In January, Algiers residents started being charged more for garbage pickup. Substantially more. Like double what we were paying before. Part of the pitch for this increase was that we would see the return of curbside recycling, which has been absent since Katrina unless you paid for a private service. Sure, there are monthly drop off points, but who has the space to save a month's worth of newspapers, soft drink cans and cardboard before loading it all in the car and schlepping it to the drop offs that only operate for a few hours?
I'm personally thrilled to see the return of recycling and I had my first recycling pick up today. (If you haven't signed up to receive your new cart, do it here: http://www.nola.gov/RESIDENTS/Department-Of-Sanitation/CartRegistration/). In the meantime, though, the City Council continues to argue about bar codes, tracking ability, the appropriate size of the containers and whether or not people should be allowed to use the blue bins some still have from before the storm.
There are 2 big complaints I'm reading about:
The new containers are expensive and the city has ordered thousands more of them than people have registered for
I'm no rocket scientist, but why would we need the ability to track a recycling container via embedded chips or bar codes that drive up the cost? It's a glorified garbage can - does it really need LoJack on it?
As an aside, until I read a news story a couple of weeks ago, I didn't realize that I needed to register to receive a new recycling container. When the city rolled out the old bins, they were delivered to each home with garbage pickup - without the need to complete a form and provide the city with my email address or phone number.
I'd happily use my old container if the person that swiped it would kindly return it to my front curb where it was last seen. Since it didn't have a bar code, I'm not able to call on the boys in blue to rescue it from it's current location and return it to me and I'll have to make do with a new bin that holds more recyclables.
The new rolling bins are too big and won't work in older areas like Algiers Point where storage space can be an issue
This is a valid concern for residents who live in our older neighborhoods that often don't have driveways or garages. They are already dealing with finding a spot for the huge garbage cans and may not have any space to spare for another rolling container. This makes forced registration a little more palatable but why not ask just the people who need a smaller bin to register?
Given the computer issues the city has had in the past, I'm not sure I can count on them getting this right if there are thousands upon thousands of registrations. Let's let them deal with the smallest number possible, minimizing the risk of a follow up story about people who ended up with two different size bins.
What are your thoughts on this? Will you register and get a new recycling container or are you opting out of the entire process?
Originally published at West Bank Living
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