Earth's Hottest Month

[MossRoad]

According to the EPA (dated 2 years) :


The one reason most commonly heard why people don't recycle is because it is too difficult or time consuming...and it is in may areas...they could make it so much easier

Well, here, for example, we have mandatory recycling. So this county can claim that 100% of households participate in recycling. Now drive down the street on recycle day. Many don't have the bins at the curb. Look in the bins. Many are very empty. Look in their trash. Plenty of recyclable items that aren't put in the trash. Look in their driveway. Plenty of large vehicles that are unnecessary. Look in their windows. Many lights are on. Look in their yards. Most have all night security lights. Go to the grocery store. More trucks and SUVs than cars in the lot. Go in the winter. Most of the diesels are idling away. The list goes on and on.

Yes, some conscientious people do try and be as un-wasteful as possible, most do not on a meaningful level.

 

[plowhog]

Plenty of recyclable items that aren't put in the trash.

My wife designed her new kitchen with a slide out cabinet next to the sink, outfitted for two trash containers. One for regular trash, one recycle. We dutifully put only the recycle items in the can and bag allocated for recycle stuff. When it is full, we place it in the recycle large can provided by WM, which is dumped weekly. The plastic bags we use as can liners are also recyclable.

I got a "notice of violation" letter from WM. It had a picture of my recycle contents that had been dumped into their trash truck. A collection of white plastic bags-- the ones we collect the recycle items in. I figured it was a mistake and threw the letter away.

A few weeks later I got another notice of violation, this time threatening a fine and cessation of trash service for up to 1 year if my wayward ways were continued. So I called and inquired.

I was told the white plastic recyclable bags are not approved to go into the trash truck. They have a camera in their trash truck, and it takes a picture of each trash can as the contents are dumped. Any bags used by a homeowner must be clear-- so the camera can spot any unapproved contraband that might be lurking in a bag.

Oh, pleeeaaaaaasseeeee! Clear plastic trash bags with a drawstring are impossible to find around here. So, now, we just throw almost all of our trash, recycle and not, in the main can. Screw it. If we have plastic water jugs (oh the horror) or cardboard boxes I do put them in the recycle trash bin. Talk about an incredibly stupid policy ....

 

[locknut]

Holy smokes. Glad I don't live in the land of fruits & nuts.

 

[MossRoad]

My wife designed her new kitchen with a slide out cabinet next to the sink, outfitted for two trash containers. One for regular trash, one recycle. We dutifully put only the recycle items in the can and bag allocated for recycle stuff. When it is full, we place it in the recycle large can provided by WM, which is dumped weekly. The plastic bags we use as can liners are also recyclable.

I got a "notice of violation" letter from WM. It had a picture of my recycle contents that had been dumped into their trash truck. A collection of white plastic bags-- the ones we collect the recycle items in. I figured it was a mistake and threw the letter away.

A few weeks later I got another notice of violation, this time threatening a fine and cessation of trash service for up to 1 year if my wayward ways were continued. So I called and inquired.

I was told the white plastic recyclable bags are not approved to go into the trash truck. They have a camera in their trash truck, and it takes a picture of each trash can as the contents are dumped. Any bags used by a homeowner must be clear-- so the camera can spot any unapproved contraband that might be lurking in a bag.

Oh, pleeeaaaaaasseeeee! Clear plastic trash bags with a drawstring are impossible to find around here. So, now, we just throw almost all of our trash, recycle and not, in the main can. Screw it. If we have plastic water jugs (oh the horror) or cardboard boxes I do put them in the recycle trash bin. Talk about an incredibly stupid policy ....

Yep. The trash trucks and recycle trucks have cameras that look at the bin as it's dumped into the truck. It coordinates the dump with GPS locations and time stamp. We use our plastic grocery bags for cat box cleanup and throw them in the regular trash. Any excess plastic bags get returned to the grocery store (they collect them). Greasy pizza containers go in the trash. Metal cans with food in them goes in the trash. Plastic plates, knives, forks from parties go in the trash. Plastic food wrappers and foam packaging materials like what chicken and beef come in from the store go in the trash. Cardboard ice cream containers go in the trash. About the only things that we can put in the recycle bin are newspapers and cardboard boxes from amazon. Soda bottles if rinsed out. Things like that.

We cannot opt out of the program even if we don't use it. So, we put as much into it as they will take, but that isn't much these days.

 

[MossRoad]

Holy smokes. Glad I don't live in the land of fruits & nuts.

Says a guy with a tree growing out of his courthouse.

 

[Jstpssng]

The next step... as of Aug 1 stores are no longer allowed to use so called "one use plastic bags." I didn't know that there was such a thing; mine always get used at least twice. They were great for everything from litter bags in the truck, to holding cucumbers and tomatoes when giving them away. Yesterday my dog left me a pile to clean up; I had to sacrifice a tee shirt to clean it up.
The next time that I go grocery shopping I'll have to pick up a box of mini trash bags.

 

[lman]

The next step... as of Aug 1 stores are no longer allowed to use so called "one use plastic bags." I didn't know that there was such a thing; mine always get used at least twice. They were great for everything from litter bags in the truck, to holding cucumbers and tomatoes when giving them away. Yesterday my dog left me a pile to clean up; I had to sacrifice a tee shirt to clean it up.
The next time that I go grocery shopping I'll have to pick up a box of mini trash bags.

Reusable bags are banned due to spread of Covid.

 

[dodge man]

Illinois is one of the states that was going to charge for the bags at stores but COVID put the stop here also.

I make an effort to conserve, it’s gotten more important as I’ve gotten older. I don’t have very efficient vehicles but I try to get the most out of them I can. I hate litter. Around here people will come out to the country and dump stuff. Really ticks me off. They had a day that they would take tires so I climbed down in a gully a dug out a bunch of tires someone had thrown down there.

I’ll never forget when someone dumped a washer and dryer in a ditch near here about 3 feet off the pavement. We put in geothermal, new windows, wrapped the house when it was sided, little things make a difference

 

[Jstpssng]

Illinois is one of the states that was going to charge for the bags at stores but COVID put the stop here also.

I make an effort to conserve, it’s gotten more important as I’ve gotten older. I don’t have very efficient vehicles but I try to get the most out of them I can. I hate litter. Around here people will come out to the country and dump stuff. Really ticks me off. They had a day that they would take tires so I climbed down in a gully a dug out a bunch of tires someone had thrown down there.

I’ll never forget when someone dumped a washer and dryer in a ditch near here about 3 feet off the pavement. We put in geothermal, new windows, wrapped the house when it was sided, little things make a difference

Reusable bags are banned due to spread of Covid.

Not anymore, that ban went away here on August 1. Now we have to bring our own, or pay for a paper bag, at a price mandated by law.
I prefer paper anyways as a rule but didn't realize how much I reuse those stupid little plastic things until I don't have them anymore.
Now I have to buy something for the same purpose...

 

[lman]

Our baggers just bag the groceries in their plastic bags.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Well, here, for example, we have mandatory recycling. So this county can claim that 100% of households participate in recycling. Now drive down the street on recycle day. Many don't have the bins at the curb. Look in the bins. Many are very empty. Look in their trash. Plenty of recyclable items that aren't put in the trash. Look in their driveway. Plenty of large vehicles that are unnecessary. Look in their windows. Many lights are on. Look in their yards. Most have all night security lights. Go to the grocery store. More trucks and SUVs than cars in the lot. Go in the winter. Most of the diesels are idling away. The list goes on and on.

Yes, some conscientious people do try and be as un-wasteful as possible, most do not on a meaningful level.

I make a concerted effort to get the best mileage possible when I drive. I was just talking to my wife about it today as we drove to town in her car. I managed about 32 mpg round trip in a car that is rated for about 22 mpg. In my daily driver that is rated for 34 mpg highway, I achieve over 40 mpg on average during the summer, about 37 in the winter. On fuelly.com, the average for my car is about 30 mpg or 25% less than I get.

I pointed out to her today, if every person on the road drove the way I do for one week, it would cause calamity in the oil and gas industry. There would be an immediate gasoline glut and prices would nose dive. There would be about 25% less gasoline purchased. Now, imagine if every commuter was able to achieve an average of 40+ mpg. I know, I know, go electric...

Kevin

 

[Doughknob]

Not anymore, that ban went away here on August 1. Now we have to bring our own, or pay for a paper bag, at a price mandated by law.
I prefer paper anyways as a rule but didn't realize how much I reuse those stupid little plastic things until I don't have them anymore.
Now I have to buy something for the same purpose...

We make our own bags from fabric remnants. Sure it costs a little for thread and some for the original material but the remnants would have been pitched or stored for decades anyway.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Does burning everything but glass and metal in your backyard count as recycling? Asking for a friend...

Kevin

 

[/pine]

Well, here, for example, we have mandatory recycling. So this county can claim that 100% of households participate in recycling. Now drive down the street on recycle day. Many don't have the bins at the curb. Look in the bins. Many are very empty. Look in their trash. Plenty of recyclable items that aren't put in the trash. Look in their driveway. Plenty of large vehicles that are unnecessary. Look in their windows. Many lights are on. Look in their yards. Most have all night security lights. Go to the grocery store. More trucks and SUVs than cars in the lot. Go in the winter. Most of the diesels are idling away. The list goes on and on.

Yes, some conscientious people do try and be as un-wasteful as possible, most do not on a meaningful level.

Well that sort of makes my point...rather than spending all the media time and money preaching their AGW blame game every time they get a chance....they should be pushing ways to improve the way individuals can actually do something...like recycle...

IMO there is much more of an effort by whatever factions to make people believe that man is the cause than there is an effort to do anything about it...

 

[Doughknob]

I make a concerted effort to get the best mileage possible when I drive. I was just talking to my wife about it today as we drove to town in her car. I managed about 32 mpg round trip in a car that is rated for about 22 mpg. In my daily driver that is rated for 34 mpg highway, I achieve over 40 mpg on average during the summer, about 37 in the winter. On fuelly.com, the average for my car is about 30 mpg or 25% less than I get.

I pointed out to her today, if every person on the road drove the way I do for one week, it would cause calamity in the oil and gas industry. There would be an immediate gasoline glut and prices would nose dive. There would be about 25% less gasoline purchased. Now, imagine if every commuter was able to achieve an average of 40+ mpg. I know, I know, go electric...

Kevin

Same. I get more than the rated mpg in my car. And same on fuelly.com. I am way above everyone else with my car. You'd think that would tell everyone else something, but it doesn't

 

[Pixguy]

Not anymore, that ban went away here on August 1. Now we have to bring our own, or pay for a paper bag, at a price mandated by law.
I prefer paper anyways as a rule but didn't realize how much I reuse those stupid little plastic things until I don't have them anymore.
Now I have to buy something for the same purpose...

and it cost the retailer more if they don't charge. Guess who'll pay that?

 

[lman]

Does burning everything but glass and metal in your backyard count as recycling? Asking for a friend...

Kevin

Around here that's common if you don't pay for trash service. The items that won't burn are taken to the recycling center in town. No items go to a landfill.

 

[Jstpssng]

and it cost the retailer more if they don't charge. Guess who'll pay that?

I don't mind paying for them. It's the part about the state mandating what the business will charge that I don't agree with.

 

[Pixguy]

I don't mind paying for them. It's the part about the state mandating what the business will charge that I don't agree with.

I have a Maine business and I don't charge for bags at all even though the paper ones cost 10X as much.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have a Maine business and I don't charge for bags at all even though the paper ones cost 10X as much.

Then you're in violation;

As a retailer, the option of providing carry-out bags for customers is up to you. If you choose to provide carry-out bags, they must meet the requirements outlined in the "FAQs (pdf)" of being either a recycled paper bag or a reusable bag. Single-use plastic carry-out bags banned by this law include recyclable or compostable, biodegradable, or biobased single-use plastic carry-out bags. Also, a minimum fee of 5 cents per bag must be charged. Additional details regarding acceptable bags, the 5-cent fee, and answers to other commonly asked questions can be found in the FAQs (pdf).

Plastic Bag and Film Recycling, Waste Management, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

www.maine.gov

As Gomer Pyle would have said; For Shame, For Shame, For Shame!