Even though I am not personally as conscientious as I could be, I agree that
collectively we should be trying to reduce our waste. It is really amazing to
be reminded how much we use briefly, then throw away to neverneverland, without
a second thought. Plastic bags are choking us, yet we don't see them being
downplayed yet. (I guess I need some of them-- I have a dog. But still.) Our
Minnesota ethos towards ecology has been healthy for some time, and I like
that. I used to go work in Texas, and there was NO recycling at all. The
world's biggest landfill. (I reckon it may be because they don't like them
taxes down there in Teabaggerstan.) Finishing up a shift with a few hundred
empty Coors Light bottles going into the trash makes a Minnesotan feel jumpy.
Last year, I opened the Red Stag as bar manager, with the goal of zero waste.
It has to be said that it drove me nuts trying to comply with the LEED rules,
but at the end of the day, there was almost nothing going into the trash. Yes,
it was expensive, but the early steps have been taken, and we will likely keep
moving toward that goal as a community soon. But the haulers have a long way to
go in helping that happen. Incentives from the city are probably needed.
As for the city administering the trash hauling, my initial thought is "Yay!!
No more pre-dawn raids by three different haulers down my alley!!" 'Cause,
y'know, as a bartender, I kinda like to sleep more than two or three hours...
IT does seem stupid and wasteful to have so many trucks cruising the SAME
routes on the same days... And believe me, if you think you are going to get a
response from these free-enterprisers, forget it. At least with a city-run
enterprise, there are elected people who listen to complaints.
And this:
"The damage to the streets and alleys is a bunch of hogwash. A regular program
of sealcoating and maintaining streets is much more effective in maintaining
street health than trying to remove garbage trucks. What's next school buses,
delivery trucks, the next "evil" that the politicians want to incite the masses
against?"
Um... no. It's not hogwash. We're talking about alleyways that are not designed
for this much use. The damage is fairly incontrovertible, and easily attributed
to the heavy weight and frequent traffic by these stinking beasts. And "a
regular program of sealcoating and maintaining streets?" Are you kidding me?
With what money?? After underfunding and un-allotments for several years, where
do we find the resources to do this?
All this being said, I will say that I love Highland Sanitation! Props to some
good people who seem to care about their clients. If the city does take over
the administration of trash hauling, I would want to be certain that companies
like Highland are not hurt in any way. In fact, I would want them to benefit,
much more than BFI and especially Veolia.