being done to existing curbs and alleyways by the ever increasing size and
number of grabage trucks. I live in a neighborhood where the curbs are stone
and the alleyways are made of brick. When I moved into the neighborhood several
years ago the curbs at the corner of the alleyways were intact and the brick
was in relatively good condition. No longer. The behemoth trucks disregard
the curb and use a fair amount of the boulevard lawn to make the turn, ruining
the curb and the lawn. The brick alleyway now is deeply furrowed.
Not only are the trucks much larger than they used to be but there are a
ridiculous number of them. The city's system of having every homeowner contract
with his/her own hauler has got to be the most inefficient, damaging system
they could have chosen.
I can't believe that allowing ever larger trucks and more of them than is
necessary doesn't damage the streets as well as the curbs and alleyways. It
can't be good for the environment and don't even get me started on the noise
pollution issue. And having separate recycling and garbage collection means
there's a reduced incentive to divert waste from landfills. The garbage hauling
companies certainly have no incentive to reduce the amount they haul.
There are better, more efficient and more environmentally friendly ways to
dispose of waste. It's about time the city stood up to the haulers and the
ideologues and mandated a better system.