Trash talkin' - they still don't get it
Police protection is an essential city service. You pay for it with your property taxes, and everyone is entitled to it, regardless of the worth of their property, or even if they don't own any. Same with firefighting.
Should be the same with garbage collection.
So why is the N&O reporting today that Durham's Solid Waste Department is proposing rolling the yard waste, trash, and bulky item pickup into a new program with a separate, $51/year fee?
Granted, this is a bit of a reduction for the $60/year separate yard waste fee. But that program only serves about 20% of Durham's households. Who knows where the rest of the community is dumping their yard waste?
Charging a separate fee for trash collection will have the same effect on participation. There's enough trash on our city streets and in our parks and empty lots as it is. Encouraging 30%, 40%, or even 50% of our households to opt out and dispose of their household waste on their own is a dumb idea that should never have seen the light of day.
Just pick up the trash and pay for it out of general revenues. If you need to charge an extra fee for picking up bulky items like refrigerators, that's fine. But picking up the household trash is an essential city service.
Treat it that way.
Should be the same with garbage collection.
So why is the N&O reporting today that Durham's Solid Waste Department is proposing rolling the yard waste, trash, and bulky item pickup into a new program with a separate, $51/year fee?
Granted, this is a bit of a reduction for the $60/year separate yard waste fee. But that program only serves about 20% of Durham's households. Who knows where the rest of the community is dumping their yard waste?
Charging a separate fee for trash collection will have the same effect on participation. There's enough trash on our city streets and in our parks and empty lots as it is. Encouraging 30%, 40%, or even 50% of our households to opt out and dispose of their household waste on their own is a dumb idea that should never have seen the light of day.
Just pick up the trash and pay for it out of general revenues. If you need to charge an extra fee for picking up bulky items like refrigerators, that's fine. But picking up the household trash is an essential city service.
Treat it that way.
Labels: Durham, local politics, trash
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1 Comments:
Thank you. It's not as if Durham's municipal government is good for much else. Could they at least try to do one thing--a very important thing--right?
By
Lisa B., at 2:28 PM
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