This article gives us food for thought…or maybe it should be refuse for thought, because it does make you wonder how successful we are at being green when we are spending so much and restrictions are so excessive that the environmental benefits almost seem secondary.
What green would you rather have?
By: Art HenSchen
Waste & Recycling News
Is the solution to a recession or depression to spend, spend, spend? How can that make any sense?
Municipalities across the country are turning to privatization to balance their budgets, yet they demand the vendor spend millions to accommodate them. They want to move from rear-load service to automated; they want CNG trucks; they want everything imaginable recycled; they want yard waste to disappear; and now they want food waste collected.
I know this has become my mantra, but how can it be considered progress when we have the garbage truck, followed by the recycling truck, followed by the yard waste truck, followed by the food waste truck, followed by the leaf vacuum, followed by the street sweeper? WTF (where’s the funds)?
Am I the only one who thinks this is insanity? You do realize that this takes a tremendous toll on our roads. Road maintenance ranks as one of the most expensive line items in any government budget. Some municipalities have begun to charge road maintenance impact fees to contractors.
So we are asked to run five or six vehicles down residential streets. Five more times the opportunity for an accident. Kids follow our trucks like ice cream trucks. Over the course of a year, that’s 260 times the destructive weight on our residential streets. Multiply that times two for twice-a-week service or subdivisions that have subscription accounts and multiple providers.
Fuel costs have more than tripled in the last 30 years, when one truck collected everything. So now, Mr. and Mrs. Green & Sustainable, you want to pay me to run five or six units down your street, increase emissions, traffic, danger to your children, impact on your roads, all in the name of being green?!
It is cheaper to dig a hole and bury the trash. If you can’t afford a Mercedes, you buy a Chevrolet. How long do you keep buying Mercedes just because it looks good in your driveway and gets better mileage when you can no longer afford groceries?
Read the complete article and more from the Waste Recycling News – HERE
One Comment
Just to clarify this column…Being “Green & Sustainable” is a priority for us. My being glib is to inspire thought. I,as well as many, also have a fiduciary duty to responsibly weigh the economics however. In this downturn we can ill afford to spend a dollar to save a dime. Our tax dollars are at risk. Economic impact becomes a factor. Over simplified? By intent…to reveal the absurd irony. We absolutely need to pay attention to the tried and true strategies of sustainability. I hope to accomplish that by inspiring exchange of ideas, creating new markets and educating consumers. The reality is that in many markets across the country…indeed, 5 and 6 trucks are traversing your street. Collectively, I depend upon our readers to be the genesis of change. Don’t wait to be challenged to speak out. Our readers are among the best and the brightest in the industry. If we can conceive it we can achieve it!