A Greener Indiana

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Bad, bad burn pile

Here in the Fort there is a bidding war amongst those who can better serve us collecting-recycling our trash, and the process of choosing. I am not one to think of my trash once collected, or recycled as "out of sight, out of mind" so I have taken a keen interest how the city is playing this out.
This is what I posted on the Fort Wayne Blog:

"What is wrong with a cleaner, more efficient, quieter, updated(greener) trash recycling collection service for Fort Wayne. I asked the city for a 48 gallon container, they delivered a 90 gallon. I put in this container at the most 1 grocery sack of garbage. I compost everything else. I also put out at the most 4 bins of recyclables. Natn’l Serv-All wakes me up at 5 in the morning clanging, banging, flashing lights like nobodys business. They leave me trash goodies all over the street to pick up, and dispose of yet again. Most of the neighbors here will not recycle, or compost so they fill up 90 gallons plus, and have bags and bags of crap piled up on the curb. So charge me less!"

The process that selected National Serv-All is the same process being denied Earth First; a fledgling service, but one to be taken seriously; city says the process might not be proper. What hipocrisy.

People do not want to pay more for exceeding the limit of trash they put out, they also will not make an effort to compost, or recycle more. But they WILL pay more for landfill space, clean-up of old toxic landfills(superfund sites).... more hipocrisy.

I know for a fact that people still "burn" household trash, and lots of it in the city limits. I am talking about clothing, and the hangers they hung on, plastic bins, toys, plastic, and aluminum food containers, coats, jackets, blankets, rugs.... I stood and watched a homeowner burn all of this stuff near a community garden and was shocked out of my bum. I was later told to call 911 not 311. This is a sad way for people to avoid recycling, reusing, or paying trash exceedence(sic) fees, other than dumping it somewhere else.
Ephraim watcha gonna do about this burn pile!???

I wish I had had my downloaded copies of "Learn Before You Burn" But he would have tossed that into the flames also, I'm afraid.

Tags: burning, recycling, trash

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Ellen Comment by Ellen on August 21, 2010 at 11:51am
LOL.......this is hilarious! To me, anyway

High-tech carts(chipped carts) will tell on Cleveland residents who don't recycle ... and they face $100 fine

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It would be a stretch to say that Big Brother will hang out in Clevelanders' trash cans, but the city plans to sort through curbside trash to make sure residents are recycling -- and fine them $100 if they don't.

The move is part of a high-tech collection system the city will roll out next year with new trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips and bar codes.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/08/city_of_cleveland_to_use_high-.html
Ellen Comment by Ellen on August 19, 2010 at 8:41am
And the winner is?......really no surprise.....just means we do not have to sort our recyclables anymore.....I really do not like the new addition that allows for households to put out with the trash unlimited articles of "bulk items" i.e. furniture, old televisions, instead of the 3/month limit. The neighborhood reps strongly advocated for unlimited collection for bulk items, whats up with that???
What happened to "the more we throw away, the more we have to pay" collectively?

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100819/LOCAL/308199878/1002/LOCAL
http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20100730/NEWS/7300314
Ellen Comment by Ellen on July 28, 2010 at 3:53pm
And the bids are in!!!!!

http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/bids-in-for-city%27s-garbage-contract
Ellen Comment by Ellen on July 25, 2010 at 5:54pm
This letter I hope does not convey the attitude of the majority of citizens towards recycling in Indiana.This state only recycles 3-5% of household, business waste, whereas other states recycle 70%! Due to misinformed, complacent Hoosiers it is necessary to make recycling mandatory.
For example:
i think curbside recycling is great. I for one do not want to load up my 4 bins of recycling(some is my daughters from her apartment since she does not have recycling), and drive to a drop off center. That means more vehicles driving to drop off centers, whereas now, one truck drives around the neighborhood to pick up trash once/week , another for recyclables every other week.
We do not have to wash out containers to recycle, no water wasted.
Apartment complexes indeed need to get on board with mandatory recycling.

Read letter to the Editor:
Published: July 23, 2010 3:00 a.m.
Web letter by James S. Hendon: Change method of recycling pickup

I received a notice on my recycling bins telling me where I need to place them on the curb for pickup. Do I need to tell them where they can place the bins?

I wrote a letter that you published several years ago about the boondoggle of recycling. We pay these people to collect it, and they sell it. It’s government dealings at the homeowner’s expense, since apartment dwellers are exempt from recycling and the “fees” (taxes) associated with it.

I also read that recycling costs more than is saved. Why run a deficit on a feel-good project that many people don’t support in the first place? Some want mandatory recycling. How much more will that cost? Rinsing recyclable containers adds to water/sewage usage and costs. Is it more important to conserve water or rinse the container?

As our City Council looks at the upcoming contract for garbage collection/recycling, I hope there is good insight into all the effects involved. The new garbage trucks have a mechanical arm on the side that picks up the bin and dumps it into the truck. Consider the environmental impact: The truck has to go down both sides of the street since the arm is on only one side. Twice as much fuel is used, twice the exhaust fumes, twice the wear on the truck, twice the noise, twice the oil/hydraulic fluid leaks on the street, and one-half the employees since one person can do it all. Then another truck has to run the same route for recyclables. If we go to a single bin for recycling, will they also use the above method for pickup? How will that affect the local ozone days and air pollution in general?

My point is there has to be a balance when it comes to the environment and recycling.

I spent more than seven years in the United States Air Force as an aircraft environmental systems technician. It involved recycling, but mostly made everyone aboard feel comfortable and safe. As we go forward, let’s make future generations know we wanted them to be comfortable and safe in our cities’ environment. Let’s choose a plan that makes the most sense. Perhaps a recyclable program with numerous drop-off sites for those who want to recycle instead of curbside recycling, no fees involved. It saves in many environmental ways including no bins for curbside pickup. It also opens recycling to apartment dwellers.

JAMES S. HENDON Fort Wayne
Ellen Comment by Ellen on July 25, 2010 at 5:01pm
Now this is getting interesting.......

Published: June 14, 2010 3:00 a.m.
Another landfill?
With more than 30 years of life remaining at the National Serv-All landfill, additional landfill capacity is not an urgent need. Discussions about Fort Wayne’s efforts to re-bid its solid-waste contract have made clear the competitive advantage National Serv-All enjoys because it owns the only landfill in the county. A new landfill would open up competition and could improve trash service rates for Allen County residents and businesses.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100614/EDIT07/306149998/0/EDIT
Ellen Comment by Ellen on June 12, 2010 at 10:18pm
Samuel Hoffman | The Journal Gazette
National Serv-All workers test a hybrid-drive collection truck Friday in the Falls of Beaver Creek. The truck uses energy from braking to recharge batteries and runs on electric power at low speeds.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100612/LOCAL/306129925/1002
Ellen Comment by Ellen on May 30, 2010 at 9:35am
City residents resist recycling
But incentives may be coming
Benjamin Lanka | The Journal Gazette

Most people will say recycling is a good thing.

In fact, 85 percent of city residents who participated in an online non-scientific city survey said they recycle, and 77 percent of those respondents called the city’s recycling program good or excellent.

But the statistics show a far different story. The amount of materials that city residents recycle is small, and since 2000, the percentage of the city’s total waste stream that goes to recycling has slowly eroded.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100530/LOCAL/305309905/0/LOCAL11
Ellen Comment by Ellen on May 25, 2010 at 4:28pm
Will consider ‘pay-as-you-throw’ plans in contract talks

Fort Wayne will accept proposals from garbage contractors that would require city residents to pay more if they throw away more garbage – but the city is still many steps away from limiting residents’ garbage output.


http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100525/LOCAL/305259986/0/LOCAL11
Ellen Comment by Ellen on April 27, 2010 at 10:36am
There is nothing wrong with reduce, re-use, recycle, re-purpose more, and Fort Waste is long overdue for a major trash/waste overhaul

http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/trash-wars-picking-up-in-allen-county


The company Earth First is adding 30-40 new customers a day in the area.

Tom DeLong switched to Earth First Monday. He said he's saving 13 dollars a month.



Trash wars picking up in Allen County
Earth First picking up dozens new customers daily

Updated: Monday, 26 Apr 2010, 6:23 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 26 Apr 2010, 6:23 PM EDT

* Adam Widener

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - `Only a few months after it started operations, the garbage company Earth First is bringing some competition to the trash pickup game. It's winning over lots of customers who aren't satisfied with the price of the service they have now.
Ellen Comment by Ellen on April 5, 2010 at 4:12pm
More trash talk.
People in Fort Wayne have been spoiled when it comes to trash.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100405/EDIT07/304059996/1147/EDIT07

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