RE: [greenyes] City of Cleveland to discontinue curbside recyclin g

[Helen Spiegelman <hspie@no.address>]

Thanks for posting these notices about two cities that are abandoning their 
curbside recycling programs.

Cleveland and Cincinnati are experiencing "teachable moments".

As elected officials struggle to choose between waste reduction and "vital 
city services such as police, fire and emergency personnel" they could be 
asking: why is it the city's job to clean up after the Disposable Society? 
Why should scarce public dollars be used for this purpose when producers 
can do a better job providing cradle-to-cradle management of their 
products, as is the case with deposit beverage containers? The same 
entrepreneurial flair that gets billions of products into the hands of 
consumers each day can be harnessed to get them back again! This is a truly 
transformative solution to our waste problems.

The abandonment of curbside recycling is perhaps a gesture of "tough love" 
by North America's cities and towns -- a wake-up call to the producers of 
the products, saying: "it's time for you to take responsibility".

Here is a link to an excellent article published this week by a Vancouver 
City Councillor who understands that it is time for product producers to 
step up to the plate and take responsibility for their products rather than 
burdening local governments with the responsibility.

http://www.biv.com/article3.html

(The author, Peter Ladner, is a local businessman himself.)

Helen.


At 07:11 AM 11/26/2003 -0500, Aluotto, Jeffrey wrote:
> In other Ohio news, the Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting this morning that
> the City's proposed 2004 budget does not include the curbside recycling
> program.  The Mayor characterized this as a program "suspension" which would
> resume "when the economy picks up".  Council members still need to vote on
> the budget and most seem to be fairly supportive.
>
> Cincinnati operates one of Ohio's oldest and largest curbside recycling
> programs - collecting over 12,000 tons annually.  For more information on
> Cincinnati please see
> www.cincinnati-oh.gov
>
> Jeff
>
> Jeffrey W. Aluotto
> Manager,
> Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pat Franklin [mailto:pfranklin@no.address]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 7:04 AM
> To: Green Yes
> Subject: [greenyes] City of Cleveland to discontinue curbside recycling
>
>
> We've been hearing for months that growing budget deficits might result in
> cuts to curbside recycling programs.  Here's news of a proposal to cut the
> curbside program in Cleveland, OH.
>
>
> WASTE NEWS, November 26, 2003
>
>
>
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