[Vision2020] Moscow single-stream curbside recycling postponed yet another month

[Saundra Lund]

Visionaries:

 

See below for an article from today's Daily News -- any typos are mine
alone.

 

Apologies in advance to Andy Boyd, who is an excellent recycling ambassador,
but this has gone so far beyond ridiculous I can't think of any words
appropriate for a public forum to express my disgust.

 

The longer this has dragged on, the more insulting it's become that our City
Council apparently thinks we are too stupid to tell the difference between
the roll-out trash carts and the roll-out  incorrectly colored recycling
bins.  Maybe they themselves are just that stupid, but the folks I know
aren't nearly as stupid as the Council seems to think we are.

 

To recap:  since August, we've had the pretty significant inconvenience of
glass no longer being picked up in "preparation" of moving to single-stream
recycling and none of the benefits.

 

Then adding insult to injury, the "additional" glass recycling bin that was
placed in the old Gilbert Auto parking lot was a flippin' joke:  the opening
was so high off the ground that most of us would have to deposit glass
bottles one at a time because lifting a heavy bin up to dump it wouldn't be
possible -- or safe -- for many.  My understanding is that there were
several complaints lodged during the first couple of weeks yet the problem
remains.

 

I've also not noticed any decrease in my sanitation bill for the decrease in
service and increase in inconvenience, but I sure have noticed the time
we've been losing to haul glass and the increased gas costs we're incurring
from picking up glass for recycling from elderly friends who can't handle
the weight of loading, hauling, and disposing of heavy glass and other
friends who don't have cars.

 

The "new" expected date for us to actually move to single-stream recycling
is February.  I've lost count of how many times it's been delayed already.

 

 

Signed,

A Thoroughly Disgusted Saundra Lund

Moscow, ID

 

The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be
indifferent to them.   That's the essence of inhumanity.

~  George Bernard Shaw

 

 

Moscow single-stream curbside recycling postponed yet another month

By Terri Harber, Daily News staff writer

 

All of the replacement roll carts for use in Moscow's curbside single-stream
recycling program should be delivered by the first of the year and pickups
should begin by Feb 1, the Moscow City Council was told Monday night.

 

The City Council rejected the original 4,800 roll carts earlier this year
because the green-gray shade looked too similar to the existing trash roll
carts.  They were concerned trash would end up in the recycling carts and
vice versa, which can be expensive to process and cause the cost of the
program to increase greatly.

 

Councilors also loaned Latah Sanitation Inc, the contractor that does
curbside trash and recycling pickups around the city, about $124,000 - half
of the money needed to pay for the replacement roll carts.  LSI will pay
back the city its share of the money once the original carts are sold off.

 

The roll carts should be delivered to customers in mid-January so they can
start packing them with recyclables, said Tim Davis, Moscow's sanitation
operations manager.

 

This news came after approval of a new contract with LSI that adds 12 years
to the existing solid waste franchise so it ends on Sept. 30, 2035.  Wording
about the new single-stream system was added as well.

 

Downtown public restroom:  the councilors approved a concept by Design West
that will cost nearly $158,000.  The estimate includes 1 percent of the
total for art and a 5 percent overall contingency cushion.

 

Councilor John Weber voted against the design because of cost.

 

"We're buying a Cadillac when a Chevy or Ford would work as well," he said.

 

Councilors Wayne Krauss and Walter Steed said they understood Weber's
apprehension.  Krauss said the cost wouldn't be that much lower with a
differently pitched roof, for example.  Downtown "should have a restroom
that isn't going to have a negative effect," he also said.

 

Steed said he has reservations about the cost estimate.  If the project runs
over budget, "I'll raise objections."

 

The restroom will have a heater and will be open year-round, but it will be
locked at night.

 

Weber also commented that the process of making the structure blend in with
other downtown buildings was like "putting lipstick on a pig."

 

FOG discharge ordinance:  the council also approved new rules about the
discharge of fat, oil and grease (FOG) into the sewer system.  While the
rules would most often apply to the operation of food businesses, other
sewer users who send large amounts of this goop through the sewer system
could be asked to stop or be subject to fines before being charged with a
misdemeanor.  The acronym FOG will be used to educate customers about what
discharges do to the city's sewer lines and treatment plant before fines are
levied.  Heavy FOG producers will have a year to install traps to grab the
fat, oil and grease so it doesn't clog up the city's pipes and reach the
treatment plant.

  _____  

Terri Harber can be reached at (208) 883-4631 or by email to
tharber at dnews.com <mailto:tharber at dnews.com> .

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