Light years ahead
PETER Cook's suggestion {Letters, THE (Melbourne) AGE of 3 June} that ministers be congratulated for moving "one step closer to introducing a refund system on drink containers" highlights how far behind we are compared with, for example, the Netherlands.
There, it's not only drink containers that are collected: glass jam jars, peanut jars, gherkin jars, herring jars and "what have you" jars are placed on a conveyor belt by the customer after which a credit voucher is automatically issued that can be used in the adjacent supermarket to reduce the amount due.
Politicians frequently go on trips. Why don't they opt for Holland next time and study its collection system that puts the Netherlands light-years ahead of this country. No wonder Dutch footpaths, parks, streets and beaches are free from smashed glass containers.
Henk Verhoeven, Beacon Hill