Vegas Sculptor’s Blog

I remember back in the ‘70’s when the big oil companies told us we were running out of oil. Everyone was jumping on the “green” bandwagon trying to save the environment. People were buying small, fuel efficient, cars. They were installing solar collectors on their homes to help with energy use. They were doing many of the things that you see and hear about today.

Of course back then the oil companies were a little better at running their scam. They actually withheld gas from the market to create shortages. I guess since they ran most of the independent dealers out of business back then, they don’t need the excuse of shortages today.

But today’s trend toward environmentalism is a good thing, whatever the cause. It’s no doubt that we waste plenty of energy and resources. Anything that we can do to save is good, not only for our pocket books but for the environment too.

One thing we can all do without too much effort is recycle. I’ve always recycled my aluminum cans and cardboard. But with a little more effort almost everything can be recycled.

If you are good at it, like Eddie House, 53, of San Carlos, California, you might even be able to recycle everything and save some money by canceling your trash pickup service.

In an article I found at www.examiner.com Mr. House said “It’s just me and my dog, so I don’t have a whole lot of garbage to begin with and I recycle everything.”.

“House recycles paper, metal and plastics, regularly hauling them in his pickup truck to a recycling center and collecting the refund, he said. What little backyard waste he generates is ground into powder by his wood chipper and food scraps are either pulverized by his garbage disposal or eaten by his dog. House’s larger items are either sold or given to people on Craigslist, he said.”

So it’s pretty much a win, win situation for Mr. House and the city isn’t it? Mr. House gets a little money back from his recycling, saves the costs of trash pickup, and the city saves space in the landfill.

Unfortunately that’s not the way the city sees it. San Carlos Deputy City Attorney Linda Noeske filed a lawsuit in San Mateo Superior Court on Jan. 22, seeking a permanent injunction forcing House to maintain garbage service. City officials are also seeking to recoup from House the costs of the lawsuit.

What?? Yes, you read that right, the city sued Mr. House for canceling his trash pickup.

“The lawsuit claims House broke the city’s municipal code requiring all residential, commercial and industrial properties to contract with Allied Waste for pickup at least once a week — a standard requirement in most cities, San Carlos Deputy City Manager Brian Moura said.”

OK, since most cities contract with a trash service and, according to the article, require you to maintain service, this is not a service it’s a tax isn’t it? If I want trash pickup I should be able to hire anyone I want. Moreover, I should be able to elect to dispose of my trash however I want. If I want to haul it to the dump myself, I should have that right shouldn’t I?

Someone certainly shouldn’t be sued for recycling or required to pay for a service they’re not using.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm and is filed under news/rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.