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From The Dispatch:
Yard-waste decision may add to pollution
By Spencer HuntThe city’s decision to cut yard-waste pickups will put more cars and trucks on the road, boost fuel use and increase air pollution in central Ohio. At the same time, grass clippings, leaves and twigs tossed into garbage cans will shorten the life of the Franklin County landfill.
There is not a doubt in my mind that the trash cans are going to be filling up with yard waste
I have a cut tree I still have to remove from the wind storm but my first idea was to torch the back yard and make it all go away. Thats no good so I am going to rent a truck and haul it out to the drop off for that stuff.
How much of the yard waste can be composted?
Seems like a good application for a community compost. Maybe a community garden?
Then again a lot of these little things that eat the city budget could probably solved through a little community action.
yea it could for sure it’s a shame their are lots of people that think just throwing the sticks and brush in the trash is ok.
I am pretty sure they reuse the brush I drop at the city spot for that. The only reson I have waited so long is it’s some pretty heavy lifting and a few trips of hauling. I cut as much as I could with a chainsaw and purners.
It would be nice if more people composted. Maybe there’s some way the city can create an incentive for people to compost.
Either way, I’m glad they reported this story. It’s important to think about the big picture, especially when the reality of the situation quite possibly runs counter to what you would assume. Accounting for total costs is important in public policy.
From here: http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/02/yard_waste.html?sid=101
Jefe,
I think one way is to start taking advantage of the schools. Convert a portion of the roof or grounds into a garden/composting site. Most communities have one, if not multiple schools that are probably far closer to them than city composting areas.
Teach the kids some new skills, cut some of their energy costs, provide the schools and communities with fresh produce.
(When I get done with my degree and get on as an educator with CPS, I might attempt this.)
wait did I read this right “After residents complained, the city agreed last week to pick up Christmas trees as part of its bulk waste program. But instead of taking the trees to compost centers, as they were in the past, they are being dumped at the city’s landfill.”
the city dumped trees in the landfill and did not take it to the place that recycles this stuff?
If i miss understand it please let me know but if not WTF
This was a pretty well-thought out piece of research by the Dispatch, despite what the Mayor’s spokesman may say. If the city’s reason for discontinuing the recycling prgram with Rumpke was cost, they why did they not negotiate with another company or open it up for competitive bidding? And to just dump brush and tree limbs at the landfill? This whole thing doesn’t say much for the Mayor’s commitment to recycling and a “Green” Columbus.
lifeontwowheels,
I like it. Lord knows I wish I’d learned more about being green when I was in school. Besides, the requisite section about the rain forest in 6th grade.
Still, I’d like to go even further. I really think people respond to incentives to adjust their behavior. One thing I never understood about Columbus is why our trash pickup is free, but we have to pay Rumpke to come pick up our recycling. That’s backwards.
They should reverse it: charge for trash and have free recycling. Then maybe if it weren’t too hard administratively, provides credits if you compost and/or actually DO recycle. That might be weak, though.
Anyone have a good idea for an incentive program?
Well the city could start by not throwing tree substance in the landfills. What kind of example are they setting. I’m sorry I know I seem aggravated by this but I just can’t believe they just set a double standard. How much work would it have been for them to take it to the compost ?
Not collecting yard waste properly is going to end up being FAR more expensive for the taxpayers in the end then a few cents of tax increase it would take to fund the yard waste collection.
I have not done the math, but I’m guessing you can pay for ~25-30 years of lawn waste service for what it will end up costing to site, buy land, design, monitor, and maintain a new landfill. Especially when you factor in the inevitable law suits from people who don’t want the landfill “In my back yard”.
Man what a nightmare… the old landfill is going to be “full” (meaning airspace expansion permits get denied) soon enough… lets NOT hasten that date.
Some cities chip the yard waste and then offer it back to residents as compost or mulch for free. Entirely diverted from the landfill, enriches the soil. The only cost is transportation.
Joev: That is what c-bus did until this year. Their Com-Til product was awesome. It was a real win-win.
Oh crap. that makes me wonder how much longer (years?) until they run out of Com-Til. I gotta go buy some for the spring.
Maybe they could get some kind of public-private partnership with Lowe’s/Home Depot/Ace/etc. to actually sell the compost or mulch very cheaply. Lined up against consumer products, consumers would choose them for price/quality, and the profits could help pay for transportation. We’d then save space/money at the landfill.
Or am I crazy to think that might work?
Perhaps the bigger question: how to reduce the other 845,000 tons of garbage dumped last year. Ugh.