Key West Recycling ordinance is move in right direction

Key West Citizen and Bait Wrapper ^ | December 28, 2008 | E Board

[Elle Bee]

Recycling ordinance is move in right direction

In the past, the traditional "Three Rs" were reading, writing and arithmetic -- and obviously not spelling. But outside the classroom today, people are adopting another R trinity: reduce, reuse and recycle. The importance of this new mantra is becoming increasingly clear. (The school budget is over by $2.1 Million and the kids still can't pas the state FCAT exams)

The Key West City Commission (Led by Mendacious McPherson RINO), at its Jan. 6 meeting, will be considering a proposed recycling ordinance. The main focus of this ordinance is to increase the percentage of the city's trash that is recycled -- the current 6 percent recycling rate is embarrassingly low. The mechanism to achieve improvement will be to make recycling mandatory for all residential customers.

No one likes being told what to do, but sometimes reality demands we behave more responsibly. Decades ago, many resisted mandatory seat belt laws and mandatory car seats for children, but who can now deny the benefit that has resulted from those laws? It may help to think of mandatory recycling the same way we see anti-littering laws. Both should be common sense, but unfortunately we still struggle with both.

The proposed ordinance does not make non-recyclers criminals, but instead emphasizes the importance of recycling. Actual enforcement would not take place for 12 months after the program starts -- and even then penalties are meant to be more carrot than stick. Sarasota County's ordinance increased its recycling rate dramatically without ever issuing a ticket.

This ordinance is more evolution than revolution as the city started its recycling program back in 1989 when the drop-off recycling program was started.

What's in it for the residents? Besides simply being the right thing to do from an environmental standpoint, and setting a proper example for our children, there are financial benefits to be gained. Every household in Key West currently pays $2.28 a month to have recycling picked up. The fee is charged whether or not the service is used, so at no additional out-of-pocket expense, taxpayers can help ease their tax burden by helping the city save money.

The city hopes the ordinance can bring the municipal recycling up to 20 percent of the total waste stream. This would amount to an annual savings to the city of $800,000. The savings are derived in part from less trash hauled to Deerfield Beach for incineration. If the city can increase its current rate a single percentage point, from 6 percent to 7 percent, it could save $23,000 a year. the City Budget is out of control and they keep hiring more bubbas to expand this bloated inefficient bureaucracy

In these economic times, this is having one's cake and eating it, too. they fail to understand that SOMEONE has to pay for the cake

Multiple surveys point out the need for Key West to do more when it comes to cleaning up the city. There is no reason Key West -- and other Keys communities -- should not be among the cleanest and greenest in America.

We commend the groups who have worked so hard to make this ordinance a reality. They have spent many hours hammering out the most effective way to accomplish this goal. But the work is not done. The next logical step clearly is requiring commercial properties -- some of the largest consumers of recyclables -- to do their part, too.

-- The Key West Citizen

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[Elle Bee]

Coming to a city near you soon .... in the same breath in which they complain about a budget crisis they propose to set up a garbage police force through more feel good legislation

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[gdaddy]

I once lived in a forced “recycling” community. They took the separated high BTU “recyclables” and sent them to the incinerators to properly burn the low BTU “recyclables”.

Very nice method of recycling...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“No one likes being told what to do, but sometimes reality demands we behave more responsibly.”

But don’t tell that to the homosexuals...that would be too mean. *Rolleyes*

[italianquaker]

I was in Key west back in Oct, the obama/biden signs were everywhere. What would you expect?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The town I live in is known as “The Recycling Capitol of the World.” It says so on the sign when you’re driving in to town, so it MUST be true, right?

I live on a farm. We have very little trash because we burn paper, food scraps go to the hens or the compost pile. Newspapers (Sunday only) go to the Goodwill for packaging; I re-use paper bags and packing materials for shipping books I sell. Aluminum pop and beer cans have been crushed, bagged and taken to the metals center for CASH for at least a decade now. Husband has his “metal pile” and that gets hauled there once a year, too.

I’ll put myself up against ANY Greenie when it comes to living lightly on this Earth. I do it because I’m cheap and it’s just the way I live. I’m not out to ‘save’ the planet.

F-em. Seriously. The Nanny Staters annoy me to NO end.

All these DEMANDS make me want to do is to throw stuff away in the regular trash and to not process it properly.

[DugwayDuke]

Roughly speaking, the city collects $25/year from each customer to pick up the recycleables. The $800,000 they want to save could be quickly achieved by stopping the collection of recycleables. Roughly 32,000 customers times $25 = $800,000.00

[sionnsar]

The proposed ordinance does not make non-recyclers criminals, but instead emphasizes the importance of recycling.

And once upon a time failure to wear a seatbelt would never, ever be a primary driving offense, we were promised.

But a couple of months ago I drove past a "seat-belt trap." One cop at an intersection corner peering into cars and two or three with cars pulled over, writing tickets.

It won't take long for failure to recycle to become a criminal offense.

[longtermmemmory]

big brother loves you.

I wonder how much of this is paola for recycling contracts which are for garbage collection companies. How much is for using citizens as defacto employees for garbage sorting to raise money for revenue.

Slavery is not allowed in this country, the key west commission should not be allowed to impose labor on citizens no matter how much “for the children” they excuse it.

[beltfed308]

I have been fighting the City for 2 years in trying to get them to enforce the laws they have now. Clinton Square and the flagrant violation of the OPC ordinance that the electric BSmobiles get away with have me convinced that someone is being paid off.

[Elle Bee]

of course they're getting paid off

Code enforcement is the Praetorian Guard of the bubba system down here

and it's gotten much much worse under the current buffoon McPherson

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[BobS]

"All these DEMANDS make me want to do is to throw stuff away in the regular trash and to not process it properly."

Makes sense to me!

Here in SoCal, the illegal aliens are robbing all those bottles and cans for themselves. Long before city workers even wake up. Makes sense to me. I did it a couple of times for cheap thrills. $40 bucks cash for aluminum cans by weight. I know where the shredder is on Parthenia Street and they are doing fine noisy job there.

And get this: My manager told me to just throw out test fixtures made out of 2024-T3 aluminum. OK! $600 bucks! Those have to be smelted and marked T-3