Craig is right - and it's not limited to just the big dumpsters you find around apartment buildings. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has taken out their trash and discovered that neighbors or passersby have used their 90-gallon receptacle for storing the excess garbage that didn't fit into their own bins. I wonder how many folks realize that doing this is essentially illegal dumping of garbage?
A few months ago, I even discovered one neighbor across the alley who decided that I would be the beneficiary of the broken plaster and other debris swept up from when he knocked down his garage. When I got the letter from Mpls Solid Waste and Recycling saying that I had to clean up his mess or be fined, that's when I finally got fed up and paid him a visit, returning his debris; and telling him where it should be hauled. So far, I haven't had any recurrences. I understand this kind of problem is one of the big reasons Minneapolis has been reluctant to switch to a "true" Pay-As-You-Throw program for charging for trash collection. If we've got a problem with illegal dumping now, how bad would it get if the folks who produce all that excess trash actually had to pay the full costs of hauling it away? Now, a friendly reminder - learn more about how you can reduce your trash output by visiting http://www.reduce.org And if you're wondering why garbage volumes are such a big deal that the state devoted a web site to reducing it, here's a few tidbits for you: * Minnesota continues to produce more municipal solid waste (MSW). In 2001, 5.75 million tons of mixed MSW were generated in Minnesota. Statewide, this represents a nearly 3.5% increase from 2000, and a 47% increase since 1991. * The average Minnesotan now creates 2,309 pounds of waste per year. In the past ten years, per capita waste generation increased by 31%, while the population grew by just 13% * For the first time, Minnesota's statewide recycling rate showed a year-on-year decline, falling to 46.9% in 2001. Greater Minnesota's recycling rate (48.2%) surpassed that of the metropolitan counties (46.5%) Learn more from the "Report on 2001 SCORE Programs" at http://www.moea.state.mn.us/lc/score01.cfm For those not familiar, SCORE stands for Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment, a group that recommended much of solid waste policy that makes up the MN Waste Management Act. It will be interesting to see how the state deficit affects local recycling programs such as Minneapolis' since the unallotment that took place on Friday has already taken about $1.6 million in funds that would have been passed on to counties to support recycling collection. Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
