Skip Recycling in Georgia, Get Slapped with $500 Fine
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California 
on 12. 9.08
Photo via orphanjones
Gwinnett County in Georgia has decided that it needs to get really serious about recycling. They’ve beefed up their recycling program, and passed an ordinance that slaps a fat fine on anyone who trashes recyclables, or puts trash in the recycle bin.
The county hopes to double (or more) the amount of recycling they accomplish to 23%, and apparently thinks that scaring people into proper sorting habits will work. It very well might.
While many people would rail against a fine like this, the county says they’re reserving the fine for “excessive abuses” – in other words, for folks who aren’t recycling at all.
“We don’t intend for this to be the garbage gestapo, running around, looking in people’s garbage about what’s there and what’s not there,” said Connie Wiggins, executive director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, which is administering Gwinnett’s waste disposal program. “I believe the fine applies to all categories, and certainly, if we saw excessive abuses of materials being thrown in the garbage.”
The county is significantly boosting the number of recyclables it accepts – er, requires – for collection, and hopes that this’ll keep them from having to open up another landfill anytime soon. But with the recycling industry taking a downturn, they might need to open up storage areas for all the every-so-willingly submitted recyclables.
Via AJC.com via Ecolocalizer
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just sounds like another greenwashed effort to fine more people to make up for tax revenue losses.
Yup, David, you got it in one. I might put it slightly differently and say at it's core the green movement is ultimately about government control.
Someone write this down so I get credit for being a seer of the obvious. Obama has announced the government will expand broadband. You see the example of government intervention above. "Government money" means government strings. Kiss the internet as you know it goodbye.
What's to prevent a thrid party from putting their garbage in your recycling can when it's sitting at the curb, unattended?
Who will be handing out the tickets, are garbage collectors now going to be cops?
If
But to the previous commentors: in this particular instance, is the government control a bad thing? This is a question about the proper purpose and limits of government, not a simple topic, I know. The government regulates those practices which are for the public good (without violating anyone's exercise of their rights), but which unchecked markets and voluntary measures have failed to accomplish. Clearly, recyclable is good for all of us, while not at all painful for the people who need to take a few seconds to sort their trash. But people are lazy, and by not recycling they increase the tax burden (for landfills and garbage collection), and the ill effects of pollution, on everybody.
I don't agree with the first two posters. A little dose of reality here: I provide garbage containers & recycling bins for all my tenants & am constantly AMAZED & annoyed at how much stuff big & small that is clearly recyclable (cardboard fruit boxes, plastic...) they stuff into the garbage containers when the recycling bins are right next to them & not filled. I've even taken the measure of removing one or two garbage containers thus requiring them to be a little more creative.
As a side note, I have good friends in Switzerland, & they tell me that if they recycle dirty, gunked out containers, or put stuff in the garbage bins, they face stiff fines. I think this is excellent, since my experience shows that people are pretty damn lazy Granted my experience is anecdotal.
Yes people are just lazy. My town needs a program like this. Keep in mind that we have one of the easiest recycling programs in the country and people still refuse to recycle.This weekend I noticed a dumpster that was full of stuff. Being the good person that I am I starting pulling stuff out of the dumpster. Here's what I found...
Approx. 200 lbs of clean paper.
A Microwave.
2 Surge Protectors with battery backup
A bicycle frame
Approx. 100 lbs of cardboard
Bottles and cans
Took it to the recycle center and recycled it.
I do this all the time. Oh Yeah! I also work full time and have Multiple sclerosis. If I can do this anyone can...
They would have to be very specific about what is considered paper, plastic, metal etc... there was a similar rule at my college and i was fined $25 for throwing a letter in the paper recycling. why, you ask? because there was a tiny piece of plastic in the envelope for the address window. $25 for a letter.
so is it paper or plastic? they are gonna run into a million problems like this
If the local government is paying to haul away your trash and recyclables, then they have every right to fine people for putting one in the wrong container. If you are going to haul your own trash, then you can take what ever the landfill is willing to accept. Is it greenwashing? No. It's makes good finacial sense. It just so happens that it is green to do so. On top of that they get revenue from violators.
There is a MUCH simpler way to deal with this! Simply charge people for the amount of binned trash. Then there's a saving involved with recycling, both for individuals and the earth :-D