Happy Earth Day everyone!
Here are some things you might enjoy watching:
Here's a couple of inspiring messages from our good friend, Al.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTVxF8ILJaU
And one with old friend Newt....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6n_-wB154
One more, from two extremes (If these guys agree, it must be true)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhmpsUMdTH8
And another important message:
In the post below I was speaking about the pay per trash program - having moved from Portland that was the only option I was aware of - and many towns do it, too. Which is to my mind a very good incentive to cut down on the amount of trash a household ends up with. It's all about choices after all.
Michael Foley, the Councilor At-Large for Westbrook, mentioned another option to me - automated curbside pickup, like in Scarborough. I also called Sarah Wocjoski, at the Scarborough Public Works, and she agreed that it is an overall success. She says their recycling share is 34.7%, or something like that ( I might be a bit off), and that they are happy with it. Of course, it comes out of everyone's taxes, whether you recycle a lot or little, there is no incentive to produce less trash - other than the culture we seem to be trying to foster these days, even the Catholic Church caught up with the times to make environmental pollution a sin - which is wonderful, because we have to change our ways of dealing with nature.
Anyway, yesterday afternoon, Hannaford was giving away reusable shopping bags. Use them! It's worth it. And remember, a lot of things are now recyclable, and don't need to end up in the trashcan. If something has food in/on it, rinse it - not as hard as it seems, and recycle.
We need to be doing more of it!
Thanks for listening, and comments are welcome - whether you support this thinking or not. Just state your reasons. :)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Are we making good choices?
So, as you know humanity is good at producing above all trash - everyone of us contributes to the enormous amounts of trash that have to be disposed of every day. Landfills, incinerators, in some cases your backyard.
Now, some make more waste than others - often those who don't care or can't take care of it due to certain conditions. Do you care? Do you recycle?
Compare these numbers:
This is how much our trash costs us - why do we pay for people who don't care that their kids or my kids won't have a backyard free of plastic bags, bottles, or that forests are wiped out because those citizens don't wish to recycle paper?
Current (FY 07-08) Costs
Recycling $43,291
Trash Collection $289,330
Trash Disposal $622,277 - is that not a HUGE number??? Let's do something about it!
Let's face it - we don't pay taxes out of our sense of duty, nor the government trusts our sense of duty. Why do we leave it up to the conscientious residents to take their recyclables to the recycling facilities while for most people it's just easier to throw away all of it - why bother? They don't pay for excess trash! In fact, they would pay more for their gas - not to mention inconvenience themselves - to take their recyclables where they can be used.
However, if everyone had to pay for the trash they produce, choices could be made differently. It's not a new idea - Portland, Falmouth, Scarborough, Gorham, Windham are all doing it!
We can have control over how much trash is produced or recycled. We need to be able to make that choice.
Please let your city councilor know that you want them to introduce the pay per bag and recyclables curbside pickup program.
Say, there are 8000 households, that means that each produces on average $77 worth of garbage to be disposed of. Let's say it's average household can will have one bag a week. I think Portland charges $7 for 10 (smaller) bags. That's 52 weeks / 10 times $7 = $36.4 per household. And you can make a difference! You can bring your trash bag needs down! It will be especially easy with a curbside pickup. Just think of the good things it will be doing!
I mean, when you come home after work, and you know you may have done something wrong today - like yelled at your kid, or gave someone a finger, or didn't stop at a stop sign - well, put something into recycling bin, versus trash can, and there is already a reason to feel good about yourself. All change starts with us!
By the way, your kids recycle at school. They have many reasons to feel good about themselves. Do you?
Now, some make more waste than others - often those who don't care or can't take care of it due to certain conditions. Do you care? Do you recycle?
Compare these numbers:
This is how much our trash costs us - why do we pay for people who don't care that their kids or my kids won't have a backyard free of plastic bags, bottles, or that forests are wiped out because those citizens don't wish to recycle paper?
Current (FY 07-08) Costs
Recycling $43,291
Trash Collection $289,330
Trash Disposal $622,277 - is that not a HUGE number??? Let's do something about it!
Let's face it - we don't pay taxes out of our sense of duty, nor the government trusts our sense of duty. Why do we leave it up to the conscientious residents to take their recyclables to the recycling facilities while for most people it's just easier to throw away all of it - why bother? They don't pay for excess trash! In fact, they would pay more for their gas - not to mention inconvenience themselves - to take their recyclables where they can be used.
However, if everyone had to pay for the trash they produce, choices could be made differently. It's not a new idea - Portland, Falmouth, Scarborough, Gorham, Windham are all doing it!
We can have control over how much trash is produced or recycled. We need to be able to make that choice.
Say, there are 8000 households, that means that each produces on average $77 worth of garbage to be disposed of. Let's say it's average household can will have one bag a week. I think Portland charges $7 for 10 (smaller) bags. That's 52 weeks / 10 times $7 = $36.4 per household. And you can make a difference! You can bring your trash bag needs down! It will be especially easy with a curbside pickup. Just think of the good things it will be doing!
I mean, when you come home after work, and you know you may have done something wrong today - like yelled at your kid, or gave someone a finger, or didn't stop at a stop sign - well, put something into recycling bin, versus trash can, and there is already a reason to feel good about yourself. All change starts with us!
By the way, your kids recycle at school. They have many reasons to feel good about themselves. Do you?
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