SUBMITTED by Nancy Kasper, Earthly Designs (19-Nov-2009)
Public Hearing on Privatizing Wayne County Recycling
Dec. 9th, 7:00p.m.
On December 9th, the Wayne County Board of Supervisors will vote on legislation that will privatize our recycling service. The new law would require private trash haulers to take over that responsibility, so if you don’t pay for trash removal you will lose recycling collection altogether. Many households don’t generate enough trash to justify paying for garbage removal service. Privatizing will cause an additional expense for each household to contract a private trash collector in order to have their recyclables collected. That’s what privatizing recycling will cause; no more dedicated public recycling service. If you do have trash service, that cost will increase.
Privatizing ends up costing people more money than they’ve been paying through their tax bill for recycling service alone. Currently our not-for-profit, public benefit county recycling service is paid through property taxes, costing 38 cents per $1,000.00 assessed property value, a bargain for convenient and reliable service. But if that cost is cut from the county budget we save money, right? Not exactly. This merely transfers the cost from your tax bill to your pocketbook.
We must also factor in the subsequent long term health, environmental and social costs of privatization.
There are still many backyard burn barrels in use despite laws in many towns prohibiting the burning of household waste. If additional toxins from burned recyclable plastics are sent into the air we breathe and to settle on food crops, the risk of disease from carcinogens increases, translating to higher public healthcare costs.
27 immediate jobs would be lost if our Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is closed, adding to the county unemployment rolls. If the MRF is dismantled we lose the potential to take advantage of rising recyclable materials markets, the possibility of expanding the program, and creating new jobs.
Services will degrade if our recycling program is outsourced to a private, profit-motivated corporation like Casella, their history demonstrates that our recyclable materials would not be dealt with in a responsible manner or in a way that best serves our communities. Research their record at: http://concernedcitizens.homestead.com/Casella.html
It is argued that lowering taxes might encourage more people to buy homes and move into Wayne County. But if the low costs of homes here are compared to similar but higher valued homes in areas with lower tax rates there is no savings.
Taxes provide essential services, and recycling is essential for sustaining life. Publicly-owned recycling service ensures that resource collection and reclamation remains transparent and effective, without profit motives that lead to compromised service, and that recyclable materials aren’t landfilled. Landfills are of growing concern in New York as they negatively impact the land, air and water quality. *Research Finger Lakes Zero Waste for facts on NY landfills.
The decision is ours whether or not to privatize recycling. Citizen involvement is vital in choosing the direction and outcome of policies that affect their lives and futures.
Public Hearing on Privatizing Wayne County Recycling
Dec. 9th, 7:00p.m.
On December 9th, the Wayne County Board of Supervisors will vote on legislation that will privatize our recycling service. The new law would require private trash haulers to take over that responsibility, so if you don’t pay for trash removal you will lose recycling collection altogether. Many households don’t generate enough trash to justify paying for garbage removal service. Privatizing will cause an additional expense for each household to contract a private trash collector in order to have their recyclables collected. That’s what privatizing recycling will cause; no more dedicated public recycling service. If you do have trash service, that cost will increase.
Privatizing ends up costing people more money than they’ve been paying through their tax bill for recycling service alone. Currently our not-for-profit, public benefit county recycling service is paid through property taxes, costing 38 cents per $1,000.00 assessed property value, a bargain for convenient and reliable service. But if that cost is cut from the county budget we save money, right? Not exactly. This merely transfers the cost from your tax bill to your pocketbook.
We must also factor in the subsequent long term health, environmental and social costs of privatization.
There are still many backyard burn barrels in use despite laws in many towns prohibiting the burning of household waste. If additional toxins from burned recyclable plastics are sent into the air we breathe and to settle on food crops, the risk of disease from carcinogens increases, translating to higher public healthcare costs.
27 immediate jobs would be lost if our Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is closed, adding to the county unemployment rolls. If the MRF is dismantled we lose the potential to take advantage of rising recyclable materials markets, the possibility of expanding the program, and creating new jobs.
Services will degrade if our recycling program is outsourced to a private, profit-motivated corporation like Casella, their history demonstrates that our recyclable materials would not be dealt with in a responsible manner or in a way that best serves our communities. Research their record at: http://concernedcitizens.homestead.com/Casella.html
It is argued that lowering taxes might encourage more people to buy homes and move into Wayne County. But if the low costs of homes here are compared to similar but higher valued homes in areas with lower tax rates there is no savings.
Taxes provide essential services, and recycling is essential for sustaining life. Publicly-owned recycling service ensures that resource collection and reclamation remains transparent and effective, without profit motives that lead to compromised service, and that recyclable materials aren’t landfilled. Landfills are of growing concern in New York as they negatively impact the land, air and water quality. *Research Finger Lakes Zero Waste for facts on NY landfills.
The decision is ours whether or not to privatize recycling. Citizen involvement is vital in choosing the direction and outcome of policies that affect their lives and futures.
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Gil Burgess Said,
It looks like those of us who care should be at the public hearing on the evening of 9 December!
Posted on Fri Nov 20, 10:44:00 AM EST
Lea Said,
In our City, trash are categorized and dumped to sites accordingly. Owners became responsible for the proper disposal of garbage.
Posted on Wed Dec 09, 12:40:00 AM EST