In early June, homeless shelters were papered with "Wanted: Dead or Alive" posters that encouraged residents to collect glass bottles by offering a 3-cents-per-bottle reward.
Civic leaders decided on the monetary-incentive approach after noticing the absence of redeemable-for-cash aluminum cans on the streets. To qualify for the bounty, bottles must be at least 50 percent intact.
Dennis Pennington, director of the Presbyterian Night Shelter, which is coordinating the bottle program, says its success has been "phenomenal." The program is being funded with $3,000 of federal neighborhood money allocated by Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Ralph McCloud. That money is almost depleted because of the thousands of bottles being brought in. People are averaging 100 bottles a trip, and some return to the shelter's recycling bin several times a day.
"The neighborhood is tremendously cleaner," Pennington says. And to help bottle hunters who still plan to come in the heat of the summer, he says the center is considering placing a cooling water mister on the property similar to those at amusement parks.
