Tuesday, May 25, 2010

GGW: Pay for What You Toss

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Some of us produce WAY more trash than others.

A Greater Greater Washington writer suggests that DC go the way of many other cities, and link your trash disposal fees to what you actually throw out.

10 comments:

ro said...

i can't imagine this would work in dc at all. maybe in some of the better-managed suburban communities. besides, half the garbage in my bags is all the beer cans, snack wrappers, chinese-food menus and other litter i pick up out of my yards everyday.

inked said...

Ro,
you wouldn't get charged for recycling.

inked said...

They honestly have this system in a fair number of cities, and it seems to work there. Personally, I prefer a by the bag system. Some cities do it by weight. It's a way to encourage people to compost, or recycle.

Anonymous said...

Great idea. They can use some of the income to hire more sanitation enforcement officers that can fine those that don't comply.

I wonder why does DC not do the beverage container deposit that others states do. That would be a great effort to get trash off the streets.

Russ

ro said...

i don't think it's a bad idea. but the cities cited that use this system are managed way better than DC. i guess i'm just skeptical that DPW would have the aptitude to pull something like this off without garbage bags being left out on the street for others to clean up. i would also worry that with the current budget strains the DC council would pursue this more as a way to boost tax revenue rather than as a way to better the community/environment

Wendy said...

As a newer DC resident, I have always wondered why we have trash pick up twice a week. Although it would be an adjustment for some I am not sure it is necessary. One neighbor told me it cuts down on the urban rat population. Does anyone have a better reason?

inked said...

ro,
that's a valid concern. DPW seems to sometimes have issues with just actually picking up trash. But I think it's a great idea none the less.

Gamserberg,
actually a twice weekly pick-up is pretty rare in the District For a while they were doing over here, but the supervisors put a stop to it.

Hillman said...

Pay by the bag wouldn't work in DC. People would just put their trash in other people's cans, or just throw it in alleys and on the street.

I too have wondered why we have to have twice weekly trash pickup.

And we also pick up both on the street and in alleys.

Seems awfully duplicative.

hondo said...

Yeah, I would fully expect to see folks dumping trash in others' cans. How do other cities get around this? And how much do these others cities charge per bag/pound/whatever? (Didn't read the article...)

Anonymous said...

This would work if everyone played by the rules and there was a common sense of social responsibility. However, this could devolve into a war like the picking up dog poop.

Heck, I have neighbors who don't understand that the city doesn't pick up yard waste (from trees) unless it is bagged or tied/bundled into manageable size. It just gets dumped at the end of the alley (I am the last house) and I am the one left to call the city to have it hauled off or bag it myself.