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Three-Card (or Cart) Monty

07/16/03

In late June I opened my garage door and discovered an alien landscape: my trusty (large 96-gal.) garbage can was flanked by a pair of color-coded plastic strangers. Because I was exhausted and admittedly slightly hung over, the immediate effect was akin to a farmer seeing crop circles in his wheat. I rubbed my eyes. The vision did not disappear.

Maybe I was dreaming.

I stumbled toward them and pulled loose a piece of paper stuck on one of the tops. Garbage, I read, will be picked up every week, yard waste on "green" weeks, recyclables on "blue weeks." My blood pressure started to rise. Lists on the flip side shouted out what were "Acceptable Materials" and "Unacceptable Materials." A gold box holding the all-important message scolded users: "Lids on carts must be closed completely." I let out a deep sigh and grumbled, "Or else what?"

By now I was sure of two things: I was not dreaming, and my headache was not alcohol-related.

Because of the need to comply with AB 939 (recycle 50% of garbage by July 2004), the recycling frenzy has hit EDH. It is not playing particularly well. "Who has room for three big bins?" griped a neighbor. "The trash bin is too small to hold a week of pre-approved garbage!"

Because I am not a politically correct fellow, I decided to bravely wade into this political morass--at least shoe-top deep.

Hold the hate mail. Before you pull out that handsome voodoo doll and stick a pin in it, I too want a decent environment. But I am not now and have never been sold on the overall benefits of recycling--in its current incarnation. It strikes me as form over substance, a feel-good activity that is a colossal waste of time, money, energy, and man hours. I don't claim any particular expertise except as a concerned taxpayer, but that's just how the whole thing strikes me. I could be wrong.

I jumped online to read more about it. Articles in both scholarly and chatty magazines on both sides of the issue are plentiful. Pro-recycling articles claim the process saves natural resources, slows down the growth of landfills, and cuts down on pollution. Maybe it does. Some of these essays are very convincing.

But articles arguing the opposite point of view are just as (or to me, more) persuasive. Recycling programs: (1) Increase air pollution because they require more large polluting truck-hours to collect the recyclables; (2) Use more electricity to process these recyclables, which often means the burning of a lot more coal to produce the electricity. This is not a good thing; (3) Always cost the taxpayers more money, which is not what we need here in California; (4) Lastly, recycling swallows untold hours sorting and hauling and packing away those plastics and newspapers. What is your time worth? $10/hour? $40? The minutes here and there add up by year's end.

Could all this time and money be more efficiently used to help further other important social and environmental causes? I have always thought so and it is at least worthy of discussion. Maybe I missed the county public debate on this issue.

(An aside I recently discovered: One of the prime arguments for recycling in the first place was the hysteria in the 1980s over the lack of landfill acreage. The truth--both sides now seem to agree on this point--is that there is no shortage of landfill space. Another 1,000 years of additional garbage output will require a total area only 35 miles square and 100 yards deep.)

I discussed these recycling issues with "Charlotte" at EDH Disposal. She admitted the department was receiving "a lot of complaints." I also discovered that you can "opt out" of the program for another $8.00/month. (Funny how that important point was left off the informational flyer we all received.) They will return your larger 96-gal. can, take away the recycle containers, and rewind your life to last month! For a few bucks. I laughed out loud. If you want to pay more to "pollute," the bureaucrats will let you.

The program looks and smells like a Three-Card (or "Cart") Monty game. And the taxpayers are the big losers. Again



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	Three-Card (or Cart) Monty 07/16/03 In late June I opened my garage door and discovered an alien landscape: my trusty (large 96-gal.) garbage can was flanked by a pair of color-coded plastic strangers. Because I was exhausted and admittedly slightly hung over, the immediate effect was akin to a farmer seeing crop circles in his wheat. I rubbed my eyes. The vision did not disappear. Maybe I was dreaming. I stumbled toward them and pulled loose a piece of paper stuck on one of the tops. Garbage, I read, will be picked up every week, yard waste on "green" weeks, recyclables on "blue weeks." My blood pressure started to rise. Lists on the flip side shouted out what were "Acceptable Materials" and "Unacceptable Materials." A gold box holding the all-important message scolded users: "Lids on carts must be closed completely." I let out a deep sigh and grumbled, "Or else what?" By now I was sure of two things: I was not dreaming, and my headache was not alcohol-related. Because of the need to comply with AB 939 (recycle 50% of garbage by July 2004), the recycling frenzy has hit EDH. It is not playing particularly well. "Who has room for three big bins?" griped a neighbor. "The trash bin is too small to hold a week of pre-approved garbage!" Because I am not a politically correct fellow, I decided to bravely wade into this political morass--at least shoe-top deep. Hold the hate mail. Before you pull out that handsome voodoo doll and stick a pin in it, I too want a decent environment. But I am not now and have never been sold on the overall benefits of recycling--in its current incarnation. It strikes me as form over substance, a feel-good activity that is a colossal waste of time, money, energy, and man hours. I don't claim any particular expertise except as a concerned taxpayer, but that's just how the whole thing strikes me. I could be wrong. I jumped online to read more about it. Articles in both scholarly and chatty magazines on both sides of the issue are plentiful. Pro-recycling articles claim the process saves natural resources, slows down the growth of landfills, and cuts down on pollution. Maybe it does. Some of these essays are very convincing. But articles arguing the opposite point of view are just as (or to me, more) persuasive. Recycling programs: (1) Increase air pollution because they require more large polluting truck-hours to collect the recyclables; (2) Use more electricity to process these recyclables, which often means the burning of a lot more coal to produce the electricity. This is not a good thing; (3) Always cost the taxpayers more money, which is not what we need here in California; (4) Lastly, recycling swallows untold hours sorting and hauling and packing away those plastics and newspapers. What is your time worth? $10/hour? $40? The minutes here and there add up by year's end. Could all this time and money be more efficiently used to help further other important social and environmental causes? I have always thought so and it is at least worthy of discussion. Maybe I missed the county public debate on this issue. (An aside I recently discovered: One of the prime arguments for recycling in the first place was the hysteria in the 1980s over the lack of landfill acreage. The truth--both sides now seem to agree on this point--is that there is no shortage of landfill space. Another 1,000 years of additional garbage output will require a total area only 35 miles square and 100 yards deep.) I discussed these recycling issues with "Charlotte" at EDH Disposal. She admitted the department was receiving "a lot of complaints." I also discovered that you can "opt out" of the program for another $8.00/month. (Funny how that important point was left off the informational flyer we all received.) They will return your larger 96-gal. can, take away the recycle containers, and rewind your life to last month! For a few bucks. I laughed out loud. If you want to pay more to "pollute," the bureaucrats will let you. The program looks and smells like a Three-Card (or "Cart") Monty game. And the taxpayers are the big losers. Again

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