Pueblog USa
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Report from the Public Forum on Recycling
A large number of folks offered facts and opinions on the idea of fee-based, mandatory curbside recycling in the City.
The Public Forum on Curbside Recycling produced a lot of good discussion although I must say certain topics were given short shrift.
Sarah Bruestle, of the City-County Health Department, pointed out that leachates from landfills can cause cancer, birth defects, etc., but did not cite numbers of cases occurring due to leachates in Pueblo. She also said that the State Health Department is monitoring one of Pueblo’s old landfills, but did not say what that monitoring showed. Is there a problem or not? Just because something is being monitored does not mean there is a problem.
Nor were any hard numbers regarding the number of tons of various recyclables given. Yes, the recitation of these numbers would have been boring, but I would have felt reassured that these numbers are, in fact, available to justify costs and to use in recruiting manufacturers who use recyclable materials to the area.
Nor has anyone defined “success” for a curbside recycling program. This is important and no one has addressed it. Is the goal to reduce the amount of material going into the landfill? Is the goal to earn a certain amount of money from the materials? Or is the goal, as I suspect, just getting everyone to look like they are recycling by having bins on their curbs? Remember, nothing is actually recycled until it’s made into something else.
Several people opined that voluntary recycling won’t work (i.e., be successful, however that’s defined) because it won’t generate enough recyclable material.
Other people opined that mandatory recycling won’t work because people still won’t go along with it and it will cost too much to impose it on everyone.
Some commenters made the point that if recycling is actually worthwhile, private business would have already filled the void with recycling services so irresistible that everyone would already be participating.
Others pointed out that adding the recycling trucks to the streets will cause a lot of wear and tear on them. Other costs include added fuel and water usage. Still others pointed out that if you really want to reduce what goes into the landfill, we could burn the trash.
Others, mostly waste management firms, pointed out that individual companies do offer programs and that the free market should be allowed to work without forcing anything on residents.
Dave Galli, Pueblo City Manager, said that since Requests for Proposals are out, City Council cannot vote on imposing fees or anything else until at least August 1, 2005. The RFPs ask for plans where the recyclables will be picked up at residences and a processing facility will be built.
The Forum was sponsored by the 2010 Commission of Pueblo.
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