December 18, 2007
City Shames the Non-Green
Yesterday the NY Post warned non-recyclers that they'd have to don a "scarlet litter" if they didn't clean up their acts. We hoped this "scarlet litter" would be a hat hand-crafted by a Freegan and worn atop the heads of the environmentally-challenged, but instead it's something much more sensible: a clear bag for all of your garbage that leaves little to the imagination. New York, we don't really want to see your trash, so please try to figure out this whole recycling thing, m'kay?
If warnings and summonses do not induce residents to separate their recyclables from the rest of the trash, the city will force them to put all their garbage into clear plastic bags and endure routine inspections.Last night the sanitation police surprised two Brooklyn buildings they had their eyes on. 2330 Ocean Avenue and 2540 Ocean Avenue were both previously ordered to use the clear bags because of past violations. How did they fare? Not so well. The first stop failed to use the clear bags, and while the second did, they still failed to understand the separation process. One resident at another targeted building, 2626 Kings Highway, explains, "We never tried it here - it is very complicated." How do these people do laundry?By next year, this pilot program will be expanded citywide, said Robert Lange, director of the Sanitation Department's bureau of waste prevention.
For those who need a quick refresher course, NYCWasteLe$$ has a helpful guide, and the Commissioner of Sanitation has a list of ten ways to "give more and waste less this holiday season". With New Yorkers only separating out 17% of their trash for recycling, this new plan may help us get closer to our goal, which we are currently falling short of by 25%.
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this is why i put my recycling (in clear bags!) on the curb myself. my neighbors suck at figuring out which can is paper and which is everything else. it's just me and my husband in our household, and for every 1 bag of trash we take out, we take out 3 bags of recycling. this is per week. it's not that hard. stop being lazy.
don't cross those mascots by not recycling! they will CUT you!
Great, another regulation that will be passed, but won't be enforced.
recycling used to be enforced. but then Bloomberg decided it wasn't financially viable to continue.
Has anybody else had a problem with collectors just leaving whole bags of properly sorted recyclables on the curb? This happens to us all the time and I can't figure it out. They do it when there is nothing in a bag but cardboard, clearly sorted correctly. Anyone have any insight?
Has anybody else had a problem with collectors just leaving whole bags of properly sorted recyclables on the curb? This happens to us all the time and I can't figure it out. They do it when there is nothing in a bag but cardboard, clearly sorted correctly. Anyone have any insight?
lombardicus,
i've noticed the same thing in Park Slope.
it always seems to be the paper, never the metal and plastic.
who knows what they're thinking....
what if i don't recycle because it's actually more energy-intensive and more harmful to the environment than just throwing trash away?
lombardicus, we've noticed it, too...we thought their trucks were just full.
or that they just didn't feel like picking it up.
re: liulide
why would the city take the time to research something when they can just legislate to make the "environmentalists" shut up?
i got a 25 dollar ticket last week for having a trash can with a recycling sticker on it filled with non recyclables. all non recyclables. in other words, it was a trash can with a sticker on it. the sticker was facing away from the curb, dammit!
"what if i don't recycle because it's actually more energy-intensive and more harmful to the environment than just throwing trash away?"
That argument only applies to some recycled goods.. and there are conflicting studies.