People who take plastic bottles or aluminum cans to this weekend’s Rochester Area Think Green Fair will raise 10 cents per container for The Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center (RNeighbors).
Conservation Minnesota Voter Center will donate 10 cents for each of the first 10,000 cans and bottles taken to RNeighbors, which will use the money on its tree-planting program.
The donation is part of a public-awareness campaign for the Recycling Refund bill that is being discussed at the state Legislature.
"If lawmakers in St. Paul approve the Recycling Refund, Rochester residents and families statewide could generate lots of money for their favorite charities," said Conservation Minnesota Voter Center Executive Director Paul Austin.
People with bottles and cans can drop off their containers at the Recycling Refund booth or at the recycling bins at the 2011 Think Green Fair in Rochester.
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The fair opens at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Good Food Store, 1001 Sixth St. N.W.
"It’s a simple and convenient way to help RNeighbors, and it’ll be even easier in the future," Austin said. "The Recycling Refund would allow customers to return containers to retailers, reverse vending machines, or just leave them on their curb."
Minnesota currently recycles about 35 percent of beverage containers, while states with recycling deposits, such as Iowa and Michigan, recycle more than 90 percent.
