INC NEWS - Bulky item pick up

Wed Oct 1 16:42:13 EDT 2008

We did have a long conversation earlier this week and my purpose for
calling was try to establish a better way for us to remember when this new
service was to take place (it is actually a 3 day window that whatever you
set out will be picked up in). I was looking for an easy way for all of us
to remember it; like third friday or second wednesday of each month. It's
key for us to have a simple way to think of this if we're going to use it.
Otherwise we end up with stuff (like Nancy has) just piled up at the curb
until next week or month awaiting pick up. I also have this vision of
hordes of pickup trucks scouring the City neighborhoods picking up old
appliances (and some good ones as well I assume) for metal
recycling/repair/parts. How easy could it get for them with it all by the
curb. Even furniture; like Nancy explained about her neighbor's pile, it
had many good and useful items. So will we develop this yard sale
mentality of folks, perhaps driving here from Burlington, to scour our
neighborhoods in advance of the City trucks, picking through the piles for
"good" items and collecting our scrap appliances for recycling the metal
or illegal dumping elsewhere? That's what it's like in NJ where some
friends live. It's like a circus in neighborhoods across town on the days
pick up is scheduled. It's like the current wave of aluminum pickers we
already have who hit our recycling bins for aluminum when they're out by
the curb for pick up weekly. It's really taking away income the recycling
contractor would be making. Same goes for the scrap metal scavengers; it
would deprive the City (and in turn its citizenry) from any scrap value.
Plus it would bring additional and unwarranted traffic into our
neighborhoods just to pick through our trash. How could that be any bonus?

But my conversation with Mr. Long this week was not about the mis-funded
truck deal and how Solid Waste found some tequila for the lemons it had
been tossed. I already had most of the information from that ill-fated
deal at hand. Donald Long just confirmed what I already suspected, that
these new trucks and this new program were all part of the same plan
(after the fact of the cancelling of the Comprehensive Plan). I
congratulate him for quickly figuring out some new service to provide with
these trucks, but that still doesn't mean I think it's a good idea or will
save taxpayers any money. Like I said, 2 wrongs don't make a right.

I have no doubt there is illegal dumping going on across this City. And
the Impact Team did more than pick those dumped items up. So if the Impact
Team needed one more truck and crew to keep up (which is doubtful even in
the worst week; with this new plan it's now a monthly basis for pick up),
it would be cheaper to go that route instead of adding 4 more trucks/crews
and an unneeded new program. At least with the dumped off items there was
a target location for cleanup. Now we're going to scour the City on a
monthly route looking for it... Now we're going to drive down every street
in the City on a regular basis even if there is nothing there. Give us a
break. How long can we continue to do this? With things being as they are
today, that's just too much of a waste. No backlog in call-ins, no backlog
from the work of the Impact Team, yet a new and unnecessary program. This
City isn't going to get any cleaner until the citizens decide to make it
clean. Solid Waste isn't going to go out of their way to get it all. If
it's not curb-side, it isn't going to move... So cleaning anything up is
just smoke and mirrors.

I try to stop by the Swap Shop from time-to-time as I am out the way. Last
time there all I saw was a valence and 2 old computer monitors. I
suspected the monitors were just being stored until they could be hauled
down the street to the hazardous waste disposal area. The Swap Shop is a
feel good idea. It's just a nice brick building that was built with more
good intentions. There is no commitment to recycling in this community.
Although we have ordinances that require it to be done by law, it is never
enforced. Another ordinance says we must have our trash (in the roll-out
cans) in plastic bags. Unless they were clear, it would mean you could
throw about anything away you could fit in one and no one would even
notice. How can you enforce ordinances on recycling when you can't even
see what people are throwing away? You can't unless you open each bag and
who's going to do that? All I can figure is that it must be cheaper to
throw it away and haul it to Virginia than it is to enforce the ordinances
we have in place to reduce the disposal fees to the taxpayers. There has
been very little study on the waste stream our community generates. But if
you say 15% is what gets recycled, that means we're paying for the other
85% to be sent to Virginia for disposal. The more we recycle, the cheaper
waste disposal gets. It's just that simple. Here again, it's your money.
If we can save it, perhaps the need for additional taxes will vanish.

RWP
27 Beverly

> We do have a swap shop that people can bring items that are still in
> usable condition, you can drop off free of charge or take something free
> of charge. However, we are not staffed to sift through items to see if
> something can be reused, therefore, unless we get a full load that looks
> good, we will be disposing of it at our transfer station.
>
> Donald M. Long
> Director, Department of Solid Waste Management
> City of Durham, North Carolina
> 919-560-4186-Office
> 919-201-0258-Cell
> 919-560-1132-Fax
> -----Original Message-----
> From: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Nancy Cox
> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 1:59 PM
> To: inc-list at rtpnet.org
> Subject: INC NEWS - Bulky item pick up
>
> Can someone explain what will happen with the items picked up? Are they
> going to just be trashed?  I hope not.  A neighbor accidently put items
> out
> yesterday; service doesn't start until next week, and they were all
> items
> that should go to a thrift store - a table, lamp that worked, mobile
> kitchen
> island.  I do hope this will encourage folks to get rid of bulky items
> from
> their yards and that will be a benefit to the community but considering
> gas
> prices and that it use to cost us $25 so now there is a revenue loss,
> not
> sure it is the best timing.
>
> Nancy Cox
>
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