DEL.ICIO.USGWINNETT COUNTY
Mandatory recycling has its supporters
Starting Jan. 2, Gwinnett residents face $500 fine for not recycling
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, December 08, 2008
Not all voices are raised in indignation in the fallout from Gwinnett County’s decision to mandate recycling.
Kevin Perry, executive director of the Georgia Beverage Association, said he welcomes the move and wants to see other counties follow suit.
“If we are truly committed to reducing the amount of waste we send to landfills and increasing the amount of recycling in Georgia,” Perry said, “we need to continue expanding progressive recycling programs like Gwinnett’s across the state.”
Under the county’s new solid waste collection plan, which goes into effect Jan. 2, residents must recycle or face a possible $500 fine — which has raised a few eyebrows among citizens who see the program as more government intrusion.
Mandatory recycling has generated some outcry among opponents on local community posting boards.
“I just don’t think it’s the role of the county government or any government to tell us that we must recycle,” said Derek Cook, publisher of gwinnettbuzz.com, a Web site devoted to county issues. “I don’t do a good job of keeping my personal effects in my house organized. Now I’ve got to organize my garbage.”
Recycling administrators in Gwinnett don’t expect the program to be a burden.
“We are trying to make it easier and more convenient for people to recycle,” said Jane Langley, spokeswoman for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, the agency tapped to administer the service.
Langley said the ordinance does not prohibit residents from bringing their recyclables to recycling centers.
“We have no intention of going through anyone’s garbage,” she said. “GCB Services has neither the manpower nor the resources to do that.”
Athens-Clarke County was the first county in the state to offer a curbside recycling program in 1988. Its voluntary recycling program is often cited by advocates for its success.
Suki Jansen, waste reduction administrator for Athens-Clarke County, said she would like the county to consider making recycling mandatory.
“We would like to move in that direction, either mandates or stronger incentives” she said. “When you talk about government intervention, sometimes coming up with some creative incentives works better.”
With an aggressive education program and financial incentives, Athens-Clarke County calculates that 32 percent of all its disposable waste is recycled. In fiscal year 2008, the county reported a 12 percent increase in recyclable tonnage over 2007.
Griffin was the first Georgia city to institute mandatory recycling when it launched its program at the beginning of 2007.
Sentiment was mixed at first, said City Manager Kenny Smith.
“Anytime the government puts in the word mandatory,” Smith said, “that always piques people’s interest. Since that time … we’ve had a very successful program, and it’s been quite beneficial for the city.”
He estimated that 18 percent of the city’s waste total is recycled.
In Fairfax County, Va., a metro county similar in population to Gwinnett, mandatory recycling has been on the books since 1992.
“If you can make it easy for people to do it, it sort of occurs naturally,” said Jeff Smithberger, director of solid waste collection/recycling for the county. “We don’t have recycling cops out there, knocking on people’s doors.”
Smithberger said most of the monitoring is directed at haulers to ensure they are keeping recycled materials out of the garbage.
“We’ve never fined a resident for not recycling,” Smithberger said. In such cases, his department tries to educate a resident about the benefits of recycling.
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Comments
By Johnny B
Dec 10, 2008 11:29 AM | Link to this
Hey SK - Well, nobody spoke up when it actually mattered, on the record during the whatcha call "public comments" at the BOC meeting.
Blindly voting against every incumbent - brilliant strategy there, Sherlock, NOT!
FYI, the service is not free in Missouri either. It's taxpayer funded, DUH.
By SK
Dec 10, 2008 5:57 AM | Link to this
1. Johnny B: How do you know there was "virtually" no complaint? I personally complained directly to Ms. Wiggins, and know many others in my neighborhood who did. If you're getting that information from GCB or the commissioners, I would consider it suspect.
2. I voted against every incumbent, so I am exercising my voice.
3. I don't mind recycling and it's not about recycling. It's about the government ordering that I must.
4. I had plenty of notice because my neighborhood association kept us up-to-date on the plan and I read the paper. If I didn't, I would have first gotten notice when I got the letter recently.
5. I will be paying $26 more per quarter because of yard waste pick-up fees being so high. And I'm not even changing companies so what a bargain for me. Not.
6. Our neighborhood had already addressed the issue of too many trucks and collection days by negotiating a better deal with one company. They didn't force us to use them, but we saved money if we did so most people did. Sure, we might have had 2 or 3 trucks on varying days, but mostly not.
7. My mother lives in a neighborhood in Missouri where trash pickup is free (paid with your taxes), you rake leaves to the curb and the city comes and uses a big vacuum truck to take them away, and they have an "anything" disposal day two times a year. I'm not saying this because I want to live there, but I am saying that the county could have taken the approach of trying to benefit and make the county more beautiful with our tax money, rather than just mandating what company we must use. My mom's city is always in great shape - no trash on the street, no leaves in the yard for long, etc. But we wouldn't want that here, would we . . .
By FinanceBuzz
Dec 9, 2008 6:39 PM | Link to this
@Mark, when did I ask for personal notification? I said there should have been more effective notification. Obviously, there are many who have not heard about this. Sure, some may have not been paying attention but my mother saves not only her bill and her mailer inserts and she had not heard about it.
As for this quality of life issue, that is simply nonsense. I don't care if it is 20 different trucks, 90% of the neighbors is not home when they come rumbling through the neighborhood. How does that impact quality of life? And when I am home and hear a garbage truck, I might even a faint sound of brakes, backing up, engine, etc. You know what else sounds like that? The six school bus trips into my neighborhood EVERY DAY, far more than four or five garbage haulers coming in ONCE A WEEK (double it if there is a separate recycling truck). Just as with zoning issues, the government has a double standard for itself - if this were even a legitimate QoL issue.
As for cans on the curb - BIG DEAL. Is that justification for denying freedom and economic liberty? Sorry, but if you think that seeing a trash can justifying big government intrusion in our lives, then I would suggest that you need to reexamine your priorities.
By mark
Dec 9, 2008 5:55 PM | Link to this
FinanceBuzz, you are right, they should have sent you a personal singing telegram.
Face it, most of Gwinnett is no longer rural and anarchy does not work so well in surburbia.
My reasons are quality of life related. Illegal dumping is a problem, people don't like 9 trucks in their neighborhood every week and bins out every day. Don't tell me the neighborhood should get together and agree on one hauler because somebody will always object.
The commissioners approved the agreement with GCBS but I can't find a copy of it. So it may be rather vague about how exactly the plan is to be implemented and exactly who controls it.
By FinanceBuzz
Dec 9, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this
@Mark...one other question. You say we needed a countywide solution. Serious question - why? What was wrong with me using Allied Waste, my neighbor using Atlanta Waste Industries, etc. Why did we need to have our freedom of choice eliminated? I simply do not see the justification for this.
They have told us that this will address the 20,000 people who did not have garbage service. Setting aside the point that there may be very valid reasons not to have service, if that is you concern, why not just mandate subscription to some garbage hauler? Why start inserting government "wisdom" in place of my freedom of choice?
I would like to hear some justification of this.
By FinanceBuzz
Dec 9, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this
@Mark - FYI, Lorraine Green voted for this too. But given that she is about to leave office, there is no need to jump on her. Beaudreau, Kenerly and Bannister were the ones who, along with Green, voted this boondoogle in. They deserve every ounce of criticism they are getting.
By FinanceBuzz
Dec 9, 2008 2:22 PM | Link to this
The use of stuffers in the bill is a silly way to announce something this major. My bill is paid automatically. Thus, I do not always open my bill right away (if I get overbilled, I would notice it on my MS Money software). Also, bills these days are so laden with useful fluff and ads that I do not always pay a lot of mind to the unofficial-looking colored paper in my water bill. In the past they have been more like public service announcements or ads for the county fair. We are using that medium as a means of notifying residents on this ordinance?
By snoopy
Dec 9, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
"economc environmentalist" sounds like an oxymoron to me. Your plan won't work because it is highly punitive and will result in everyone selecting the lowest plan and then dumping if they don't feel like participating. Also, how is it economically viable to collect 8 types of waste especially with the declining value of commodities?? The fact is, most things are simply not worth recycling and result in net economic loss. Others like aluminum could be collected more efficiently in supermarkets with a small reward incentive.
By economc environmentalist
Dec 9, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
Please realize that today's price for recyclables is low and will probably go so low that the county won't be able to give what it collects away ... and will have to dispose of it in the dump!
These people who place punitative actions into law must be lawyers ... not economists.
Here's the real solution that will work:
1. Monthly fee for standard garbage collection is now $100 per month.
2. Monthly fee for segregated garbage (e. g., separate into 3 different commodity bins) is now $50 per month.
3. Monthly fee for segregated garbage (e. g., separate into 5 different commodity bins) is now $25 per month.
4. Monthly fee for segregated garbage (e. g., separate into 8 different commodity bins) is now $10 per month.
Your choice!
By mark
Dec 9, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
Sorry to hear that Johnny. And you are right about the notice. GCB even had a survey page on the website years ago to collect comments about the problem. I told them we need a countywide solution. Maybe everyone should be free to hire their own road crew to pave the section of road they choose to use.
I do have concerns about how they are implementing the plan and pushing recycling.
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