclists have a special familiarity with the
impact of the bottle bill; roadside litter affects our safety. You
would be hard pressed to find a regular cyclist who had never
gotten a flat tire from a stray piece of glass on a road, sidewalk,
or shoulder. And perhaps more important than flat tires, a cyclist
trying to navigate a narrow corridor between a curb and automobile
traffic faces a difficult decision when coming suddenly upon a
broken bottle in their path. Swerving, stopping short, or riding
through: there are no good options.
Vermont's bottle bill has coincided with a reduction in litter
by over a third in the last four decades - representing many
difficult and dangerous cycling situations that never had to
happen.
We all can agree that anything that increases recycling rates is
good for all of us in terms of reducing energy use and reducing
climate change impacts. But we hope we as cyclists can bring
awareness of one more reason to support keeping and expanding the
bottle bill. We encourage the legislature, and the Agency of
Natural Resources, to consider the many benefits the bottle bill
provides to Vermont.
Sincerely,
Nancy Schulz, executive director VT Bicycle & Pedestrian
Coalition
