San Francisco says NO MORE GARBAGE!

It is good to hear something nice about San Francisco.

Great job. I wish our community had more of a recyclying system. We can sort some stuff and bring it to one of the scheduled places...if you can find them.

That's awesome!

Wow! It is a good idea, but time consuming. I was just wrking on my time management lecture.

Saving the planet is worth the time.

Actually... once you've set it up you just throw certain stuff in certain waste bins and that shouldn't take too much extra time, just extra organization and space...

Meat-based food scraps go to the landfill here; composting attracts vermin. Vegetable scraps are composted. We have co-mingled recycling, meaning that paper, glass and metal are all thrown in together with recyclable plastics. Incineration has been out for years here.

I am trying to recycle since I moved last month. I am learning what can and can't be recycled. Since the allotment of only 4 size 30 gallon trash bags a week can go to trash. Unless I want to pay more.

The trouble I am having is my eldest son who is 21 yrs old refuses to recycle anything and throws it in regular trash. It is annoying to say the least to have to put my hands in the trash to recycle because he refuses to. Like last night he got drunk and threw his beer bottles in the bathroom trash can and the regular trash can. Who has to fix it? I know it won't be him and it is costing me money to buy tags to place on the extra trash bags to be put out. Grr!!

I think everyone should recycle that has the opportunity. I understand some places you reside can't because they use dumpsters.

I haven't learned how to recycle food out of the trash. As I have dogs and can't just throw it in the back corner of the yard like my grandma use to do for the birds to eat. Any suggestions on how to do it cheaply?

For the birds? Throw it on the roof?

If you charge your son money for not recycling that might make him think to do it.

Shoot I am lucky to get gas money from him to help with the cost of taking him back and fourth to work.

I have printed out what can and can't be recycled and placed it on the fridge. So he sees it when reaching for a another beer.

We have three different barrels the town provides for pick-up each week. One is for garbage, the second for recyclables like glass, paper, plastic, cans, etc., and the third for "green" stuff like lawn clippings, plant material, bush/tree trimmings, etc. They take the green stuff and turn it into mulch for the trees/plants in the parks, along roads, and whatever.

"and the third for "green" stuff like lawn clippings, plant material, bush/tree trimmings, etc."

We don't have that offered in my area. It sound slike a great service thou.

They have good programs here, and they make it easy which puts a positive view in people's minds... no hassles. We recycle a lot, and have more of that each week to pick up than trash. I've visited friends in other states, where they find it a pain and complain about doing it, having to separate all their recyclables into various different small bins by types, etc. I think if cities make it easy as they can, then more tend to participate without negative waves so to say.
About 2 months ago here the town even dropped off small waste baskets for inside the house to use for recycling too, that you can then empty into the big barrels later, which was kind of cool. We didn't really need any being set-up already, but still comes in handy, LOL.

We've been recycling most of our waste for some time around here.

I recently learned about these counter top containers for compost - I so want a set! :0)

I started recycling about 2 years ago, i would say that about half of our "trash" is in recycling. The problem being they only come every other week in my area. Meaning by week two i have a HUGE pile up in my house of stuff for recycling....I think the biggest thing we could do as a nation is make recycling easier, more people would do it then.

I also collect metals from work to take back to the scrapyard nearby. I made about $800 doing this last year. Most of it would have ended up in a landfill otherwise. Talk about a win win situation.

Thanks for posting to Point Taken. Have a great night!

I'm so thrilled to have finally moved back to an area that recycles. I've been making an effort to recycle all I can to make up for the years that my apt. complex didn't bother. We've actually had so many boxes and such related to moving that those that I didn't get rid of on Craigslist, I took over to the recycling place in my car to get them out of the house.

"People should take more responsibility for their own waste and sorting it all out for recycling is NOT too much to ask"

Yes it is too much to ask. The manufacturers are not cooperating in the fight against waste. They should use reusable containers when possible, they should make sure that all packaging is made of recyclable material, and the garbage collection should be part of a bigger strategy.

A few years back, when I needed boxes for moving, I used to go to the store and ask for empty boxes. Today they sell empty boxes at the supply stores. I used to take all the boxes and plastic nuts to FedEx desk and drop them off for others to use. Now, they sell them and they don't accept used ones.

The garbage people ask me to pack them in a special way, otherwise they don't take them. So, I collect them and sell them at the yard.

It used to be that Office Depot was offering $3.00 for every empty toner cartridge I was returning to them when empty. Now, they offer "rewards towards certain purchases" mostly items I never use, or they sell for a very high price...

We have a lot of business minds in this country. At least that's what they say. Well, I doubt it. Collecting the trash should be a priority of the local governments. It would be much cheaper to prevent the accumulation of waste than dealing with it later on in the process...

I noticed that in Michigan there are not too many soda bottles or cans in the streets. When you buy them, they get a deposit for each bottle, that you can get back if you return the bottles to the store.

Milwaukee was littered with cans and bottles, because they were not asking for deposits.

The trouble is that garbage collection is not an effective business if it is run as a profit center.

I remember when municipalities took care of collecting garbage. All of a sudden we wanted leaner government, and municipalities subcontracted the garbage collection to private, for profit business, which do everything possible to maximize the profit.

I can't understand what is this paranoia eliminating needed services from government control. We have a leaner government, however we don't save money at all, because the cost should incur anyway, we have to pay for the removal. We don't pay the "fat government" but we pay the fat Waste Management and the likes...

When I first read the header, I thought that I wished thta I had some of what the mayor was smoking.
But it does make sense, and helps the planet.

My brother who lives in San Francisco from time to time mentions the garbage. The biggest problem he has is people going through it after he has put it on the curb. My impression is that he does spend a little bit more time getting it all sorted and organized but not that much. I think it's a good idea.

Yeah, other people go after the aluminum cans fast!

Its about time, I have a compost pile out back, mom has had hers out back for over 50 years. I have a single wide mobile home and I try to recycle ... my house is always messy because I have to take mine to a recycle center since my village won't come pick it up.