People produce a lot of trash. Not only have I felt like a lot of people do not realize how much they produce, but many people do not think they have to pay for it. A city in Maine has started "pay-as-you-throw" trash pick-up where you have to pay for every bag you throw out. I don't know if this would lead to more trash in the streets, secret dumping sites, or just less trash. In Sanford, ME, this actually led to 50% less trash being thrown into the landfill, and an increase in recycling by 150%. Recycling may not be the answer to everything, but at least it helps to reduce the waste that is just thrown away, and if people are given a free option to sort through their trash, and a charged option to just chuck it, I guess it works to reduce the landfill. I think this could definitely be a viable option for a lot of places that are having problems increasing their recycling and are searching for ways to deal with their quickly growing landfills. More power to Sanford that they could get this done and that it worked!
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-R
I'm such a huge cheapskate it would definitely make me think twice before tossing out a coke bottle.
ReplyDeleteExactly, I think that Chicago needs to implement this, and Austin, and everywhere!
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