Assuming that some or all of the organized-crime abuses that have been reported in Connecticut are eventually substantiated, I´d say Governor Rell´s plan sounds like a good idea, but more as a starting point than an end objective. When an industry gets as rat-infested as Connecticut´s waste sector reputedly has become (or had become before last month´s indictments), it´s imperative to go all out to plug the holes left after the cleanout to guard against a reinfestation.

Deposit This
Thanks to the reader who sent this next link, an op-ed piece from Sunday´s New York Times written by John Catsimatidis, the CEO of a New York grocery chain. The piece decries the proposed expansion of New York state´s bottle bill, a measure that the state Senate voted down last month. (The state Assembly had passed it in May.)

I don´t buy all of the writer´s arguments 100%, but a couple of them are definitely compelling, and it´s always interesting to read the firsthand experiences of a knowledgeable member of a link in the bottle recycling chain that is directly, strongly affected by a container redemption law.

How You Say "Recycle Ze Batteries" In European?
I stumbled on some interesting statistics regarding battery recycling in Europe in this report from CIO Magazine about a "radical" new battery recycling law that the European Parliament signed off on last week.

So how many of the European Union´s 25 countries would you guess have collection systems in place for spent batteries? (No peeking, you sneaks you.) And what percentage of spent batteries would you guess are collected for recycling in, oh, let´s say Sweden? How about Germany? Or France?

If you´re like me, you may find the answers to some of these questions -- much like the outcome of Sunday´s World Cup championship in Berlin (unless you´re of Italian descent, of course) -- completely unvorhergesehen. Or maybe I should say imprévu.

Have You Ticked Off Bill Ford ... Lately?
Forbes Magazine yesterday issued its first-ever ranking of the least environmentally friendly new vehicle models in the U.S. market. And let me just say I´m glad I´m not a member of Bill Ford´s office staff right now.

Have you dodged a flying paperweight ... lately?