I don't think americans can handle this type of recycling :o

Subject: I don't think americans can handle this type of recycling

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1268377/Families-forced-follow-green-zealots-new-recycling-diktats.html#ixzz0lyFPNcvC

Well, this is just absurd... I support separating if it works. But you can't tell me this works.

i do wish we had city compost pick-up, like in san francisco. you'd think we would, given how much we pay to ship our garbage out.

(and yes, i do already compost, but i get that my method -- taking it to the community garden -- doesn't work for everyone.)

I would love to have compost pick-up

Agree with Sweettea. At the very least, I would love to see the Department of Sanitation's leaf collection/compost program reinstated.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/bring-back-composting-to-nyc

@ MattHurst- if you are in Park Slope, the community garden at 15th street and 6th ave will accept your compostable slop

"6/15 Green is a public compost site where the general public is invited and encouraged to add compostables during open hours from April through October: Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm, Sundays 4 pm to 8 pm, and Thursdays 6 pm to 8 pm, or whenever the gate is open. Call for compost membership info, if you have compost or worm bin questions, or if you would like to have a compost demonstration for your backyard, building, or block party. A composting brochure (in English and Spanish) is available at the garden on the bulletin board."

Other neighborhoods check here:
http://www.nyccompost.org/resources/organizations.html#6-15green

Well, 40 years ago I never would have thought you'd be able to convince Americans to put trash, cardboard and bottles/cans in three different containers.

All that means is more trucks and more gas to pick up each recycling. Idiots.

yes, and less trucks and gas picking up trash, since each trash truck should be able to carry more households' waste.

and less stuff in the landfill, so fewer new landfills that are inevitably farther and farther from the city.

eggcream, i can respect that your views on certain political issues are different from mine, but what is your plan for waste management without recycling (and ideally, composting)? this doesn't seem like a political issue to me at all.

If you were to assign a truck to each type of trash, yea, you could end up needing more trucks that drive more miles. The alternative could be to pay them to sort it later.

But actually, in the localities that have decided to pursue the "seperate first" route, a lot of them use the SAME truck to haul the stuff, but in little sections. ...hence, probably not as much additional gas or trucks.

Labor might still be an issue, because the worker is going to have to throw them into different compartments, not just one.

Here's the kind of truck I'm referring to...

http://www.tonawanda.ny.us/highway/htm/recycle.htm

When I was in college in Ithaca, I thought their system for encouraging recycling was brilliant. They charged per bag for garbage pickup (you had to buy tags that you placed on each bag). Recycling pickup was free. Everyone recycled.

Carnivore wrote: When I was in college in Ithaca, I thought their system for encouraging recycling was brilliant. They charged per bag for garbage pickup (you had to buy tags that you placed on each bag). Recycling pickup was free. Everyone recycled.

Side effect: I can imagine everyone made their garbage pickup bags quite full, and used the largest bag allowable.

I'm not sure this would work in NYC, where supers (not the person creating the trash) is the one take it trash to the curb.

....the same situation causes people to leave their windows open in winter b/c they perceive themselves as renters who don't pay for the heat.

^i venture most of us perceive ourselves as renters who have no control over our heat and prefer not to die of hyperthermia.

Sorry that this is a little off topic, but does anyone know of a place to drop off clothing and textiles to be recycled? I have some stuff with rips and stains which isn't suitable to be donated to Goodwill, but I'd like to keep it out of a landfill.
A lot of clothing is now made of recycled yarn, so someone must be collecting it somewhere.

sweet tea wrote: ^i venture most of us perceive ourselves as renters who have no control over our heat and prefer not to die of hyperthermia.

been there, done that.

Perhaps in my example the problem is actually the economic distance of the guy who controls the heat (aka the super) from the bill, rather than the tenants themselves who wish the building would stop sending up so much heat.

...then we have little old lady problem: she can't get enough heat no matter what. ...it was the first example I could think of, but I think it sorta worked.

d_luxx, check out this page. It might have some info. I came across it recently, lots of good info.

http://www.brokelyn.com/the-unwanted-a-brooklyn-guide-to-getting-rid-of-all-your-crap/