It was a good idea for charity that just needs some tweaking say Wayne and Sherry Gibson, the owners of the South Coast Local diner in Mattapoisett.

While water bottles are not subject to the mandatory 5-cent deposit in Massachusetts, they are in Maine and Connecticut.

Because bottles sold in Massachusetts carry labeling for deposits in other states, the idea was to collect bottles that had been purchased without deposits in Massachusetts and return them for deposits in Maine or Connecticut - all for a good cause.

On Monday, March 5 the Gibsons launched a water bottle fundraiser to help aid the tornado victims in Indiana and Kentucky.

By Thursday, their charity efforts were dashed upon finding out that to redeem water bottles from Massachusetts in a different state, they would be breaking the law.

“I didn’t realize that we couldn’t do it,” Sherry said. “I’m disappointed. It’s a waste of something that could have really helped people.”

Sherry said she came up with the idea to collect water bottles at the diner, located on Route 6, after hearing about the devastation caused by the tornadoes in the Midwest two weeks ago.

“I had been thinking of a way to incorporate water bottles as a fundraiser because, in Massachusetts, they just go to a landfill and it’s a waste,” Sherry said on Monday.

“When the tornado happened I thought it would be a great idea for a fundraiser with the economy the way it is.”

Once they had collected enough water bottles, the Gibsons were planning on transporting all of the water bottles on an 18-wheel truck to Maine or Connecticut.

There, they would cash the bottles in and donate the money to the tornado victims.

After discovering that there would be breaking the law, Sherry says they will have to regroup but that they haven’t given up on their charitable efforts.

“Right now we are looking at different ways to have a fundraiser,” Sherry said. “People here are still struggling so we want to do something without having to ask people for money.”

Sherry said that one fundraiser she and Wayne are considering is a clothing drive.

As with the water bottle drive, the diner would serve as the drop-off zone for clothing to be dropped off by people in the community.

The clothes, she said, would then go to the Red Cross.

Last year, they turned the diner into a food bank.

The Gibsons collected canned goods, which they then gave to local food pantries.

Fundraising, Sherry said, is something they try to do as often as possible because as she sees it, “there’s always a need.”

“It was a good idea but we’ll come up with a different fundraiser to try to help,” she said.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out but that’s not the end of the story. We’re a little pebble in a big pond but I don’t mind the challenge. We feel as if it could have been us. It’s important to show the good will no matter how little or how much you can do.”