Historical September 1992 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Remember the trash train that made its tour of the Midwest this summer looking for a landfill that would take its festering load? And your irritation that those Easterners should keep their own trash? And your disgust at the thought that they wound up hiring folks at the homeless shelter to unload the leaking train cars when they finally found a disposal site? How would you feel if you discovered that you and your neighbors were contributing to a similar problem?
The Skinker-DeBaliviere Recycling Committee met recently to discuss this problem and possible solutions. Here’s the problem: We have dumpsters marked for “Yard Waste Only” and No Yard Waste.” When they are emptied, the contents of the yard waste containers go to a different destination than the true trash/garbage container contents. Ideally, the yard waste can be easily processed into nice healthy compost and returned to the earth. What happens if it’s not separated properly?
First, if someone disposes of yard waste in the “no yard waste” container, they (1) are breaking the law, (2) are dumping stuff into the land fills that are, as the name suggests, getting filled, and (3) if it’s a substantial amount, making somebody have to pick it out. Second, when someone puts garbage and trash in the “yard waste only” dumpster, (1) somebody else—a city employee— has to pick it out and (2) it is costing the city a considerable sum. Why? Because compost cannot contain plastic, cardboard, paper, metal, old shoes and clothes, cat litter, and most other kinds of slimy stuff produced by civilized peoples.
In order for yard waste to be broken up and decomposed, it first has to be organic materials only. Would you want to dig into your dumpsters, or for that matter your own kitchen or bathroom wastebaskets, after they have been out in the sun for a week? Would you want to pay someone else to do so?
If you pay taxes, you are now. Within the next few weeks, the Recycling Committee will be surveying our alleys to evaluate whether or not we have the right number and proportion of yard waste and trash dumpsters. Perhaps areas with larger numbers of apartment buildings need more trash dumpsters.
If you have an opinion about the numbers or placement of dumpsters on your block, please call the Skinker- DeBaliviere Community Council office at 862-5122 to let us know.
The Recycling Committee, with the help of the Beautification Committee and any volunteers we can commandeer, will also be working to paint the “yard waste only” dumpsters green. Watch for more information as plans for Greening the Alleys in mid- October are developed.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 1992.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1992_09.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
