Recently in Solid Waste Category

21 January 2009:

On the day after America’s biggest yard party, it was all about the monumental cleanup.

The city’s trash trucks have already hauled away 90 tons of inaugural garbage with at least 40 more tons left to go, said Mafara Hobson, spokeswoman for D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D).

“People left behind a lot of trash. A lot of it was the vendors along the parade route, too,” Hobson said. “They left behind Obama hats, Obama bags, Obama socks.”

11 September 2009:

The attendees at the 9-12 Project/ Tea Party demonstration on Saturday left the area looking almost spotless, except for the overflowing trashcans - because EVERYONE tried to put their trash in the trashcans.

Shiny clean here in Birmingham. Same in Quincy, IL.

Possible reasons:

- Since blacks are disenfranchised from the planet, they feel they have no responsibility for cleaning it up. Ouch! (Believe these folks would disagree.)

- The mostly-liberal inaugural audience depended on government to clean up rather than taking it on as an individual responsibility.

- Liberals pay lip service to various beliefs, such as environmentalism. By saying they are environmentalists, they therefore no longer have to act as environmentalists.

- Conservatives didn't want to look like a mob, so they paid more attention than normal to how they left their surroundings.

- Would not leaving trash after the inauguration have violated a union garbage workers contract with DC?

- Message to elected officials: Go Green, Recycle Congress 

- The need for cleanup services (based on crowd size) were underestimated for the 9/12 event, so people did it themselves.

- Clean conservatives vs. filthy liberals.

Parting shots: Good job to all the folks - at both events - that took the time to properly recycle or dispose of their trash. And, just in terms of cost effectiveness, doesn't this have something to say about government environmental programs vs individual stewardship?

[Photos: First two at top are viral. Trashcan photo from here]

AP had an interesting piece over the weekend on electronics recycling at federal prisons, something private industry, state governments, and OSHA don't like:

Barbara Kyle of Electronics TakeBack Coalition in San Francisco said the practice undercuts companies that are more environmentally responsible. Within the last two years, states such as Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington have banned the practice of using prisoner labor to recycle in most cases, she said.

Seems awfully short-sighted. Apparently the program is so popular with inmates there's a waiting list. I also doubt that they're bigger polluters.

Winter is mostly over. When the snow melts, I get disgusted with all the litter I see laying about. So part one of the challenge is:

1. Walk to the end of your driveway, look both ways, and commit to at least keeping that area free of garbage.

This is also the time of year that people start spreading herbicides and pesticides all over the place. Part two of the challenge is:

2. Don't use any herbicides (try eating those extremely healthy dandelions ) and use pesticides only when there's no other choice (and try natural methods first). Same goes with fertilizers.

-D

Most of my plastic bags used to get thrown away. Then I read some of the disturbing facts in The World Without Us  about plastics in the ocean. How they break down into tiny particles, surviving for endless time scales, being eaten by millions of animals. Quadrillions of particles. Plastic bags are a big part of this problem. Now I recycle them and often tell the store when I don't really need them. No, I don't have any reusable bags yet. Learn more at PlasticBagRecycling.org and discover there is a demand for your used bags. And the less you use at stores reduces their costs (and yours). -D

Man, Ed's right - we waste a lot of food. And then we throw away the dishes. We encourage folks at our church to bring their own mug for coffee hour. Every little bit helps.

Speaking of, Shelter Alliance is pitching their cell phone recycling program again. You'd be amazed at the amount of money you can generate for your favorite women's shelter or other charity.

Touchstone Mag: Lansing Dems want to make mo' money off of Canadian trash. Republicans would rather ban Cannuk access to US landfills than raise the tab on Americans.

Hey - maybe I could finally be talked into a climate tax on methane. Well, for Canadian trash anyway...