Everyone’s been talking about it for a long time. Some places have even tried to implement such a program, but now it looks as if New York State has stopped the conversation with a weekend fait accompli: 5 cent tax, starting on the 31st, on each water bottle under a gallon. OK, mini reprieve: Law does not go into effect until November 8.

The question always is the same: Who benefits? Is there any proof that the extra nickel helps people put the bottle into the recycling bin? Or is this just an easy tax that the state collects? All those food vendors lining the city streets are probably ready to hike the water cost to $1.25 rather than go up just a nickel and waste time fishing for change instead of filling food orders.

I’ve always appreciated these guys who do just charge a dollar for water as so many other cities demonstrate the spiral effect: Let’s see how much we can charge for a bottle of water that costs us 14 cents when we buy it by the case at Costco! We see these vendors everywhere with the $2 water signs!

San Francisco has a new law that demonstrates the value of recycling. Their original ordinance gave buildings plenty of time to comply. They have the statistics to demonstrate that building recyclables and compostables are going to the right places. They are collecting an extra 100 tons of product than at the outset!

Yes, everyone knows the effect of all those mountains of plastic bottled water, but grabbing water on the run is still a far better option than most other beverage choices.

The irony is that bottled water sales are down. It may be the economy or the environmental truth. A new Harris Poll finds 36% of respondents switching from bottled water to tap water and refillable bottles!

Wonder what tax is next?