One of my pet projects is to convince the city to place a compost credit on the solid waste bill of customers who keep a backyard compost bin. The program would work like the current recycling credit.
Some Minneapolis residents already divert a large volume of waste from the solid waste stream by composting grass clippings, fall leaves, and food waste. This program would recognize the efforts of these composters and would give an incentive to others to compost their waste. The city is already an advocate of home composting. The composting guide on the city web site has all the information you need. But our per capita solid waste volume continues to increase, along with the cost per volume of disposing of that waste(correct me if I'm wrong here). Minneapolis, like other cities, will need to look for new waste reduction strategies. This program could also be used to create a grant program for block clubs involved in waste reduction projects like alley clean-up, community gardening, and community composting. This would be valuable to community gardens and block clubs who will no longer have "Block Connections" grants from the Police Department's CCP/SAFE program. Of course questions will be raised about rodents and smell. I'm sure most of you know that a properly maintained compost bin will be neither smelly nor rat-infested. Improperly maintained bins can be tagged like improperly maintained trash bins or recycling bins. Tags could contain information about correcting the problem. Properly administered, this program could save money for the city in yard waste pick-up and municipal composting. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McGerik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Minneapolis Issues Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 9:31 AM Subject: [Mpls] Stadia and yard waste vouchers > I must admit that I am disappointed in the behavior of many of our elected > representatives, at the city, county, and state level. I find this > continued talk of providing funding for a baseball stadium to be irksome > considering that both the city and state are facing a revenue shortfall. I > do not know how the revenue situation is for Hennepin County, but if they > are not facing a revenue shortfall, I believe they ought be looking at how > they can help the various cities within the county by supplying > them with additional revenue. Instead, they are looking at ways to > increase our taxes to pay for non-essential programs! > > Yesterday, my wife called the Division of Solid Waste and Recycling to > request a yard waste voucher. The woman on the other end rather abruptly > told her that they were no longer available and to call NRG for more > information *click*. So, after calling NRG, Inc., she learned that we now > had to pay $9.00/cubic yard to dispose of yard waste. Considering that we > are in a recession and that the government is experiencing a revenue > shortfall, I can understand why they might start charging for services > that were previously paid for by taxes and $9.00/cubic yard is not all > that expensive, at least for me. However, we were irritated by the whole > situation because of the following reasons: > > 1) The Division of Solid Waste and Recycling web page at > http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/public-works/solid-waste/yw.html > has not yet been updated to reflect these changes. We usually consult the > City of Minneapolis web site before making our calls so that we can be > aware of pertinent changes. > 2) I do not recall receiving a mailing regarding this fee change. The last > mailing I recall receiving was regarding clearing away the snow from > my trash container. > 3) The woman who answered the phone at the Division of Solid Waste and > Recycling was rude and abrupt (the man at NRG, Inc. was helpful) > 4) The various levels of government are continuing to discuss ways to give > money to billionaire owners and millionaire players while at the same time > cutting basic services to the rest of us! > > I am particularly concerned about this voucher issue because I regularly > discover illegally dumped garbage or refuse in the alley. I do not know if > these additional fees will apply to solid waste disposal, but if they do, > I suspose I can expect an increase of illegally dumped air conditioners, > microwaves, tires, and whatnot in the alley from those attempting to avoid > the disposal fees. > > > Scott McGerik > Hawthorne/Minneapolis > http://www.mcgerik.com/scott/ > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
