Got some comments from readers about why water bottles carry no deposit -- and that there seem to be a lot of them by the side of the road.

That is a good point. If the idea is to reduce littering, why not apply the deposit to all bottles?

And is it time to rethink the amount? Would you stop to pick up a dime? Would you stop to pick up a can? Do you worry what sort of germs or viruses are on that can?

Also, the deposit is the same for a small bottle as a large bottle. This does affect consumers' choices about what to buy. Notice how small bottles are disappearing? Is this part of the reason we are moving as a nation to the Big Drink (and the big calories)?

I should point out here that the current rules for garbage pickup of recyclables contributes to littering and is not very green.

Ever see the sides of the roads on a windy garbage-pickup day? And what about the trash that blows out of the tops of those trucks when the net does not quite fit.

I think one of the problems here is that we citizens have turned this problem over to the government and our responsibility seems to stop there.

The cleanest countries in the world are those where every person takes responsibility for every bit of trash they encounter. The dirtiest are those were everyone assumes it is someone else's responsibility.

And governments don't do that well on controlling litter.

Michigan is a good example. Our bottle return program has gaps, it is expensive and it irritates most businesses and most people. We can do better.