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| E-Cycle OR ELSE! |
On your way to one of those
high-end electronics shops?
Better remember to bring that hunk of junk printer,
computer or other decades-old electronic with you so you can recycle it! Remember
the good old days when you could get rid of anything in your home by simply
placing it curbside so the Sanitation Department (DOS) could pick it up? Thanks
to environmentally friendly politicians, there’s a fine – I mean reason for
properly disposing of something that’s broken or no longer needed.
Even though I’ve already
read all the press releases on the new electronic recycling program, I can’t
get over how many items are being added to the list of things we can’t simply
dispose of outside our homes without facing an egregious penalty.
It’s a great idea to have to
recycle your electronics. Got a bulky tower from an old computer or a sound
system that doesn’t sound so great? Just your luck – you’re going to have to
lug that dust collector to a city recycling site or your neighborhood Staples
or Best Buy. But what if you’re not prone to shopping at an electronic
store…and what if you can’t get to one of the city’s participating sites? What
if you don’t have a car in which to load your clunky television from 2000 and
haul a mile away from your home?
The city doesn’t care!
Going green is something the
city’s been striving to do for years
now. They’re even going to ban Styrofoam containers because they’re not
“environmentally friendly.” They’ve also mandated that people in certain
communities recycle food waste in special brown receptacles to be used for
compost. How divine!!!
If you haven’t figured it
out by now, our community already battles – to no avail – those illegal
dumpers who like to leave their household refuse in grassy lots. There are
people who can’t even wait until regular bulk trash pick up days on their
block. They haul bags of electronics, furniture and food cartons to any vacant
spot they want! In my opinion, the city, in its effort to “greenerize” things,
doesn’t realize it could possibly provoke MORE people to dump their bulk trash
in unsightly places.
Making someone bring their
old crap to an electronic superstore is not making it easier (what if an
elderly person has an old television set and they can’t travel all the way to a
store – nevermind carrying something out of their car)! Let’s get real – the
DOS can easily set aside one or two days, maybe twice a month, when they
schedule trucks to pick up e-waste at residential properties. This way, no one
has to leave their home or let garbage pile up inside.
As much as the city is
trying to do something positive, we’re already feeling the wrath of those
litterbugs who don’t want to be bothered making special disposal trips. To add
insult to injury, they’re eventually going to charge up to a $100 fine for
illegally dumping electronic waste in front of your own property. I contend
that it has nothing to do with “going green” and it’s all about trying to
generate revenue! The city and state are known for draining residents’ pockets
by instituting ridiculous laws that will result in a fine.
FINE!
I guess there’s going to be
a lot more hoarders or A LOT more illegal dumping unless the city
comes up with a more convenient and practical
way to get rid of electronics. Eventually
you’ll either go “green” or e-crazy!
Unpublished as of 1/30/15
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