My city is considering changing its waste management contract that expires next year, and no shock that there is a ridiculous amount of commentary. The concept is this:
Currently, we have weekly garbage pick-up, alternating recycling pick-up (1 week black box, 1 week blue box, etc) and seasonal green bin pick-up (every week in the warm months, every 2 weeks in the cold months).
The proposed change would be:
Garbage pick-up every other week, weekly full recycling pick-up (both blue and black boxes each week) and weekly green bin pick-up.
I am all for the proposed change. Why? Because less frequent garbage pick-up will (theoretically and logically) deter people from using their garbage bins as much and cause them to look into other methods of disposal. The green bin has been a pretty big bad guy around here (for a reason I honestly can't fathom) and people tend to avoid recycling because it's hard (or their lazy, take your pick). They will either figure out how to sort their refuse to minimize overflow, have an overflowing garbage bin and whine about it, or stop buying so much crap.
I'm hoping for option #3 on that list, personally. The less junk people buy, the less they will have to throw away. There just won't be as much garbage to worry about. There will be less 'demand' for poorly made products, and people will be able to save more money because they won't be spending it on junk.
Recycling is really not that complicated. Just want to throw that in there. It's really not. Cardboard and paper goes in the black bin. Plastics (hard plastics only) go in the blue bin. Metal goes in the blue bin. Glass (unbroken) goes in the blue bin. You do have to separate mixed materials (paper with plastic glued to it) but it doesn't take that much effort. Really, I promise! Crush your paper and aluminum cans to save even more space.
I hope that the city government decides to go with the proposed changes, I would like to see more frequent pick-up of the more sustainable disposal options. They should also increase garbage bin cost, to prevent people who don't want to recycle from just buying more garbage bins, but I don't think that will happen.
I'll keep crossing my fingers that more people will think of their surroundings when they buy, and when they dispose of their garbage. I'll keep trying to show people that it really isn't that hard. The rest is up to them.
Peace and serenity,
Simply Me
5 comments:
very true. if they cut down the regular garbage pick-up and increase the recyclable pick-up...maybe it will help to remind people to get their recyclables out there!
hopefully, anyway.
where i live...we don't even have garbage pick up. we drive to the dump...where they have HUGE bins marked for either plastic, glass, newspaper...and regular garbage...
Do people actually use the bins properly? Because they don't here >_< very frustrating.
I have to wonder if they will actually cut down on their garbage, or just buy more garbage bins so that there will be space for all their trash.
Wait and see, wait and see. :) I wish we didn't have garbage pick-up. Would deter people from throwing out so much junk, which would be a result of them buying less junk. Happy world that would be! haha
well, the bins are usually pretty full! hopefully that's a good sign...and not that they haven't been emptied in weeks!
all we can do...is put the word out there...right?! and hope that little by little...people start caring more....
Here is hoping that others will pick up on sustainable changes :) My recycling bin is always full too, almost every other day it needs to be emptied.
Hope everything turns out much better in the end! We can sanitize if we work together as a community!
-Land Source Container Service, Inc.
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