The Recycling Dilemma

As Debbye is Being American in T.O., she weighs in on the problems the city of Toronto has with implementing a viable recycling program. It appears to be a classic example of actions being mandated by the government before the identification of a definitive plan and the dedication of necessary resources. So a spineless City Council has to wrestle with citizen complaints plus a mountain of recyclables.

Debbye's post also provides a contrast to the recent actions taken by Mayor Jane Campbell in Cleveland. Effective December 8th, all recycling pickup programs are to be eliminated. It's just too expensive to continue a low priority program. New York City has also modified their recycling program (link is free w/ registration) per mandate by Mayor Bloomberg. But they can't make up their minds. I'm sure the residents are confused because of government waffling. NYC is so messed up that their recycling problems have even led to the formation of trash police handing out $25 tickets if a resident doesn't follow the program.

In summary, whether it's Toronto, Cleveland, NYC, or any of a multitude of other locations, recycling doesn't work without financially bleeding the public. And, recycling programs will continue to be abject failures until a method is devised to make money from them.

One last thing, in addition to being expensive, recycling is also a supreme pain in the ass. Not only are resident's wallets fleeced, but everyone is also expected to haul their carcass out of a warm, cozy bed at 6am to sort and color-code garbage. It's as if people didn't have enough things to stress them.