- #MtLebo sets June 9 hearing for shorter public notice for debt, removing 4-vote supermajority for borrowing. Would get Nov. referendum.
Matthew Santoni
Congrats to Aaron Lauth, who will be our new chief of police! Dan Miller and Matt Smith honored Coleman McDonough, retiring police chief.
PAYT is being recycled again. All the comments were about PAYT. Only one spoke against it. The pro PAYT folks will be counting on Chief Lauth and his force for becoming the trash patrol, moving up from corn police.
The one anti PAYT resident had concerns about all the apartment buildings in the area. Many have seen that TV sitting on Kenmont for weeks. Kelly Fraasch, the remaining commissioner who is for PAYT, assured everyone that she lives near apartment buildings where leaving furniture and other large items has never been a problem.
As one pro PAYT resident assured the anti PAYT resident, the police don't have anything else to do. Definitely. There are no drug issues or speeders to deal with in Mt. Lebanon.
Where were all the PAYT people when the commission approved toxic turf at Middle and Wildcat Fields?
Elaine, less than one month ago your topic headline was "PAYT is DEAD".
ReplyDeleteBy now residents should have learned that once an issue is broached at a commission meeting it is a sure thing it's coming.
PAYT, turfing and doming the Rock Pile, lights at Wildcat/Middle, and deer shooting will all be passed and the killing of the super vote to allow more debt is the instrument to make all of the above possible.
The video of the meeting is up. Of note, the commission has worked tirelessly to move citizens comments as far into their meetings as possible to discourage citizen engagement. From 2012-2015, the comment period has become progressively later in each meeting when comments were previously set to occur at the outset of meetings. Last night, citizen comments began at 27 minutes. At least the commission goals are transparent.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Comments began after Bendel's instructions on how to comment, which is also new since 2012. So comments actually began at 29 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI was there last night and listened, in amazement, as one of the pro-PAYT folks actually assured all of us that one of the benefits of the program would be that it would free-up monies (presently designated for trash removal) for the Commission to use in other ways, and just imagine all the good things they could spend that money on! Seriously? WHOSE MONEY IS THAT, ANYWAY? If we're NOT going to receive a tax adjustment (and WHEN was the last time you EVER saw a tax reduction?), AREN'T WE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE PAYING TWICE TO HAVE THE SAME TRASH REMOVED ONCE WHEN WE PAY AS WE THROW?!? Somebody help me here...what am I missing? Oh, I forgot--the big issue is really that we haven't been "educated" yet about the new system. Really? The Commissioners haven't even decided what the new system will be. Anyway, I still have questions about the fundamental unfairness of being charged twice for removal, once. Again, can somebody help me? WHAT AM I MISSING HERE???
ReplyDeleteLove the picture of the "Sofa Police"! I was actually advised by one of the PAYT advocates that I could have the police keep my curb under surveillance! Actually? They aren't even watching when people park there for 10 to 12 hours in a posted 3-hour zone! I'm suspecting that they're a little busy with more important things. Anyone want a used sofa?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of toxic turf, Elaine.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2015/05/27/Officials-draw-up-plan-for-a-healthier-Allegheny-County/stories/20150527008
"Officials draw up plan for a healthier Allegheny County" - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Within those areas, the county would like to improve access to services through better transportation; lower obesity and smoking rates; improve air and water quality; reduce preterm and low birth weight and the overall infant mortality rate; and bring down the number of opiate-related drug overdose deaths, among other goals."
Mt. Lebanon is going to do its part for water quality by adding tire crumbs to the waterways!
Where did Kelly Fraasch find all those people to speak in favor of her trash idea? They must have been paid professional commenters.
ReplyDeleteUh ... Elaine ... I am pro-PAYT and I was at the turf protests. In fact, I worked with you to organize the more successful one. That's where I was.
ReplyDelete- Jason M.
I know, Jason. You rock! "Recede and Reseed"
ReplyDeleteElaine
11:58am, thanks for the misinformation. I was there, and spoke, and no one said anything like what you wrote. Please stick to the facts. Mistruths sully this blog.
ReplyDelete- Jason M.
How would the consumer of PAYT be protected from fraudulent billing?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I don't see the big objective or gain in PAYT, could someone please explain it to me?
ReplyDeleteThe way I see it, it almost doubles each and every aspect of trash collection from cost to implementation for very little gain. I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.
First we have homeowners will have to have some means of putting out the proper amount of recyclables and then pay for overages.
Will they need to drive somewhere to buy tags, permits or containers? Doesn't this then add to fuel usage and carbon emissioners.
On the municipal side will we require more employees to monitor every residents recycling output. More billing, more paperwork, more desks, file cabinets, computers, ink, etc., etc.
Will we have a deluge of cases before the magistrate with people arguing that the stuff on their garbage pile that they got fined for wasn't theirs.
Then the most obvious question... For anybody... will it change your buying and consumption habits?
Will you start eating plain spaghetti because you've reached your limit on Ragu bottles?
Stop hitting the State Store because you'll be embarrassed that your neighbors will know how much wine and Jack Daniels you're consuming?
Will you pass on buying your toddler that Playskol kitchen, picnic table or wading pool, because you know how much disposing of it will cost you down the road.
There is also the issue of why in the first place. Oil is so cheap that right now it's cheaper and more efficient to make virgin plastic than make it from recycled plastic.
Paper is at that point too.
The stuff that isn't recycled just goes straight to landfills.
So what is the point to PAYT? To feel good? To "look" green? That bus left town when we decided to spread 20,000-40,000 used car tires on a plastic grass field.
Will proper Mt. Lebanon etiquette for parties be... If you brought a bottle or two of wine or a six pack of beer to the party that you collect the empties and take them home to your PAYT garbage pile?
ReplyDeleteOur beloved "official" mtl magazines makes a big deal about certain businesses that recycle.
ReplyDeleteSome night hang around the Galleria at closing and see where many of those "green" companies dump ALL their trash.
You can't believe everything you read in the official comic book.
Why don't we just create a MTL EZPass?
ReplyDeleteWe'll embed a tiny chip in each and very resident and bill them individually for each and every Lebo service they use.
Drive on a road, ca-ching! Send your kid to school, ca-ching! Use the library, ca-ching!
Park in front of The Saloon, ca-ching, ca-ching. Hit a deer, ooops you get a credit since you saved somebody's tulip.
The municipality couldn't efficiently collect parking fines, how in the world are they going to track and bill PAYT for 14,000 residences?
ReplyDeleteOr, why don't we just have our Empire choose all our utilities? Internet: A Verizon contract for all MTL--whatever speed they deem right for all. TV: Time Warner for all. No HBO for you. Phone: AT&T. We all pay the same, and get exactly the same services, no variation, no paying for what you use or want.
ReplyDeleteYou see, your anti-PAYT arguments are right in line with Dave Brumfield. Last night, in discussion session, he said "We have to have the municipality control everything, otherwise, what would residents do if they had a problem with their trash?"
Well, Dave and everyone on this blog, what do I do if my lights go out? I get on Duquesne Light! Complaints on social media can kill a company, I don't need the Empire to advocate for me. We are all big people here, I don't need Dave holding my hand.
I guess you all do.
- Jason M.
Jason, I'd agree with your argument IF we can all choose our own trash collector.
ReplyDeleteWhy should I have the commissioners pick my trash collection company?
Businesses do it even here in Mt. Lebanon.
You see I can choose Xfinity, Fios, Dish or choose not to have pay per view TV if I so choose.
Comparing trash pick to cable service is an absurd comparison.
Do you want 4, 5, 10 trash collectors roaming our streets and servicing a fee individual households.
Although I'm baffled by your last paragraph. It seems at odds with your first and argues for a single trash collector and that system has worked fairly well here for one hundred years.
No one seems to have taken up 4:34's challenge of explaining just what going to a PAYT system achieves, so I'll take a crack at it.
ReplyDeleteOstensibly, it is to create a more equitable system of paying for our trash pick up that doesn't 't require those that throw out little trash to pay for those that don't give a damn about the planet and put massive amounts of recoverable plastic, glass, aluminum and paper.
Fair enough, but does the little old senior that puts out a few plastic prescription bottles, one or two prune juice glass bottles and some used tins of tuna fish need to pay the same flat monthly fee as the family of four that put out dozens of empty 2liter soda bottles, countless cans, jars, detergent bottles, used razors, etc., etc.
Seriously, why does everyone need to pay for a basic 40, 60 gal. recycling bin if week after week they only fill it half way. The whole idea is "pay as you throw", right?
If you only fill the bin half way most weeks do you get a rebate?
Then there is this strange idea that the local government is going to modify everyone's recycling mindset by penalizing those that recycle too much.
Hun? They want you to recycle MORE by piling on additional fees if you do it.
Shouldn't it be the other way around? The more you recycle the more money you get back? All that recycled stuff is suppose to be worth money, right?
So, the logic is that the municipality is going to charge you a monthly fee, extra if you exceed some arbitrary limit, to cart away stuff that manufacturers buy to make new aluminum cans, glass bottles, artificial plastic grass and
paper. Are we stupid or what?
The concept behind bottle deposits- a real PAYT or perhaps better called Pay As You Consume scheme is that you pay a premium - deposit - when you buy the bottle of say - soda.
You use the bottle which when you're done YOU CHOOSE to conveniently throw it out in the trash or if you want to save money return it to the store for your deposit refund.
How about government behavior modification. The municipality is getting a big push back from "The Ladies" because they don't want to modify their landscaping to attract fewer deer.
Perhaps we should institute a "Pay As You Plant" fee to cover the cost of the municipality having to spend $75,000/year to manage tulip eating deer! Let's say every resident gets to plant a dozen tulips. Go over that amount and you get hit with a hefty fee.
8:07 AM, this pertains to waste, not recycling. I was at the Waste Zero presentation and the plan is to encourage more recycling. There would be no fee for the recycling collection, just the non-recyclables.
ReplyDeleteElaine
OK Elaine, I'll stand corrected about PAYT NOT being about recycling. Even though recycling is always thrown into the discussion as the big motivation and disregarding the fact that today a lot of recycled material goes to the same landfill as the other waste.
ReplyDeleteMy comment about the little old seniors's waste vs the family of four's waste still stands.
From what I've been able to glean from the idea of MTL PAYT everyone will be able to throw out a set amount of waste... we don't know yet what that amount is - a 60 gal. container, 40 lbs. or whatever.
If you buy a compactor and can jam 100lbs of trash into the basic container will you pay the same "fee" as the person that just throws in the stuff loose and maybe only throws out 30lbs of waste?
The whole selling point or case for PAYT is that you're only paying for what you throw... right?
So does the single senior that puts out a half-full basic container pay the same as the family of four, five or six that jams theirs full every week?
Does the person that has 3 dogs pay the same to dispose of all those poop bags from walking their dogs as the person that has none?
8:53 AM, here is the post that has a link to the Waste Zero presentation. http://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2014/04/want-to-pay-to-have-your-garbage.html
ReplyDeleteMy comment from April 21, 2014 at 8:34 PM still stands. "But keep blaming it on one political party or the other, waiting for elections for change, or claiming ignorance. Don't ever take responsibility for how we are governed."
I love how people love to complain about what is going on, but when it comes time to make a difference, there is always an excuse. I have to give the pro PAYT people credit for coming together, and speaking at a meeting on a united front. The C for C can't even get the Sandy Baker volunteers to sign a pledge comprised of HER recommendations. Very sad.
Elaine
So, under PAYT a family that eats healthy, grows their own vegetables and has a lot of waste in rinds, stems, apple cores, potato peels, etc. and dead plants in the fall (they don't compost on their small lot) will possibly pay more for their healthy lifestyle than the family that lives off of highly processed, prepared foods that come in recycleable plastic packaging that isn't included in PAYT fees.
ReplyDelete9:28 AM, I have room on my small lot to compost. I don't understand what you are saying.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Elaine, I agree.
ReplyDeleteLike you, as you posted last month, I believed our efforts last year to put an end to PAYT were successful.
Unlike you last month, I suspected PAYT would be resurrected at some point but was taken completely by surprise that it would be tabled this fast.
Regardless of the time line, nothing is going to change unless the C of C and others find those 3 people that can motivate people and start that revolution Gideon talked about.
9:53 AM, the Coalition for Coexistence is trying to make a difference, but motivating people like you is impossible. I have learned that blogging just gives people the opportunity to sit and bitch, but people aren't willing to come together. Mt. Lebanon is so fractured. You wouldn't even sign a passive pledge to coexist. The message is clear. People don't want to work together. People don't want to make a difference. They just want to bitch. They always have an excuse.
ReplyDeleteElaine
Elaine at 8:53 and 9:28---
ReplyDeleteFirst, is that Gideon guy a prophet? Is he saying that Karl Marx, Adolph Hitler and Martin Luther are in hiding somewhere in Mt. Lebanon, waiting to be set free in order to start another revolution?
Second, that's is a very interesting point, Elaine. Obviously, those Lebo people involved in the Sandy Baker events volunteered for some reason(s) other than to promote coexistence and prevent violence in their community. Otherwise, they would sign the pledge. How many Sandy Baker people are we talking about? Five, ten, fifteen? And, none of them signed the pledge?
The goal of PAYT is to reduce landfill waste and increase recycling. Yard and kitchen scraps can go into a compost pile in your yard. I would think that a group that is against artificial turf and killing deer would be for a more environmental waste disposal system.
ReplyDeletehttp://triblive.com/mobile/8434133-96/garbage-pay-trash
ReplyDeleteKelly and her PAYT supporters want paper trash bags for waste! Ridiculous! I thought the goal was to increase recycling and reduce waste, not increase it.
What is more green than using a 40 gal trash can that seals tightly - over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
By all means - let's add 14,000 (number of residences in Lebo) large paper trash bags into landfills every week that we didn't have before.
Somebody calculate what 14,000 paper trash bags x 52 weeks looks like. Weight, size.
They're going to have us put our soggy waste in a paper trash bag and set it out curbside in the rain and snow and make it easier for animal to burrow into it. People are worried about ticks... how about rats?
There's 'government think' if I've ever seen it. That plan makes the recently failed deer corral and kill look brilliant by comparison.
But hey, I'm just bitch' and pissin' in the wind.
Uline charges $43 for a 60 pack of these paper 30 gal trash bags.
ReplyDeleteShipping is $20 UPS so it's not a small bundle.
If we use the Uline bulk rate of $41/60 bags collectively we'd all spend $574,000 on a years worth of paper trash bags.
You can buy a plastic trash can that you can use week after week, year after year for less than $30 at Walmart. Collectively all 14,000 of us could buy new cans for $420,000 and use them for years.
http://m.uline.com/h5/r/www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-13523/Trash-Liners/Paper-Lawn-Leaf-Bag-30-Gallon?keywords=
Using the info above several questions come to mind.
Are we reducing waste by going to paper trash bags?
Are we saving money by using paper trash bags?
Are we saving the environment by converting to paper bags?
But, hey it'll all work out because we'll be able to cover all those paper waste bags in 8 years with the worn out artificial turf and crumb rubber, nobody will see them.
11:38, reducing waste and increasing REAL recycling are truly lofty goals. I don't think the plans being discussed in the link below are going to get there or save us money.
ReplyDeletehttp://triblive.com/mobile/8434133-96/garbage-pay-trash
Kelly and her PAYT supporters want, if I'm reading the Trib article correctly, 'paper' trash bags for waste are the big plan. (I can't see running to the store to buy plastic containers for every week's waste pickup can you?)
Ridiculous! I thought the goal was to increase recycling and reduce waste, not increase it.
Are you seriously suggesting that each household and apartment dweller get rid of their kitchen food and table scraps in backyard compost piles? I thought we already have a Lebo rat problem and some people are afraid of scavengers like coyote and bears coming into our neighborhoods. Food scraps in your back yard are a great idea.
Perhaps we should also eliminate municipal sewage systems to save money and empty our chamber pots in the streets like they did in the Dark Ages. Every few weeks you could run to Rolliers for a new one when the paper one falls apart. It be kind of like a Pay As You Crap plan. The more you crap the more chamber pots you need.
10:57 AM, I think there are four volunteers (counting me) who signed the pledge. The rest, around 12 or so, haven't signed it. I have to be careful with what I say because I am setting myself up for another bashing. The only shred of evidence that I was a volunteer is an unreimbursed Market District receipt of $97.47 for the Saturday evening vegan cookout. But that is another story for another time.
ReplyDeleteElaine
1:22 PM, to whom are you addressing the composting question? Me? I am not suggesting anything. I'm not for PAYT. All I said was that I recycle on my small lot. I guess the time to voice your complaints would be at the June 9 commission meeting. The Trib reported that Kelly Fraasch is pushing for a vote that night to start the process of "educating" us.
ReplyDeleteElaine
10:57am - revolution? - why don't you try reading what Richard Gideon has actually written on this website. Believe it or not, he writes well enough so that even those with a Mt. Lebanon education can understand him. The man makes well reasoned points - for a Pittsburgher - agree with him or not - but don't put words in his mouth.
ReplyDeleteBob D.
Yes Bob D., I used revolution in connection with Gideon, because he suggested that change could start with as few as 3 people.
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't seen or heard of any group that has gotten together to create change, promote candidates or support anything that doesn't fit in with the commission agendas.
So yes, you are correct, I suppose I did put words in his mouth... guilty as charged.
I still think pulling a group together to change the status quo in this town anytime soon will truly be revolutionary.
My thought for what it is worth.
Elaine, the comment was directed at 11:38 that submitted "Yard and kitchen scraps can go into a compost pile in your yard."
I'm all for composting, but kitchen scraps laying in a pile in ones yard doesn't seem likea good idea.
Bob D. we had this discussion back on May 7th under a different topic.
ReplyDeleteHere was my response then to your comment.
"Bob D., you're are 100% correct, Mr. Gideon never said starting a political organization would be "easy."
His exact quote was "The point is that you begin change by beginning; and that may entail 30 people - or three."
Mr. Gideon is a very competent writer, and he never wrote of a "revolution" - no argument there.
But, having been involved in several efforts to... call them what you will... motivational exercises, rallies... they always result in the same thing. Nothing! The groups haggle for a few meetings, rehash old complaints then eventually vaporize never to be heard from again.
I agree with Mr. Gideon, that you begin change by beginning. Finding that beginning though will be revolutionary!
Revolution need not necessarily be through violent upheaval. Steve Jobs started a revolution in computing, not by overthrowing anyone or anything,. He did it by coming up with using a revolutionary new interface that made computers easy to use.
So I beg forgiveness at not writing as clearly as Mr. Gideon, but I'm still waiting for that beginning he wrote so well about.
Bod D., just so you know Thesaurus.com list these synonyms for "revolution."
ReplyDeleteMain Entry: revolution
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: drastic action or change, often in politics
Synonyms: anarchy, bloodshed, cabal, coup, coup d'état, crime, debacle, destruction, disorder, foment, golpe, guerrilla activity, innovation, insubordination, insurgency, metamorphosis, mutiny, outbreak, overthrow, overturn, plot, radical change, rebellion, reformation, reversal, revolt, rising, row, shake-up, shift, strife, strike, subversion, transformation, tumult, turbulence, turmoil, turnover, underground activity, unrest, upheaval, uprising, uproar, upset, violence
Antonyms: stagnation, submission
Do you notice under definition they write: "drastic action or change, often in politics."
What did Gideon write? His exact quote was "The point is that you begin change by beginning; and that may entail 30 people - or three." I believe his comment was directed at changing our local political scene.
Maybe a Mt. Lebanon education isn't as good as you think, Bob.
Thanks though, let's fight over semantics rather than do something about the issues.
Note to Jason M., May 27th @ 2:37: I sit corrected. On further reflection, I realize that there WAS an error in my original writing, corrected as follows: I was there last night and listened, in amazement, as one of the pro-PAYT folks actually assured TWO (emphasis added) of us that one of the benefits of the program would be that it would free-up monies (presently designated for trash removal) for the Commission to use in other ways, and just imagine all of the good things they could spend that money on! This was NOT then repeated by the individual during the public comment, as originally suggested. I am nothing if not a slave for accuracy. I make no other corrections to my original writing and continue to ask whether, in fact, I will be paying TWICE for the removal of my trash, ONCE? But, maybe no one CAN answer that question, since the Commission has not decided which of the many schemes of PAYT they will be selecting. Maybe that is what I am missing here, and maybe I have just answered my own question. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteTo 3:24 p.m. Why are you so angry?
ReplyDeleteNo one should put food scraps in a pile for rats to eat. That's not the proper way to turn food waste into compost. They should be placed in a proper bin. It's inexpensive, easy, and good for the environment. Food waste is heavy. By turning it into fertilizer rather than going to the landfill you are reducing the weight of your landfill waste which will reduce your waste fees.
Yard trimmings can go into a pile. Grass clippings can remain on your lawn. It's depressing how many people put their grass clippings in black bags for the landfill. Those bags are heavy, costing tax payer money and once in the landfill causing green house gases.
Why is everyone using the trib article for their source? There are several documents on the Mt Lebanon web site written by the sustainability board regarding PAYT.
Currently MtL residents can put unlimited amounts of trash on the curb for the landfill. It doesn't make sense. It can't last. Landfills are filling up. What happens when they are all full?
I set out a small trash can once a week. My neighbors set out 3 - 6 cans/bags/boxes. Why should those of us who do not create trash pay for those that do? As a comparison, I am careful about water and electricity consumption. I do not pay for all of the water and electricity that my neighbor uses. Why should I pay for their trash?
6:37, I'm not angry, someone suggested putting kitchen scraps on a backy ard composting pile and I suggested it wasn't a good idea.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't say build a composting box and put food scraps in there.
Believe it or not there are people in our neighbor that put out food that is attracting stray animals, especially feral cats and rodents.
This argument that one shouldn't pay for stuff they don't use. There are a lot of streets in Mt. Lebanon I don't drive on, probably never will. Should my taxes go towards paving their street.
As far as electricity and water. I hate to tell you we all pay for the delivery of those service to our community and our homes.
Unless you and your neighbor have very long private extension cords plugged into the Duquesne Light power plant you are sharing in the cost of electricity. Same with water unless you're on a well or capturing rainwater.
You also share in the cost of the sewer lines that carry off your waste water.
Also I'll never play on the artificial turf, should my tax dollars go towards that. Let the families that'll play on it pay the $1.2 million installation charge.
6:37, let's follow your pay for what you throw logic.
ReplyDeleteYou say I set out one small trash can per week. Would you say you put out a 30 gal. trash can. Are you living in a house by yourself? I'll assume yes.
So, every single person gets to throw out one 30 gal can for the basic PAYT charge.
Are we on the same page?
If so, does a household with 4 people get to put out 4 - 30 gal cans?
You get to put one out, why shouldn't the 4 living under the same roof each get to put out a 30 gal can?
OK, now we create a basic PAYT fee based on people, each person gets to dispose of one 30 gal container for say $10/can.
Each month we'll pay a PAYT fee based on individuals living in that house for that week. The logistic of managing such a system are crazy, but we must be fair. Why should a family of four be penalized for throwing out 30 gal of waste each when it's the same amount you - one person throws out.
Don't you just love the egocentric attitudes that seem to guiding everything in this little bubble.
ReplyDelete"I love soccer and lacrosse and determined our kids need to play on artificial grass."
"I pay a lot for my landscaping, so we must all pay to have every single last deer shot and guard that none ever return."
"My time is valuable and I'm under a lot of stress, therefore I can drink and drive, speed, blow stop signs, because, because... hell I just can."
"I set out a small trash can once a week. My neighbors set out 3 - 6 cans/bags/boxes. Why should those of us who do not create trash pay for those that do? As a comparison, I am careful about water and electricity consumption. I do not pay for all of the water and electricity that my neighbor uses. Why should I pay for their trash?"
That final one gets me. I can't imagine anyone's life being so empty that they count their neighbors trash receptacles every week, but hey whatever gets you through the night, right?
6:37, I'd like you to read the following article. I know you won't because after reading the title you'll determine I shouldn't have to read this garbage, because "I" know garbage.
"Recycling: Can It Be Wrong, When It Feels So Right?"
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2013/06/03/michael-c-munger/recycling-can-it-be-wrong-when-it-feels-so-right
I propose that our next ballot regarding the Home Rule Charter shouldn't be about the super vote, but instead ask-- should we change the name of Mt. Lebanon to 'It'sAllAboutMeville!"
We might as well be honest if nothing else.
Something else to read 6:37, if you can take a break from counting all your neighbors trash cans.
ReplyDelete"Common Myths About Landfills"
"Myth #1: Landfills Poison the Environment!
This can in fact happen, but it’s very rare in the modern sanitary landfill. Everyday landfills aren’t toxic waste dumps or Superfund sites. Most material that ends up there is municipal waste that’s either biodegradable, or doesn’t break down at all.
Indeed, in modern landfills, material rarely biodegrades anyway (hence undecayed nine-year-old hotdogs and such). Rainwater can leach through modern landfills, but is unlikely to pick up anything toxic from normal solid waste.
Back in the old days, though, landfills were often sited in swamps, to fill them in and reduce insect populations (and thus disease). But that destroys wetlands and can generate runoff that can harm the environment (and people), and hasn’t been done in decades. Modern landfills are safe.
Myth #2: New York’s Fresh Kills Landfill is Visible from Orbit!
No it isn’t. Claimants often repeat this myth in the same breath as the claim that Fresh Kills is the largest landfill in the world, which isn’t true either; it’s not even the biggest one in the U.S. Puente Hills Landfill outside Los Angeles is. Probably.
And here’s the kicker: Fresh Kills occupies maybe 1% of Staten Island’s total landmass. Apparently Staten Island isn’t even visible from space, at least not using the naked eye… so certainly you can’t see Fresh Kills from orbit. D’oh!
Myth #3. We're running out of landfill space
While it’s a good idea to do all you can to conserve landfill space, we won’t be running out of space for landfills anytime soon. You often hear a statistic cited that almost every dump now open will be filled and closed within a few years, and that’s true. But that’s just how landfills work.
There’s plenty of land to use, too. Here’s another statistic:
If you packed all the municipal waste that the U.S. is likely to generate in the next 1,000 years into one spot, it would fit into an area 44 miles square and 120 feet deep. This will never happen, of course, but the point is that such a volume takes up just a tenth of a percent of our available land.
None of these myths about landfills is anything to be worried about, it seems."
http://www.mythbusters.com/common-myths-about-landfills.html
6:37 writes: I set out a small trash can once a week. My neighbors set out 3 - 6 cans/bags/boxes.
ReplyDeleteAre you factoring in assessment values? Smaller homes = less taxes. Larger homes = more taxes.
Hoarders = 0 cans/bags/boxes.
8:00 am, are you kidding asking a question like that?
ReplyDelete6:37 puts out one small trash can, so everyone... singles, seniors, small family, large family... should put out one can each.
I wonder if 6:37 is upset with the $8 stormwater fee? After all, if one lives on a small <1/4 acre lot why should they pay the same as someone that has a 1 acre lot or larger? Aren't they sending more stormwater into the system?
I don't understand any of this. Kindly forgive my ignorance. Why don't we turn Bird Park into a landfill and residents can get their cans up there once a week?
ReplyDelete9:37, that's not as rediculous as it sounds because very few people realize we've already done it at another field... Wildcat/Middle.
ReplyDeleteThink about it and you'll find it's even more absurd than you can imagine.
Everyone of us PAYT when you buy new tires for your vehicles. We, by EPA order, pay a disposal fee to safely and properly get rid of your old tires so they just don't get dumped in some old ordinary landfill or littered along some waterway.
So where do they put these old environmentally hazardous used tires?
Our rocket scientist commissioners and sports group advisors decided WE'D PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO BUY BACK 20,000-40,000 OF THEM AND DUMP THEM IN OUR BIG LANDFILL ON CEDAR BOULEVARD.
Of course, they insisted that they be ground up into crumbs-- first because stacks of tires are really unsightly and would scare off potential home buyers and it's extremely hard to pay soccer and lacrosse on a big mound of used tires. Players would keep tripping and losing the balls.
Take a look at what the artificial grass is made from! Recycled soda bottles and plastic.
So yep, we do have a landfill already in Lebo... we're going to call it our crown jewel.
So 9:37, keep buying what Kelly and pals are selling you. When you've bought PAYT, I have a bridge on Horsman Drive I want to sell you.
Oh wait, somebody already did that.
6:37, must live like a hermit, because everything they throw out fits into one small trash can every week.
ReplyDeleteThey never discard, worn out carpet, broken lawn furniture, rusted gas grill, old chest of drawers, mattress or anything else that doesn't fit in a small can.
Must be a really odd old bird or they're one helluva pack rat!
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/06/03/Recycling-of-solid-waste-continues-to-grow-in-city-but-still-short-of-goal/stories/201506030145
ReplyDeleteThe above is interesting for this information.
"Mr. Lamb said recycling saves the city landfill fees, provides revenue from what is collected and makes Pittsburgh eligible for more in state grants. His office is recommending the city push recycling through more education and enforcement.
Over the two-year period, more than 30,000 tons of recyclable material was collected. The city received state Department of Environmental Protection grants of $476,031 in 2012 and $375,204 in 2013 for its recycling. The 2013 revenue could have been more, but Pittsburgh Recycling, the company that had the contract, went bankrupt."
So, could it be that the PAYT commissioner is counting on taking trash collection off the back of the municipality by putting on the back of each household?
Then getting the revenue from from recyclables collected AND new EPA grants. So slyly in a roundabout way raising taxes without actually raising taxes.
3:49 Just figuring that out?
ReplyDeletehttp://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/06/10/mt-lebanon-considers-shifting-cost-of-trash-hauling-to-individual-homeowner/
ReplyDelete"Brumfeld says the commission would cut the millage rate to reflect the $2 million cost being passed back to taxpayers.
Still.
Delano: “What’s the guarantee that the next year and the next year and the next year, you don’t raise the millage back up again?”
Brumfeld: “Oh, there’s absolutely no guarantee.”"