Posted on 01/28/2015 10:12:24 AM PST by Reverend Saltine
Seattle to Fine Residents for Throwing Food in the Garbage
In an attempt to shame residents of their city, a new Seattle law will levy a fine on homes that do not properly sort food out of their garbage.
Emblazoned with a red citation tag, violators will start to be fined anywhere from $1-$50 in July. For now, Seattle residents will be publicly shamed by the ‘Scarlet Letter’-like tags.
US Food Waste Food waste is a big, and still growing, problem. (Charles Krupa/AP Photo) "I'm sure neighbors are going to see these on their other neighbors' cans," says Rodney Watkins, a lead driver for Recology CleanScapes, a waste contractor for the city. He's on the front lines of enforcing these rules.
The tags are part of, what the city calls, a “public education campaign.”
In an interview with NPR, Watkins details how he goes about enforcing the draconian statute:
"You can see all the oranges and coffee grounds," he says, raising one lid.” All that makes great compost. You can put that in your compost bin and buy it back next year in a bag and put it in your garden."
The ultimate goal of the law is to boost composting while reducing greenhouse gasses:
Food waste is both an economic and environmental burden. Transporting the waste, especially for distances as far as Seattle does, is costly. So too is allowing it to sit out in the open, where it produces methane, one of the most harmful greenhouses gases, as it rots. The second largest component of landfills in the United States is organic waste, and landfills are the single largest source of methane gas.
The EPA has already begun a campaign to achieve laws similar to Seattle’s.
The outstanding question remains: what purview is it of government to act as people’s trash nanny?
Composting CREATES so-called 'greenhouse gasses'.......................
Apparently food is not biodegradable, a hazardous substance...
I would make certain there was some dog chit or a dirty diaper in every bag of trash I threw away, LOL!
Have fun, Trash Nannies!
Can I ask a stupid question? Do they provide separate receptacles for your food or other organic garbage? If not exactly what do they expect you to do with such waste? Flush down the toilet and clog up the pipes?
Is Seattle run by feel good.liberals??? Is that a subtext to all of this???
Seattle can now give homeless people gainful employment as City Garbage Inspectors. They will have badges to show police who accost them for dumping peoples’ garbage cans.
After a while, these ‘scarlet letters’ will be so common that there will be no shame in having one.
Out of control government
Hmmmm. Will they be monitoring our waste water and examining certain waste products to determine if we are eating the proper nutritional foods as prescribed by dr. moochie? Seattlites, how can you stay there?
Why not make some sort of cloth they must wear on thier clothing to shame them, you know like the Nazi’s did with the Jews during the Holocaust. That way the world will know that progressives are a nazi like movement?
Freegards
LEX
DC runs on gas-—farts
Food should be banned. We need Food Free Zones.
I make sure after “yard duty” that I spread Rover’s “works” all over whatever’s on top in the can, for the divers.
But the libs are the ones who banned leftover food from being distributed to the poor and needy. How dumb are they? Or do they just want to make everyone a felon?
i say feed the homeless.
feed them to....
Put dog crap in there with it and tell them it was “contaminated”.
Wonder if they will revue financial statements that are tossed out as well. “YOU MISSED A GOOD DEAL THERE AND SHOULD HAVE SWITCHED CREDIT CARDS!”
How do people in apartments compost?
Hey, that’s good. Maybe the Trash Patch of Shame. Or brand their foreheads wth some sort of number....?
This could cause a bunch of garbage to just get thrown on the streets. I wonder if we’re going to be treated to a MSM
Special Report examining the “unexplained” rat population explosion in Seattle next summer.
somehow...that sounds dirty...and, well, trendy.
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