In addition to the ban on wind energy (yes, hard as it is to believe, there were other issues!), hot topics on the agenda at Monday night's Town
Council meeting included trash disposal on town properties and recycling.
By Linda Felaco
The average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash per day, or about 1600 pounds per year. Where did your 4.4 pounds end up today? The town clerk's office sells about 2000 passes for the Charlestown Residential Collection Center (CRCC) each
year, but this actually accounts for fewer than 2000 households since people have the option to buy passes for more than one vehicle or might need a
replacement pass if they change vehicles at some point during the year.
So where does the rest of Charlestown's trash go? Some people pay private waste haulers, some burn their trash, and some dispose of it illicitly in
dumpsters at Cumby's,* Dunkin', or other local businesses. Or, as Town Administrator Bill DeLibero pointed out Monday night, at the town beaches during the summer.
Dumping household trash at the beaches of course raises costs for the town for removal and disposal. (Ditto for dumping it at the fire station,
although this was not mentioned in DiLibero's report.) According to DiLibero, for the most part it's renters of beach cottages dumping their trash at
the beach. His proposed solution ended up being the one point of unintentional hilarity in the entire proceedings, when he suggested that signage be
added informing people that they would be "violated" for disposing of their trash there. Of course he meant that they'd receive a violation, but
personally, having seen people dumping their trash there night after night when I'm at the beach after 5, I think they should be violated for
it.
DiLibero also pointed out that the problem is ultimately the fault of the owners of the cottages for not arranging for trash disposal for renters and
suggested that proof of proper trash disposal should be made a condition of receiving a cottage pass for the beach. I for one heartily endorse this
solution.
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| Town Administrator Bill DiLibero wants us to get full credit for our recycling efforts. |
Councilor Marge Frank then stated that the breachway beach is very clean and that there are no trash receptacles there, that upon arrival people are
given a bag to put their trash in. But Chief Shippee pointed out that a lot of those bags end up in the trash cans at the town beach. Perhaps when
Chief Shippee gets those red-light cameras for Route 1, a couple of them could be repurposed as trash-cams. Smile, slob! You're on CTB Camera!
As for those who avail themselves of the dumpsters at Cumby's or Dunkin to save themselves the cost of CRCC passes and bag tags, not only is it cheesy
to pawn your disposal costs off on others, but it's at minimum trespass and possibly vandalism, not to mention a violation of both the town ordinance
and state law on recycling if you're dumping recyclables and not just trash. Perhaps Chief Shippee could enlist local businesses with security cameras
to use them to bust illegal dumpers. This would help beef up revenue from our new municipal court.
But beyond the trash issue, what concerns me is the fact that on average, 60% of household trash could be recycled, but only about 13% of it actually is. Because if you're burning your trash,
or dumping at Cumby's, and not paying for a CRCC pass, you're obviously not recycling.
Which means you're costing the town money, because
the town gets money back from the Johnston landfill based on how many tons of recyclables we send up there.
I was appalled to learn that Charlestown gets the least amount of money back for recyclables from Johnston of any town in the state. And before you try
to tell me that's because our population is small, even Richmond got twice as much back as we did.
DiLibero's take on the situation is that given our respectable recycling rate—32% of total waste brought to the CRCC—we should be making more money
from recyclables. Although I suspect that rate is artificially high due to people who burn their trash or dump it illicitly but do actually recycle because
there's no charge to drop off recyclables at the CRCC. This is not necessarily a bad thing for the town, since the money earned from the recyclables
helps offset the costs of hauling trash to Johnston.
According to DiLibero, part of the problem is that the surrounding towns are getting credit for our recyclables, because private haulers aren't allowed
to use the CRCC and end up hauling their Charlestown customers' recycling to either Westerly or South Kingstown. And allowing haulers to use the CRCC
would increase costs more than we would get from the recyclables.
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| Chief Shippee has more important things to do than enforce the recycling laws. Do it because it's the right thing to do. (Town photo) |
But another part of the problem is that the haulers are not enforcing the recycling laws (recycling is mandatory under both state law and town
ordinance and have since 1986); DiLibero stated that 30% of Charlestown households that use private haulers do not recycle at all. The town ordinance
places enforcement responsibility on the Chief of Police, a burden Chief Shippee expressed no enthusiasm for and for which DPW Director Alan Arsenault,
who was DPW director back in '86 when mandatory recycling was first instituted, apologized; he says he argued against it at the time.
The discussion Monday night did not reach any firm conclusions. According to DiLibero, Charlestown has thus far managed to stay below the tonnage limit
for waste that would trigger a higher per-ton tipping fee at the Johnston landfill, so Council President Tom Gentz suggested that the issue be
revisited when we reach that limit.
But as someone whose family was recycling well before the 1986 passage of statewide mandatory recycling, which meant we had to start putting our
recyclables out at the curb and could no longer make money from them, I urge you, please, fork over the lousy $20 for the CRCC pass (it's a nickel a
day!), separate your recyclables (consult Recyclopedia if you're not sure what can or can't be recycled), and bring them to the CRCC, even if you don't
bring your trash there. It's not that hard, trust me, and it's going to get even easier next year when RI switches to "single-stream" recycling,
meaning you'll no longer need to separate paper and cardboard from the plastics, glass, and aluminum.
#1 and #2 plastics can be brought to the CRCC; all others, plus Styrofoam, you can recycle at Whole Foods† (though #5's have to be
separated from the rest). Bring your corks to Whole Foods as well; did you know there's a shortage of cork? Most large retailers have dropoff bins for
plastic bags and most types of plastic shrink wrap (though not cellophane, which is made of PVC and can't be recycled). Even if you don't give a fig
about the environment, do it to help offset Charlestown's tipping fees.
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*Cumberland Farms, of course.
†
I know, I know, it's north of the tower. But like it or not, given the number of statewide offices there, I'm sure you all have to go to Cranston
sometime. The Whole Foods in Garden City is right off of Exit 14, across from where the old coal mine used to be, so you can drop your greater-than-2 plastics, Styrofoam, and corks off whenever
you're lucky enough to win the lottery or have the bad luck to have to visit the dreaded operator control. You're also welcome to drop off them at my
house and I'll deliver them next time I visit my mom. She'll be so proud of me.