The Villages CDD 1-11 Recycling RIP
 

The North Sumter County Utility Dependent District meet May 6 and has decided to move ahead with the "single stream" of trash, recyclables and yard waste. A contract is being worked out and it will be voted on at their June 8 meeting.
I am very disappointed, but not surprised. There is no money in recycling and the idea that it may help our earth is not part of the decision.
Most of us grow up throwing everything into the "garbage". The garbage was then brought to an incinerator and burned. Years later, burning was considered bad for our environment and they brought it to the dump. Next, the dumps were filling up and it was decided to try to "recycle" certain items. Now they are telling us to "single stream", which means throw everything into the garbage so they can take it to the incinerator and burn it (make energy).
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I feel sad to loss recycling. I was finally getting the hang of it.

I agree, I have been trying very hard to recycle correctly, but the market collapsed. Let's hope in the future the recyclables market comes back.

In the meantime, we can try to re-use, when practical. If you have a cat, don't buy bags for the litter box. Re-use the grocery bags you get when you go grocery shopping.

If you prefer spring water, and like carrying water around with you, then buy the bigger 1-gallon or even 2.5-gallon jugs, and refill a re-useable drink cup instead of buying a case of 24 1/2-liter bottles every month.

Paper bags can be used when you're weeding the garden, all those take-home bags you get from Taco Bell, Burger King, Culver's etc are great for that.

Buy the biggest bottle of cleaner, laundry detergent, paper towels, TP, sponges, as you possibly can. Why? Less packaging waste. You can buy big half-gallon bottles of liquid hand soap, and refill a pretty soap pump for your bathrooms instead of buying a new pump container every time you run low.
Protest the companies that create extra waste, by buying whatever soaps use the least amount of packaging. I know some have a bar wrapped in paper or plastic, and THAT put into a cardboard box. For why? Because it looks good, and they pretend it justifies the higher cost for the consumer. In fact - you could buy from a local soapmaker - you pay more per ounce, but you get hardly any packaging at all, your choice of scents, and a much more interesting-looking bar for your bathroom, while supporting a local cottage industry all at the same time.

These are all little things that won't make all that much of a dent in saving the planet. But if everyone did it, it'd be a pretty nice sized dent.

China now wants to send us their paper and plastic

Read at the meeting so in the public record

((I appreciate the efforts of District staff last year to hold multiple meetings to educate our customers on the issues of recycling and waste management in the Villages. It’s unfortunate that this final public meeting on options presented for the first time to the public must occur in a Covid -19 environment where many residents are still fearful of attending any meeting. I have spent many hours review the videos and audio tapes from previous meetings. The vast majority of public comments at previous NSCUDD Waste Management meetings centered on consumer satisfaction with the current trash services, improving best practices in recycling and expanding the flow of recycling information to the public. It seems that everyone wants NSCUDD to continue to recycle and enhance recycling information flowing from NSCUDD to our customers. I would now share my views and opinions to both members of this board and the public to stimulate further discussions on the three options presented to us today.

For me, the Covanta only option is a non-starter because it’s not recycling in any way, shape or form. As per Jacobs on Aug 22, 2019 under Benefits of Recycling and I quote: “Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and Waste to Energy facilities”. I have asked many Village sales agents to describe how new residents feel about their trash services south of 44 where everything is taken to be burned. They want what we have, a recycling program. We must continue to have a waste management program that includes recycling and try to minimize further cost increases on top of the increases we enacted last year.

So, that leaves the other two options that still have recycling in them. Note that Covanta will charge us a lot more per ton to burn our trash than what WMI charges to take it to a landfill which WMI says has another 30 years before it will be filled. I am intrigued with the combining of yard waste and recycling pickups to eliminate one weekly pickup. Not sure why this procedure is not found in both of these two options. If this procedure would further reduce the cost of the WMI option which is already the least costly, I would be more inclined to say it would win my vote as it continues with the kind of operation that our customers now enjoy as per their votes at the clicker meeting.

The bulk waste/white goods pickup fee was first brought to our attention by Jacobs because some people are abusing the free pickup service that NSCUDD provides. I don’t believe that charging everyone a flat $10 fee addresses that specific problem. Sometimes the fixing of a simple issue morphs into addressing the wrong problem.

As this board will soon be asked by staff to vote on one of these three options, I would encourage our customers/the public to send your comments by email to us at nsboard@districtgov.org as found on the District web site under NSCUDD. At this time I would ask my fellow board members to express their opinions on what is presented today. Remember, board members can only discuss NSCUDD business among themselves at an official meeting, so let’s not miss this opportunity to let other board members and the public learn about our thoughts on these options.))

view the options here -> Coversheet

P.S. Please note that NSCUDD will have increased customers trash rates by 24% since 2019 ($17.90 to $22.24 new Oct. 2020 rate if approved) and will charge about 10% more ($22.24 vs $20.35 excluding any added sales tax- Wildwood & Fruitland Park) than the private trash firm who services all Villagers south of 44 with 2 pickups per week (single stream) taking everything to the same Covanta facility. This assumes that the Covanta option is passed by the NSCUDD board.

lol

when proponents were pushing recycling 50yrs ago in upstate ny, i said only govt regulation would make it work as voluntarily no enough families would support it,,, here in marietta, our trash hauler JUST changed recycle pickup to every other week to reduce employee exposure to kung flu (we hang out to bond w/garbagemen ?),,, so we & the neighbors dutifully waited,,, yesterday BOTH went into same truck,,, evidently recycling's done here too
as individuals however, we can do something

So much for the 25% increase in their taxes.

Good

clueless


how is the real estate tax increase related??

Are we no longer going to need the large paper bags for yard waste? Will there still be a specific day to put out yard waste?

Keep saving your aluminum cans. There are several charities who will be happy to take them off your hands. We have taken ours to the Sumter County Animal Shelter. (I think that's the name). They take them to scrap metal places and get extra money for the animals.

That would put our people to work recycling for the environment. The reason Chyna rejected our recycle was because it was so contaminated.

My concern is how environmentally safe is the burning of trash? I went to the Covanta website and it looks like there are a lot of safeguards in place to make burning much more environmentally friendly than it was years ago. If there is no market for recyclables, it makes sense to find something else to do with the stuff, and I have no problem with burning it, as long as it makes sense as far as emissions. But we, as a nation, also have to buckle down and cut back on our use of plastic, like packaging, and plastic bottles such as one use water bottles. I was reading that putting the plastic in landfills contaminates the land with chemicals from the plastic, which could ultimately make its way into our water supply. Burning waste could actually be a good thing, if they do it properly.

It’s just plain irresponsible to throw glass, plastic, aluminum into landfills. <shaking my head>.

Was tough getting used to not recycling in TV after doing so for years up North. Feel a bit of guilt. But I always wondered how they could efficiently separate out the items into the proper categories and remove all the non recyclables people toss in. Seems impossible.

Recycling just doesn’t work on the scale it’s original proposers had thought. Burning is single best, most efficient, NA d complete way of disposal. Only two factors need to be monitored; discharged air quality and final disposal of waste ash. Just make it happen.....we should still recycle where it makes sense..ie....plastics into fabric, paper into pulp base, petrochemicals where possible. Hope we get it right this time..

They took the “middle way.” Producing energy with waste (recycling of a sort) is better than piling it up in a landfill, but perhaps not as good as “reuse” recycling. Wonder if there are Buddhists on the board? :pray: :icon_wink:

Such a stupid, short term decision that will be next-to-impossible to reverse.

We put out more stuff for recycling every week than normal trash. A lot of it is newspaper and cardboard which, while of little monetary value to recyclers, can easily be reused and would otherwise add a huge bulk to the pile of trash to be disposed of.

We compost our kitchen waste and have just bought a chipper to turn garden waste into mulch and a leaf vacuum to produce leaf mould.

Aluminum is the main one we all should continue to recycle (per a previous post, there are those who would like it in TV) as it is very easy for recyclers to reprocess, unlike producing the metal from the ore which is very energy intensive.

So we can all do our bit, then we all need to demand lower trash-collection rates!

Sad that there is no market for recycling. Knowing this we have made our own attempt. Aluminum Foil is reusable .... spread it on the counter and clean it with sponges. "Disposable" razor blades is another ... resharpen on denim to extend the life and a shaving strop will keep it going for a year or more.

Soon they will publish that Goodwill sending used clothes to Africa and put clothing manufacturing entirely out of business on most of the continent. Another good deed that has not gone unpunichshed I guess.

So since they are taking the recycling day away, means less pickup . Does that mean our bill will go down ? Fat chance !

This was very helpful. Thank you for the email address to address the board directly. I just sent an email. I wish everyone would.

Recycling
 

The market did not collapse. The recycling was going to China on empty cargo ships after goods came here. China said “no more” because of the trade deals that hurt China and our farmers. Now we can’t handle our own recycling!

Is there not an administration in place in Washington devoted to removing restraints on emissions? Even if the emissions are controlled now, those controls are expensive. Will they be controlled in 2021 or 2022? “Not in my backyard” could easily become “smoke from burning cancer-causing plastics and pesticides in my back yard.”

Yes it is almost I mpossible. I suspect that many don’t realize how labor intensive it is at the recycling station where employees are tasked with monitoring the recycled materials as it moves on a conveyor belt and to spot any non recyclable and remove. Paper products not suitable are blown away by fans but still labor intensive.

Where did you read this?

China rejected the recycling
 

The reason they rejected our dirty recycling (been dirty for years) was because of the new trade deal!

Wrong.
They stopped taking our and the world's recyclables long before any trade deals.
They have enough of their own trash to deal with.

Single stream pick up is a great idea. Charging for bulk pick up is a bad idea. With the increased fee I would suggest two free bulk pick ups a year. Charging additional for bulk pick up will only find those items discarded along the road or at the postal stations.

Choro&Swing, I agree with you. In an effort to appeal to a minority, restrictions would likely be lifted.

Instead, they sent the world a PANDEMIC.

You have missed the point....it is only IMPORTANT to TPTB when it is PROFITABLE....they sell the idea to make money, and then shun it when it no longer benefits them. Kinda like paying for "carbon credits".

In many states there is a deposit on beverage containers. I would think this is a significant percentage of the recyclables down here.
Even if it is a PITA to return them back to the stores and it may not be economical in the long run, it does eliminate this one form of trash from the roads. I would think that aluminum cans and plastic bottles could be recycled more efficiently than if simply thrown in a bag with other recyclables.

Sorry, but we should do zero business with China, ever

Priority? Politics and $$$$$!

Disappointed on two points
 

1. The packing styrofoam materials are not recyclable and are buried in the dump forever!

2. The shredded paper in the bag is disposed to the dump instead of being recyclable because the recycling companies do not want any shredded stuff directly from people - they prefer doing shredding themselves.

:boxing2:

They did specify that 100% of waste will go to a trash burner. Nothing to a landfill but ash.

It is my understanding that many recycling programs across the country are ending. Recycling is a complex process. In many cases, recycling requires chemicals and processes that are dangerous to breathe and drink if allowed to escape into the air and water. Communities across the United States want recycling to be done—only elsewhere. Large numbers of recycling agencies began shipping recyclables to other countries long ago. China was apparently a primary destination for US recyclables and they were essentially going into landfills there rather than actually being recycled. During the trade war with China, the Chinese government adopted a policy of no longer accepting what amounts to monthly tons of US garbage. Municipalities all over the US have been struggling to figure out what to do with our recycling, with much of it actually going to landfills for some time now. This new policy most likely reflects what’s been already happening for months.

Had nothing to do with a trade war.
China's “National Sword” policy, enacted in January 2018, banned the import of most plastics and other materials headed for that nation's recycling processors, which had handled nearly half of the world's recyclable waste for the past quarter century.
Why the world’s recycling system stopped working | Financial Times

Good ideas! Thanks