There's a term that folks who know me know by heart: Recycle!

Contributed By:Dorothy Nevils

On Wednesday, a blue Republic truck rolled down the alley. A young fella who spends the day walking, jumping, and riding, tugged the blue container to the back of the rig, moved a lever, and willed the cumbersome can up and over, then back to the ground. With a shove, he sent the can back to its corner. He walked on to the next, and the next, and to the point where he’d hoist himself up and into the cab where he’d cross a busy street and continue the routine, over, and over…

The next day, another young man stopped to empty red containers into a huge city-owned truck, and Friday, five or six paper bags of grass and weeds and dried sticks blown from trees two and three houses down disappeared, as if by magic, while I wasn’t looking.

There was a difference in what happened in the three instances: The first was a service for which each homeowner pays, and the other two were services rendered by the city, for which the city should be compensated, but not by the residents. Let me explain.

There’s a term that folks who know me know by heart: Recycle! It’s a simple word, and an even simpler concept: Use what’s been used before… at least one time more! It’s the “hereafter” to which every used or useless thing should aspire at its journey’s end, the “heaven” for all things that have served their purpose.

The reward is two-fold: One, the city gets money for everything recycled, and two, we avoid filling the earth’s belly with poison. It’s a win-win situation. Who would be against it?

Our city allows recyclables to be thrown into garbage cans, a double-sided disservice to its residents. (1) Just like the whole class is punished when some misbehave with the substitute, everybody pays for the tons of “trash” that fill the “dump” prematurely, for the wear and tear on machinery, and for manpower to pick up and dispose of trash that is really a source of revenue for the city; and (2) what should be income for the city is an expense that compliant residents also must shoulder, a sort of “double taxation.”

Next recycling day, look up and down your street to see how many containers are placed at the curb. If it’s like my block, the number will probably be three, though there are certainly more than three households. Those who “ain’t got time to be sorting through stuff” should be noted and fined for noncompliance.

Additionally, information about what is acceptable needs to be shared. “Tagging” non-compliant bins – those with plastic bags, toys, etc. – will help inform people of what is or is not acceptable for recycling. Then, after a few weeks or so, fines should be levied for people not in compliance.

This may seem rather heavy-handed, but we need to have a code of acceptance for our city, and the people who are charged for enforcing that code must do so. We need to hold people accountable for their behavior as a part of the community, and the way to get people’s attention is via the wallet. Money talks, and wallets listen.

Story Posted:07/15/2017