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My closing statement read: "There is only one real effective and incentive method to encourage environmentally sound collecting of beverage one-way containers and it is deposit in combination with High-Tech R&D resulted Reverse Vending Machines!

By Karen Christiansen
Should there be a deposit on plastic water bottles?

Americans are consuming over 70 million bottles of water each day. But, what happens to those empty bottles?

However, many people need the added incentive of a deposit to motivate them to recycle these empty bottles. A deposit on water bottles would decrease the buildup of recyclable waste in landfills, reduce pollution, and prevent the emission of greenhouse gases when empty bottles are incinerated.

Although some retailers may argue that adding a deposit on water bottles is not worth the hassle of updating equipment and providing storage space, they should remember that the deposit on carbonated beverage bottles has reduced the amount of pollution in many of Michigan's state parks and the Great Lakes.

Water bottles will not disappear anytime soon. Without a deposit on the bottles, people will simply toss the recyclable bottles into the trash.

Placing a deposit on water bottles and other plastic beverage containers will reduce pollution, conserve petroleum and increase recycling rates.

Karen Christiansen is senior at Three Rivers High School and is a member of the 2008-09 Gazette Young Editorial Staff.