I need an opinion here...?

Question

Ok so I don't know if this has happened to any other state/city then mine but here's the scenario:
One day, I woke up to find a blue bin on my curb. The blue bin was for recycling. Here's the catch. I get charged every month for just having this recycle bin; whether or not I actually use it to recycle. Wouldn't this be a taxation?
Here's the garbage companies defense: We're distributing the bins as zones and not as each and every individual. Therefore it's something like a gas meter or pressure meter. It's just a requirement.
But don't you think that it's a tax? I mean, I did not choose to do this, no one voted on it, someone just right out decided to make us pay for recycling. We called the garbage people and they said, "There is no way to get out of this. You can do whatever you want with the bin but we hope you use it to recycle. If not, some people have used it as a planter and even a cat bed.
So tell me, what's your opinion on this?

Woh hey wait a minute here. I don't think that I made this clear. I have no problem with helping my environment. In fact, I'd love to recycle. But the problem is I am forced to pay money. If they would have just given me the bin, I would have GLADLY recycled. But this, I don't know.. It just doesn't seem right to me! Maybe it's just me..

Answer 1

I'll side with you on this. I"ve had my dilemas with recycling and think it unfair we have to pay to actually HELP our planet. However in the long run it's better to recycle and pay than to just not recycle at all i mean we ARE saving our planet. However I think you should be able, if you don't want to recycle, to cancel the service. I myself have orange bins and am not sure if blue is any different but from experiecne i am allowed to cancel my recycling any time. So I would check around for any loop holes in this situation and if not consider asking a lawyer friend if they are really able to do this.

Answer 2

I think you are now part of a legally required recycling program. Most places require that when the governing body passes a legal requirement for the good of the people, then the people are required to abide by that law until changed.
It's the same thing with those rules as speeding or waste disposal or a sanitary septic system. The rules are in force for the good of the general public.
I don't know where you're located, but my part of Pennsylvania has used government grants to fund the start up of local recycling and it has no direct user cost (we all paid the tax money that provided the grants anyhow), but most households realize savings by not being charged to remove the items as garbage. Waste disposal is an ala carte item here.The increasing rare landfill space & higher fuel costs will dictate the price to dispose of our waste. This same area is still trying to environmentally recover from past earth abuses.
I feel that I'm at the age when I won't be around for the large scale destruction of our planet, but have been doing my part for recycling for at least 20 years. My conscience will not let me do otherwise. I am not a naturalist, but a great lover of nature. I'm glad to do my part & hope others do too. I might also suggest along those lines, do get rid of your incandescent bulbs & try to use your microwave instead of the oven or stove. Knowing the math that dictates the use of those items can be measured in power plants if we all would do that.
Arnold is correct! Try that "solar dryer" your mother probably used too, it's cheap and provides exercise without driving to a gym.

Answer 3

If it is truely for the common good, then yes it is a tax I can accept. However, some recycling programs are run by well meaning beaurocrats who mis-manage the program and and end up wasting more resources than they save, simply to be able to say "we're earth friendly". If you do not use the recycle bin call your city and ask that they pick-up your bin and see if they will take the charge off your bill. I have seen some cities with well run recycle programs whose cost of picking up these materials are covered in the sales of the recycle products to manufacturers. Now that is earth friendly!

Answer 4

It is the garbage police. In my town, we are no longer allowed to choose not to recycle cardboard. All cardboard has to be recycled. Okay, that is great....but.....When I buy the stuff that comes in the box, I have paid for the cardboard. Then I use my time to make sure it all gets very carefully put away, until I haul it to the recycle, then I pay the fuel to haul it to the recycle. Then this guy who has the contract with the city takes the cardboard to a buyer and then he gets paid for it. Must make some money, because why else would he do it? Why can't I sell my cardboard to him? And why isn't there a deposit on milk jugs? I take 40 jugs a month to the recycle. And newspapers....those are mine too, I paid for them. Then I take them to the recycle and someone sells them. I think I should be able to sell someone my nice clean recyclables. I am the one that has to wash all my garbage and store and trundle all my recyclables. I would be happy if someone put a blue bin out for me, but I would be mad if I had to pay for it. I do already absorb quite a bit of the costs of recycling already thank you very much. In a city I used to live in they had water meters, and you had to pay for how much water you used. The new world has a lot of learning to do, and the people who are paying attention are going to be ahead of the game when we get there.

Answer 5

In a perfect world, everyone would volunteer to recycle, but let's face the facts. Most Americans are too lazy to recycle! Recycling is more expensive than just burying trash in the ground. Someone has to pay, and it's about time we began to take recycling as a serious solution to land fill waste. It just isn't enough to do it on a volunteer basis. It's about time the state steps in and makes us recycle. Land fills are a problem we all have, therefore it's only fair, we all take part in recycling, even if it cost us a few extra dollars a month.

Answer 6

I moved into Roseville, there was an orange recycle bin in my garage. My curb pickup is in my taxes. When I lived in Macomb Twp. in the $400,000.00 neighborhood B4 my divorce, I had bought nice large cans, had the same Garbage company and paid directly to them a monthly fee. No prob with the cans. Moved her in the $140,000.00 neighborhood and the men wouldn't pick them up! I callled and argued with the company, what a waste of time, of course I know better, they can blow u off the phone, we should write LETTERS to the company, those are evident and must be addressed. Not fair to be told u must use the blue bin, in fact I do care about the enviorment, I personally handed the orange bin to the garbage man and told him to toss it in the truck, he did. I recycle a lot, So many buy those plastic jugs for laundry soap, and really for solution for 1 problem always creates another!

Answer 7

I do think you have a right to feel bitterness towards this situation it seems things like this are happening more and more as I'm sure they will continue to. My advice to you is to look at the bright side it will be good for your community to start to recycle more therefore giving you grandchildren and theirs a better chance at life. I love our country but I feel we are becoming a little less free to make our own decisions everyday perhaps you could take it the next step and get a petition to modify the laws or create new ones allowing you the freedom of choice in at least your recycling bin! Again try to look at the bright side there is always one to look to!!! Good Luck

Answer 8

This is my opinion. It is getting harder and harder to find suitable landfills for the nation's garbage. Recycling is a very good solution to this problem and the bins encourage it. Perhaps you would like the alternative, which would be a hefty increase on your taxes to fund new landfills. Also, since the present administration has backed itself into a corner by starting wars and cutting taxes, it is making up some of the lost funding by slashing a host of other programs. One of those programs might be subsidies to states for garbage disposal. The states, in turn, pass these cuts onto the local municipalities. This comes back to average citizens as an increase in local taxes. Hey, but we have to win this war on terrorism, right?

Answer 9

My bin is red. I agree that there should not be an extra charge. Do you realize that the refuse companies SELL their recycled plastic, glass, and cans? So, they are charging us so they can make money!! Seems like a win win situation for the refuse companies, but a lose, hassle for the general public.

Answer 10

I am not saying this to be mean but please do some research on Global warming and the problems we are facing in the NEAR future. Many do not take that stuff very serious but recently I have learned some things that would make you not even question a lil bit having to put some money into recycling. It is way worse than you think!! Take some time and do a search on the dangers of global warming.