Letters lobby for bottle bill and rent stabilization, and call for unity against Trump

Bottle bill would improve recycling rates

The Olympian ran a thoughtful piece by Rep. Beth Doglio on her 2024 legislative priorities. Rightly so, she included the need for a “bottle bill” to improve recycling in Washington.

Sadly, Washington’s recycling rates have declined, meaning more recyclables are heading to landfills. The use of combined recycling bins, preferred by waste haulers, creates contamination, converting recyclable materials into garbage and lowering the recycling rates for all products. Some waste haulers are now excluding glass from curbside collection programs, while others are charging consumers more than ever before.

As our state’s largest beer and wine distributor, we see a bottle bill, such as House Bill 2144, as a solution. Columbia Distributing helps deliver your favorite beverages from their craft producers to your local stores. We do this in both Washington and Oregon and have seen far more successful recycling rates in Oregon, where they have a 10-cent deposit for beverage containers, paid back to consumers when they return them.

Nine of the top 10 recycling states have bottle bills, and the added incentive sparks a dramatic decrease in litter and an increase in both the amount and quality of recyclables.

HB 2144 is based on Oregon’s proven model and modernized for Washington. It’s the most effective solution for the state and the most affordable solution for the public. Change is needed to improve our recycling outcomes and passing HB 2144 is the way to do it.

Steve Gibbs, VP of Government Relations, Columbia Distributing

Lawmakers must put a stop to rent gouging

I moved with my daughter from Idaho to Washington in 2017. Due to rent gouging, I’ve personally had to move four times since then. I am disabled and on a fixed income. I have no option to pick up more hours of work. The stress was incredibly difficult, but I’m grateful to be housed at all.

It’s been heartbreaking to see my neighbors, many of them grandparents, get displaced by rising rent. When rent goes from $650 to $1,650 for seniors living on a fixed income, they are forced to leave their homes, torn apart from their friends and neighbors.

Some landlords would rather have vacancies than charge reasonable rent. We need laws that protect tenants and hold landlords accountable for unfair rent hikes and other predatory practices. Displacement is a financial and emotional bomb. Moving is as stressful as divorce or a death in the family.

When rent gouging forces folks out of their homes, where are they supposed to go? Our lawmakers have the opportunity to protect vulnerable renters by passing House Bill 2114 and Senate Bill 5961 to stabilize rent, a critical component of addressing our housing crisis.

Vicki Loveland, Lacey

The MAGA Way threatens our freedom

It is not a pleasant thing these days to hear of the continued threats on our democratic institutions presumably by members of the “National MAGA American Worker’s Party.” It is not a pleasant thing to see Congress members resigning, likely due to threats to themselves and their families. It is concerning to hear of bomb threats and death threats against the courts in America because of the actions and words of one man and his followers who seem to believe he is more important than the Constitution, equal rights, freedom, truth, courage, or America itself.

However, it is also concerning to hear squabbling from the left or center in the already-late election season about so many other important matters, but so many of which will not matter at all if the overall battle is lost. Some must be brought up as they happen, sure, but the threat this year seems to loom larger than ever and so do the disinformation and distractions. Focus and a unified front must be formed and maintained, from traditional conservatives to moderates to liberals.

In four years so much progress was lost, so much hate was fueled with Donald Trump. It takes longer to build than to destroy. But what the news, the internet forums forget is that America has hundreds of millions of people, a memory, and a fighting spirit.

Jonathan Ammons, Olympia