PAYT mailing came today with a colorful glossy insert. That can’t be cheap. The “instructions” say that each trash barrel can only weigh 40 lbs. or it won’t be picked up.How does one determine exactly what their trash barrel weighs? The bags come in 15 and 32 gallon bags but each tenant will be throwing out different things which will weigh different amounts.
So, do we all invest in “trash barrel scales” to make sure we are in compliance with yet another rule? Should each person have their very own trash barrel – perhaps color coordinated with the yellow and purple PAYT bags? Oh, wait..that might make it too difficult for the drivers to easily identify or perhaps would confuse those neighbors who are actively asserting peer pressure to make sure we’re all in line.
Is there perhaps some way that the PAYT committee and SB could make this transition just a teeny, tiny bit more difficult?
Has no one coordinating this program ever heard of the term “user friendly”? It’s the opposite of what you’re doing.
User friendly...whats that?
User friendly…whats that?
I’m trying to get this straight. I’ll go somewhere and buy bags, preferable the 32 gallon so I can get more bang for my buck. But wait! Its trash day and my 32 gallon bag isn’t full yet so I guess I’ll save the trash til next week so I can fill the bag. Now its next week…..oops, my 32 gallon bag plus trash barrel weighs more than 40 lbs. So now they won’t pick it up. Guess I’ll need to buy some 15 gallon bags also, which per gallon cost more, so that my trash can be divided to weigh less than 40 lbs………..and the beat goes on and on and on etc.
Why does it matter what my trash weighs as long as I will be the one paying for the bags? Does the PAYT committee and SB think I’ll be out every day doing more shopping so I’ll have more trash so I can buy more bags so the town can have more money?
This entire PAYT goes from bad to worse way too often!
I honestly have no problem
I honestly have no problem with reducing the amount of ‘stuff” we toss into our landfills every day. I would actually like for my grandchildren to have a cleaner, healthier world to exist in. But,their are ways to implement big changes without making them punitive and with actually giving some though to the people who will be participating in the program. None of that has happened in this town. Other places who have implemented a PAYT program (and not just in Vermont) have taken their time to think about ALL the potential issues for everyone; to consider the cost and how it will affect their poorer residents; to be willing to compromise on some of the details and, here’s a novel idea – to actually have a committee made up of a cross section of the people who live in the town. Home owners; renters, landlords, the elderly, low income. That way you have the input of how the program will play out for all the people who will have to use it.
This town was looking for the most bang from someone else’s buck.
I don’t know why I continue to be surprised at the sheer level of tunnel vision and lack of understanding for how people actually live that is exhibited every day from the very people who are supposed to be making decisions that make this a better place to live. I predict there will be a huge fallout once this program goes into effect. I wonder how much it’s going to cost to pick up the increased amount of trash bags just dumped on the side of the road or in the woods?
Neither do I and I do believe
Neither do I and I do believe the majority of Brattleboro would agree and are willing to do their (fair)share.
A goal has been set and, as I see it, the problem is not what the goal is but how the town is choosing to achieve that goal.
Your prediction is right and it’ll be interesting to see the decision makers trying to pass the buck from one to another with nobody taking the responsibility for the mess they have made.
15 gallon?
Most “kitchen” sized trash cans are around the 20 gallon size. So now we’re supposed to buy new kitchen trash cans to accommodate smaller asinine-sized bags? And then I guess we’ll have to find new use for the old cans… this just goes on and on.
I'll weigh in
Since there will be no discount for an underweight bag, I fully intend to weigh my bags and fill to the maximum allowable weight.
We shouldn't have to weigh
We shouldn’t have to weigh our bags of trash. There is no weight limit on the current trash pick up system. If someone doesn’t happen to own a scale we’re supposed to…what? Go out and buy one so we know exactly how much our trash weighs? The town should be ashamed for the haphazard way this program is being introduced.
DIY PAYT
You really needn’t go to the trouble of buying a scale. Simply make a primitive teeter totter, set a fixed weight at one end totaling your body weight plus the weight of the bag you intend to use, then just step on the other end, pulling the bag onto the board. If you don’t drop to the ground…you’re good to go!
Ah... a little humor
Ah… a little humor …thanks! (I’m assuming your suggestion WAS humor!?)
'twas
estoy simpatico…you got to laugh..better than crying
Indeed. Plenty to cry about
Indeed. Plenty to cry about with the increasingly misguided implementation of this program.
Hear hear
I wish I had some place to store the trash so I could do the same. There’s just no place to put it in 3 small rooms; one corner of my kitchen is devoted to trash, recycling and compost already. This is a very, very badly orchestrated deal for apartment dwellers.
Hmmm
We will be utilizing FIVE storage options: our own home-made compost, town compost, bottles and cans, paper and cardboard, and trash. Not impossible, but it does take up much space. The main goal is to make the trash bag hard to get to. : )
New home builders and renovators – add a trash room, like a mud room or pantry, to future designs.
…
New job: I will weigh your bags for you. $3 per bag. : )
Not to put you anyone out of a weight weighing job...
…but is there a way to make sure only large, ultra strong and muscular people are hired to collect trash? Does it stand to reason that a 30 or 40 pound bag of trash would be so easy for such strong employees to lift that they’d be inclined to underestimate and therefore cause all this weight worry to vanish?
The current crew who picks up
The current crew who picks up the trash in our neighborhood seems perfectly capable of not only lifting and heaving very heavy; packed to the gills trash bags but often just life the entire trash barrel which- usually having 3 or 4 large bags of trash in it- certainly weighs in excess of a paltry 40 lbs. My cat litter comes in 40 lb bags and it’s fairly easy to get from one place to another.
It certainly is. My kitchen
It certainly is. My kitchen is very small. My recycling bins have to be kept in my hallway because there is just no room for even one additional bin. But, it’s pretty apparent that apartment dwellers aka “renters” (for the most part) were not high on the list of needs that should have been a part of all the PAYT discussions.
PAYT All the Way!
Looks like a lively discussion on the iBratt. First off, kudos to the recycling/compost/trash collection folks. What an amazing evolution and very exciting times. Can’t wait to see the impact as larger institutions (schools, businesses, restaurants, etc) move further down this path.
As a lifelong renter, I’d be happy to assuage any concern of PAYT. My partner and I started with the test go of town curbside compost pickup when it first became available a couple of years back. A way to get ready for PAYT and start decreasing our trash. At that time, we lived in a 3 unit apt building and shared a 13 gallon (small) container amongst all 3 units (a little tight). It’s really easy! We buy two kinds of bags. One type is for household trash, currently using the “tall” 13 gallon bags (which will become the 15 or 32 gal PAYT bags). The second are our small (3 gallon) kitchen compostable bags. On average, we spend about $10/year on both sets of bags combined. Unless the PAYT bags are WAY more expensive, this won’t change.
Because we had never really composted in our home before, it was a learning experience. It’s amazing what you can recycle these days! We cook a lot, so tend to have a lot of food scraps. On average, we go through about one 3 gallon compost bag/week…roughly 50-60 bags (2 boxes) per year. Because so many things are compostable, (all food, kleenex, milk/juice cartons, egg cartons, paper cups/plates, etc) and recyclable (plastic, aluminum, paper, glass, etc), very little needs to be thrown in the trash. On average, we throw out one 13-gallon trash bag every 6-8 weeks (about 1 box per year). This fluctuates depending on house work/projects, number of people in the house, etc.
As for containers, inside we have: one box for paper recycling underneath the sink (most of the recycling is paper), one small 10 gallon trash bin, one small 3 gallon indoor compost bin and a place for the plastic/glass/etc recycling next to the sink until it gets too outlandish. Every week, we bring the compost and recycling into our three outside containers: one 13 gallon compost and two recycling bins. We have a large trash bin we got from Ace for like $20, but as I mentioned, only take it out every 6-8 weeks or so.
One downside is the cleanliness and access of the 13 gallon outdoor compost container. As a renter, it’s hard to clean. So, not filling the indoor compost bags to capacity is key. Also, during the winter, it can be a hassle to bring the compost bag outside to the larger container, especially during big snow seasons like this past one. You have to move them often. A bit of a pain, but manageable and, you have to do it anyway for the trash and recyclable containers.
Other than that, it’s super cheap, really easy, and saves EVERYONE tax dollars. Triple win hi-five!
For stories, tips and tricks, check out the Windham Solid Waste Management District Website by following this link:
http://windhamsolidwaste.org
Oh, and as someone who organizes events quite often, totally take advantage of WSWMD’s “Event Recycling” centers that can be borrowed for FREE. Yes, for FREE! I held an event for 30 people in December, supplying food for everyone and used re-usable plates/utensils and ended up disposing of 0 trash! They are amazing!
http://windhamsolidwaste.org/index.php/recycling/event-recycling
Thank goodness for PAYT!
Chad
I will reiterate that I am
I will reiterate that I am all for any program that limits the amount of environmental damage that we – as humans – have contributed to. But, in all honesty, as enthusiastic as your post is -you don’t really address any of the issues that have run through this thread. Namely,how low income and seniors on affixed income are going to afford to pay $3.00 PER BAG when, right now, I pay approximately .25 per 32 gallon trash bag; how -if one lives in a studio apartment (which many seniors do) or just an apartment with a very small, inefficient kitchen -can multiple containers be effectively used. I have approximately 14″ of counter space in my kitchen- certainly no room for a compost container. Then , we come to the issue of estimating how much the filled trash bags weigh so as not to come home and find that the trash collectors refused to take them. The most pressing issue for elderly residents is that many seniors live alone- even with medical problems or dealing with some type of disability. The way the PAYT program is set up right now it’s going to put a burden on anyone who perhaps can’t physically deal with a bunch of extra containers in their home. I’m glad you’re so delighted with your experience. I suspect that few of us will share your enthusiasm for a poorly thought out program that puts unnecessary burdens on people who are already struggling. I think your experience is probably not the norm. I don’t know anyone -even with dedicated recycling – who only puts their trash out every 6 – 8 weeks. It sounds like your household is unusually committed to producing almost no trash- and – while that’s an admirable goal- most people don’t have the time , space or desire to be that committed. I’m happy to recycle; I would happily compost if space allowed but I have no intention of having the focus of my life be my trash.
The norm is no more
KAlden, I agree, my and other stories of limited trash is possibly not the norm. However, that is one of the two points of PAYT…shift the cost of trash collection from tax payers to users AND decrease the volume of trash. As a household, we throw away far less trash than we did 3 years ago. That’s a good thing.
Chad
" shift the cost of trash
” shift the cost of trash collection from tax payers to users”. As a renter my trash collection has always been included in my rent. That will no longer be the case. Nor, since I am not a property owner , be the recipient of any lowering of my property taxes. Nor is my rent going to be lowered to make up for the difference. And while I think there are probably some sympathetic, responsible landlords out there who will either supply some bags for their tenants or make a small adjustment to their rent – I don’t believe for one minute that they will be in the majority. So, renters will be expected to pay for what was once included in their rent and pay 10 x the amount for each trash bag they use. Trash amounts, for some people with very limited living space will not change that much due to not having room, ability to compost. This is not the win/win situation that it’s being touted to be. It’s a win/win for some and an expensive and stressful situation for others. As I’ve said dozens of time there was a way to implement this program to make it a little easier for elderly and low income residents and a decision was made to NOT do it that way.
Poor Renters
If low income renters got subsidized bags, either from the town or from their landlords, then they would have absolutely no incentive to compost, recycle and reduce their garbage. I’m sorry, but if people have enough money to fill their trash cans with packaging and disposable junk, I have no sympathy with their complaints about not having the money to pay for the true cost of disposal. Landlords have been subsidizing wasteful behavior for far too long.
It seems that the real issue here is the gross disparity in wealth in our culture. I doubt if this debate would be happening in a more egalitarian society if that society were really committed to dealing with the destruction of the planet.
Next up: the carbon pollution tax.
Yet another judgement call
I have a been a renter for my entire adult life – in big cities and small towns and -when it was available -have ALWAYS recycled. I am very aware of excess packaging issues and when I do make purchases – particularly the rare , larger purchases- I will buy from a company that uses recyclable and environmentally econonomic packaging. Being offered a slightly lower price on PAYT bags will not affect my desire or incentive to recycle and I think that is true for many renters. When a landlord determines what the rent for any apartment will be they take into account what their expenses are to own that property, including their taxes for town services. Now, landlords are going to be getting somewhat of a break due to the implementation of PAYT.
Why would they not choose to pass a small portion of that onto their tenants? The miniscule amount of money that the town would lose by offering a sliding scale cost for bags would not cause even a ripple in their estimated savings. And, would give the message – which is seldom, if ever heard in this town – that the elected officials care about helping their less affluent residents. Other towns have offered either a set amount of free bags or a lower price if your income was below a certain level. It’s not that hard to do. But, of course, to do that , they would have to actually be willing to take a look at who really lives in their town.
Blanket statements like yours, that make negative judgements about people you don’t even know is part of the issue. In terms of PAYT there were many important issues that should have been taken into account that weren’t. The cost of the bags is just one of them. Often times on this site people like to call out folks who they think are “crying poor” but “really” aren’t. People are judged for the food they buy, the various ways in which they spend their money and now, apparently, are among a group of people who have no incentives to make life better. Everyone tries to live their life the best way they can and sometimes they need a little bit of help. It seldom means that they aren’t responsible, worthwhile human beings. You don’t know what other people’s lives are like or what challenges they may face on a daily basis yet you’re quick to judge them. You shouldn’t be talking the talk if you aren’t walking the walk.
Add 100$ + yearly
15 gal bags will be 2$ each.
32 gal bags will be 3$ each.
I’ve been recycling for 30 years in 4 states. Composting, too, where I had outdoor room for it.
Your post is sweet but ignores the cost, which is not “super cheap” to the poor and those on fixed incomes. In fact, this negates any COLA increases people get and rents will not go down because this item is no longer in the town budget. There was no thought given to how people will afford this nor the ramifications we will see from it, along the roadsides and in the woods.
Nice try for rainbows, though.
Did you Say Double Rainbow?
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3ee734c4b0/double-rainbow-song
For serious, yeah, the $2/bag & $3/bag is wack. And yes, the size/storage does cause an issue. Two solutions we can do simultaneously. First, let’s get in touch with the town to see if we can figure out a slightly more realistic cost/bag. According to my math, I pay about $.17/bag ($5/box, 30 bags/box…which is on the high side). So, $2/bag is preposterous, agreed. If enough citizens are engaged, I have no doubt we can have some traction here. Second, let’s create less trash. My partner and I don’t necessarily skimp. So, if we got a little more wise on what we bought and what we trashed, I realistically think we could get by with one 15 gal bag every 12 weeks (3 months)…that’s $8/year. I can deal with than.
Sure, PAYT is not perfect. As I mentioned in my post above. So, let’ move it towards perfect. Send your concerns to our representatives (see message below, which I just sent to our elected officials) and let’s get it done.
Cheers!
Chad
———-
Greetings select board members and town officials. Thank you for moving Brattleboro forward on PAYT. As you can see in my below IBrattleboro post, I am very excited about the coming implementation of PAYT. My partner and I have been participating in the town wide curbside compost program to decrease our net trash and increase our contribution to community compost. We are very excited to see this move towards full implementation (please read my below iBrattleboro post on the topic). That being said, we have some concerns. First, I notice that the price/bag is $2/15 gallon bag and $3/32 gallon bag. This seems more than slightly expensive. While our family is quite fortunate and could afford this massive cost increase, I wonder if all Brattleboro families could (currently, we purchase Seventh Generation 13 gallon trash bags for about $5/box…or approximately $.17/bag). I’m concerned this will put an undo cost burden on local families. Can we as a town find a way to decrease this cost/bag fee? For example, since Seventh Generation is a VT-based company and already manufactures “strong and durable made with 55% repurposed plastic” trash bags, couldn’t we find a way to contract with them to manufacture appropriate bags for Brattleboro PAYT? Especially, since this is state law. It only makes sense.
Second, I’m concerned for how this will impact renters. Again, our household is fortunate and has the outdoor space to store a 15 or 32 gallon bag over several weeks if not more than 2 months, but this doesn’t seem realistic for most Brattleboro renters. In a majority of the 4 rental spaces I’ve lived in in Brattleboro over the past 10 years, I can’t recall a space where it was reasonable to store a large garbage container over multiple weeks where it would not interfere or be in the way of my neighbor.
It seems like the most logical solution would be to offer small, extremely affordable options for Brattleboro households. Aligning with the win-win for the town and citizens, providing affordable and encouraging options for citizens is both good for the household and for the town.
I appreciate you consideration and welcome any ideas and feedback. Thank you!
Chad Simmons
PAYT concerns
I do not think the 40# limit on bags is going to be a serious problem. I am not planning to ever weigh my trash. With compost and recyclables being picked up with no charge the trash portion of most residential solid waste is plastic packaging. It would be difficult to get 40# of this into a bag in the first place. Our ‘trash’ has gotten very light with all the bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, and compostables removed from it.
I do hear the concern of folks about how to manage the different types of materials in small apartments. I am guessing the amounts will be fairly small with one person in a one bedroom apartment. This program has changed our set up for trash in several ways:
We have 2 small containers in the bathroom – one for trash and one for compostables. We have a box for paper recycling and the green tub for bottles, cans and recyclable plastics. We keep a small pail under the sink for vegetable compost and a plastic tub for municipal compost (food soiled paper, etc). It sounds complicated but it is really quite logical and manageable. We got ideas from friends and neighbors and I imagine there will be a lot of idea sharing and even collaboration among friends and neighbors.
The issue about the cost of the bags has come up again here. The price of the bags is not determined by the cost of plastic bags. The cost of the bags was set by the actual cost of collecting, transporting, tipping and managing solid waste. The town used to have about $1,000,000 in the general budget for trash pick up, recycling collection – and tipping fees. The solid waste is now a separate town budget (like the water/sewer budget).
The town is transferring $500,000 of tax money this coming fiscal cycle into this budget. The sale of PAYT bags is estimated to raise an additional $350,000 each year for a total of $850,000 – a reduction in total cost of $150,000.
PAYT is an opportunity for all of us to be resourceful in reducing the financial and environmental costs of the solid waste we generate every day.
Andy
Andy, at this point it
Andy, at this point it doesn’t matter to me WHY the PAYT bags cost as much as they do. What matters to me is that in a few weeks I will be forced into paying more than 10 times for a bag than what I now pay. Just to put trash in. And,unless the bags are going to both fill themselves and walk themselves to the curb for pick-up that’s too much money. There should have been an option for low income residents to pay a lower cost. There isn’t and that is the problem with these bags. That and the lack of concern for the non property owners who will not be having the savings passed along to them.
The Selectboard has been made
The Selectboard has been made aware – many times- by both emails and public participation at meetings that people are concerned about the cost of bags which offer no sliding scale pricing like other towns have done- and the manner in which the program is being implemented. They don’t care. You can send them all the letters you want and try to appeal to their more compassionate side( good luck with that). The fact is that they feel and have stated that this is a done deal. It sounds from your posts like perhaps you haven’t had many circumstances where you have tried to have your viewpoint or concerns listened to by the SB. If so, you are a fortunate man, indeed.
Those who will be most affected by PAYT were never asked to participate in the process of decision making when this program was initially being discussed.
Maybe if they had been we would all be engaging in a different conversation.
And, regarding the multiple containers- petite though they may be- has no one thought about the difficulty of having to carry several containers to the curb every week when someone is disabled? How do you manage that if you’re dependant on a cane or a walker? What about someone who has a debilitating joint disease and lives on the 2nd or 3rd floor?
Lots of questions and not one single answer being offered by the people who decided this was the best way to run this program.
We have a better chance of seeing a thousand rainbows over Brattleboro tomorrow, Chad, than we have of the SB giving a #!#+ about any of this.
Other Towns and Actual Costs
Just as a matter of perspective, it might be worth looking at what other towns of a similar size do and what they pay. From Andy’s post above, apparently Brattleboro pays a total of $850,000 a year for collection and disposal of trash and recycling.
Many towns in Vermont do not offer curbside pickup at all – residents either take their own trash to a transfer station or they contract with a hauler as individuals. Looking at their town reports and websites, Springfield (population about 9,400), Milton (population about 10,400), and Bennington (population about 15,600) apparently do not do town-wide collection. Springfield uses a ticket system for trash at their transfer station; every 4 pounds costs $0.45, so throwing out a 32 gallon, 30 pound bag would cost $13.50. Hartford (population about 9,900) does do collection and their recent budgets have been about the same as Brattleboro’s, around $900,000, so our costs don’t seem to be out of line.
The way Brattleboro is implementing PAYT, it will pay the $850,000 total waste management cost with $500,000 of municipal property taxes and $350,000 collected from the sale of PAYT bags. That means the bag cost is actually only about 40% of the actual cost of picking up and disposing of the trash (and recycling) – if we really wanted the waste management system to pay for itself without a property tax component, the bags would cost 2.5 times as much, $5 and $7.50.
I’m not proposing that we should increase the cost of the bags, and I’m sympathetic to the issues of storage space and transportation that people are raising. My point is that curbside collection is a service that Brattleboro doesn’t have to offer, but waste management is a service that we have to pay for, one way or another. If people don’t like the way the town is doing it, they can always have their town meeting reps vote it out of the budget entirely and people can make their own arrangements.
Great framing Glenn. This
Great framing Glenn. This makes perfect sense. I’m still concerned with the impact of the cost shift on some Brattleboro households and hope there is some discussion on how to ease this burden, especially in the first months of implementation.
Chad
clarifying question
I am wondering how KAlden is managing trash and recycling now – without PAYT. The move from trash/recycling to trash/recycling/compost is not a huge shift. Why not share a bag with a neighbor each week?
The cost is certainly a hit. But it is also just one of the many changes that inevitably come our way. Since the water treatment plant was rebuilt I have watched my water/sewer bills go up and up. Then the price of gas dropped recently. Some things go up and others go down. New efficiencies are discovered and creative ways are devised to outwit the bureaucracy, and so forth. There must be ways to collaborate among friends and neighbors to reduce the impact.
Andy
Andy, right now I have a
Andy, right now I have a medium size trash barrel in my kitchen; small trash basket in the bathroom. In my front hall I have 3 recycling containers. Because I cook a lot I would love to be able to compost my kitchen has 14″ of counter space between the sink and the stove and I have 1 cabinet under the sink where I keep cleaning supplies, bags of cat litter. With the exception of a couple of upper kitchen cabinets -that’s my total “free space”. So, until I live somewhere else where I am able to compost- my trash output is not going to change very much. I already recycle everything that is recyclable. I send numerous donations of good, used items to Experienced Goods or the Swap Center. It’s not that I’m not already doing what I’m able to do. Because I’m disabled and have a severe joint disease; dependent on a cane I’ve been lucky to have a neighbor who will sometimes take my trash, etc. down to the curb for me. Otherwise, I’m making 4 trips up and down stairs to get all my recycling and trash out for pick up. I get it that to someone who lives in their own house with adequate space; perhaps a garage to keep recycling in; who is physically able to perform a variety of chores and who has an income of more than $8,000 a year that PAYT probably isn’t a huge deal. But, to the rest of us who live in that other world it is a hardship both financially and physically. I hope I have answered all your questions about how I currently deal with my trash and recycling. Lots of people posting here have many answers about how easy the transition will be or suggestions to share bags with a neighbor, etc. The reality is that to most people who are poor, elderly or disabled any small wrinkle in the way we live or pay for our expenses is significant. I’m not sure why that’s so difficult to understand.
It is not so difficult to understand
It is not so difficult to understand your situation, but it is still a problem awaiting a solution. As we transition to more sustainable systems I personally believe we will find ourselves more connected to neighbors. I believe there must be ways to reduce the impact on folks in your situation. If not, we are a crass and insensitive society. However, change has come to the world of solid waste and we have to find a way to make it work.
Yes, we also have to make multiple trips to the curb with our stuff – rather a single bag of ‘trash’ as in the good old days. We do have more space – a laundry room and a shed – that makes storage more convenient. Have you discussed the situation with your landlord? I would directly to Moss Kahler – one of the town PAYT coordinators – and skip the select board entirely. Moss is a very creative individual who spearheaded the petition that overturned the original PAYT proposal because of what he thought were unfortunate consequences for people with low incomes… He needs to hear from folks with your issues.
Andy
Lack of response
I did send emails to Moss and other members of the PAYT committee ( and also to the SB) early on in the process when I saw that certain potential problems didn’t seem to be addressed. I never heard back. My landlord has no interest in doing anything to make our trash/recycling/composting disposals any easier. It’s an ongoing struggle to just get adequate trash barrels for all the tenants. Anything that I have read about the possibility of sliding scale bag costs or even the question of how elderly or disabled people who don’t drive will get their bags has taken the tone of “sorry – we just can’t consider that.” I’m not hopeful that at this late date anyone is willing to make any concessions – no matter how necessary they may be.
PAYT - please clarify
Living in West Brattleboro, and having never received an info packet, I am perusing the PAYT site, but still don’t get a few details…will someone please explain simply:
USED cat litter…someone told me this goes into the compost, but all I see on the PAYT list is that dog poop in bags goes to compost. How can the amount of chemicals used in many common litter brands, plus the highly toxic cat waste be ok in compost?
Is this poop ridden, chemically laced compost purified somehow?
Are people really using this compost to grow vegetables?
USED facial tissue, q-tips….compost?
USED make up pads and cotton balls….trash?
There are chemicals and metals in make up and random body fluids, etc on both types of items…why are the pads and cotton balls trash but the tissue compost?
OTHER PEOPLE DUMPING….I live in an area where 7 neighbors all put their garbage/recycling in one pile at the end of our road where it is picked up. The end of our private road is a very busy, public road where anyone can easily dump their stuff…and have frequently in the past. Realistically, how can we keep other people from dumping their inappropriately bagged garbage or other items at out location?
THE BAGS…are they 100% biodegradable? Are they made from any percentage of post-consumer recycled plastics? The bags I buy now are one or both, so for me to buy a non-bio bag would be be setting the concept back.
I am very much in favor of the PAYT program, but the details above really trouble me, so any clarity would be appreciated.
according to the flyer
Acceptable compostable material:
tissues, paper towels, milk/juice cartons (plastic spout removed) soiled/waxed paper and cardboard, cardboard egg containers, sugar/flour bags,paper cups/plates, pizza trays, q-tips, butcher paper, paper butter wrappers.
bread/rolls, rice, pasta, beans, egg shells, cooked/raw fish and meat, dairy products, fruit/veg peels, tea bags, coffee grounds/filters, cooking oils/fats, shellfish, bones, nuts and shells.
pet waste (no plastic, and it does not say litter), small wooden crates/berry baskets, hair and fur, house plants, “compostable” cups, plates and utensils.