posted by Mike Madison at 9:37 PM /
A neighbor recently reported to me that restaurants on Washington Road throw out recyclable cans and bottles, because the munipality's recycling contractor doesn't pick them up. He knows this because his daughter works at one of those restaurants, and conscientious environmentalist that she is, she gathers the restaurant's cans and bottles and brings them home so that the recycling truck will collect them.
Perhaps the Washington Road merchants, the municipality, and the recycling contractor can work out a deal that would avoid this lunacy?
Perhaps the Washington Road merchants, the municipality, and the recycling contractor can work out a deal that would avoid this lunacy?
2 Comments:
I don't think you'll see a "deal" anytime soon. The initial conversations we've had on recycling indicate this is prohibitively a for a small biz if we're talking about weekly pickups similar to residential programs. Not sure why this is. On the surface, the cost doesn't make sense when it's already being provided reasonably to residents.
We collect our newspapers and take them home every other week. We're trying to figure out a way to deal with cans and bottles on our own, but it's a challenge trying to do it without having an unsightly mass of them or without adding a lot of additional labor to the task (picking through to remove non-recyclables, carting to a recycling station daily, etc.).
There are a number of things that could be done locally that aren't, specifically in the area of municipal composting. At this point in time, it doesn't make a lot of sense for any of the coffeehouses or takeout places to offer compostable cups when everything that's tossed as garbage on the street or at home ends up in the same landfill.
Regardless how "green" your coffee or soda cup is, if it's not being composted separately from the rest of the garbage, it's simply not going to break down. In a traditional landfill, everything takes generations to break down, whether paper, corn-based material or polystyrene.
Not to mention that in considering the entire environmental impact of an item, you also have to consider the energy and resources used to produce that item, not just its recyclability. Some cups and bottles use enough energy in their manufacturing process that it all but negates any post-use recycling benefits when the entire environmental footprint is considered.
Aside from all the science, there are small steps that would make an impact. We were in Ithaca, NY a couple of weeks ago for a coffee competition. Every public trash can in the commercial areas downtown had one or two recycling bins next to it (paper/bottes & cans). That would be a first positive step.
What needs to be done here to make even that small step a reality?
Btw, used coffee grounds can help speed up composting of leaves as well as being a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. We've been offering spent grounds to gardeners for a couple of years now at no cost.
If anyone is planning to throw away cool looking bottles let me know, I'll come pick them up. Greg and I melt them down to make cheese plates and lime caddy's. They're fun.
We already collect most of the Saloon's bottles.
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