We need a page out of the Euro playbook

I'm not exactly Mr. Green, but I do care about the environment. Which is why I think we, Americans have a thing or two to learn from the Europeans on recycling.

Most people here (Prague) recycle their beer bottles, because they get more than the equivalent of five cents back on their return. Our beer bottles are noticeably recycled; you can see the marks of old labels.

Why don't US beer companies jack up the prices of cans and bottles, then offer a, say, 50-cent (not the rapper) refund per return. Then everyone would have to recycle and everybody wins.

Of course, I'm being naive; I know beer revenue is handled by the beer companies, while recycling refunds are given by the state, but come on, there's got to be some sort of subsidy to make my proposal come to fruition. It's not exactly the human genome project.