Maryland
Boonsboro officials: Money for curbside recycling isn't there
BOONSBORO — Boonsboro town officials on Monday debated curbside recycling in town but rejected the idea when they accepted a bid for regular garbage pickup.
Town council member Barbara Wetzel suggested curbside recycling, but other officials said they did not think the town could afford it.
Council members — with the exception of Wetzel — approved a $170,305 bid from Key Sanitation for an 18-month garbage collection service.
There were options to add recycling to the plan, including one for once-a-week curbside service that would have cost an extra $123,362.
An option that offered curbside recycling twice a month would have cost an extra $73,580.
Mayor Charles F. “Skip” Kauffman Jr. said the town could not afford the $73,580.
“The money’s just not there,” Kauffman said.
Assistant Mayor Howard Long said towns are probably going to face more state funding cuts in the struggling economy.
Council member Kevin Chambers also said he did not think the town could afford recycling.
“I think we’ve discussed this enough,” Chambers said.
Wetzel took her colleagues to task for not considering a plan that would have reduced the number of garbage pickup days in town and including some recycling.
Wetzel tried to make an amendment that would allow the town to negotiate different terms in the contract after it was approved.
Although Kauffman approved the idea, Chambers would not accept Wetzel’s amendment when he made a motion to accept the Key Sanitation contract.
At a public meeting in Boonsboro last May, residents pushed for curbside recycling and described recycling efforts in the county as being in the “Dark Ages.”
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Comments:
SOME residents - a very small number - "pushed for curbside recycling" so don't make it out that the council is fighting the will of the people. (Report this comment)
Thank you town council!!! Let "the residents" that pushed for it pay for it! (Report this comment)
Yeah!! The mayor and council are voicing the real will of the majority of the people of Boonsboro. (Report this comment)
Such a small minded council. Garbage pick-up twice a week? I suppose that's because "it's always been that way." Why not offer recycling pick-up one-week a month in place of a garbage run? That should result in a decrease in garbage costs, making funds available for recycling. By the way, it wasn't a very small number of residents. If you wanted to know the number of residents in support of recycling, you should have asked. Don't just base it upon who shows up to a meeting. Such a small minded council. (Report this comment)
I have a great idea, let the people of Boonsboro pay for their own garbage pick up or take it to the landfill themselves. This would save the town money, and then they could just pay for recycling and save the earth. (Report this comment)
The whole recycling thing was started by some lonely housewives in Crestview who's husbands spend a lot of time at work/commuting in the DC area. (Kinda easy to see why if you knew the parties involved.) They "needed" a cause and this is all crunchy-granola sounding so they took it on. (Report this comment)
Recycling is a great thing and it is what all of us need to do to save the earth. They are pushing recycling in schools and to our kids. When we put a recyclable in the trash my kids are bothered by it because they feel a strong sense of doing what is right for the earth. I know the town can't afford it, so just keep doing whatever you can. We still recycle and make weekly trips down behind Ace to the big containers. It would be great if the town could get the funding to do it down the road. At least weekly pickup is necessary due to the amount that piles up in containers so quickly. (Report this comment)
Regardless where the idea came from, I'm aware of many community members that would support this. Just seems like the right thing to do. I'm surprised by some of the dissent considering the fact we live in such a historical region. Preservation is not too different than conservation (leveraging the reuse of available resources - saving land for the benefit of our posterity). It sounds like this idea was simply trying to make it more available. (Report this comment)
Recycling is only a part of the picture. If people take care to properly dispose of unwanted materials, such as paper, cans and bottles, they become aware of other things around them, such as how important it is to conserve finite resources such as water. They learn how to fix something instead of tossing it in favor of a new something. They learn how to save money while they do it. We are putting tons of waste into a landfill, which costs millions of dollars to build and maintain. Oh, we are paying, you can bet your bottom dollar. Recycling household waste is something individuals can do to help the environment and to save money in the long run. Washington County is a generation behind. It's time that the so-called leaders do the repsonsible thing and make a curbside recycling program happen. Cities in other locations are working on "zero-waste" programs while we're resisting to take even the first step. Oh, and by the way, "WashCoWatcher," name calling doesn't add anything productive to the discussion. (Report this comment)
WashCoWatcher why personally attack these people, what have they done to you other then find a cause they believe in and are using citizen participation to try to get their idea implemented. That is the American way. (Report this comment)
washcowatcher...what a nasty, unproductive and very short sided view. I for one do not live in crestview. However believe that recycling is just the right thing to do. Get with the times man. (Report this comment)
I for one DO live in Crestview. Nothing wrong with recycling. It needs to be based on a sound foundation of conservation of resources which is what bugs me about these people. ALL of them are transplants with spouses who waste hundreds of gallons of gas a month commuting down the road. If they want to play environmentalist get with the real program and forego the McMansion lifestyle. It is hypocritical to want another town service that is not affordable for MANY Boonsboro residents. (Report this comment)
Good luck Boonsboro!! With Councilwoman Wetzel, you are going to have left wing proposals her entire term. You made the right decision about the recycling issue. If Wetzel is so passionate about it, maybe she will pay the money needed to implement it. (Report this comment)
It sounds like we've found common ground - nothing wrong with recycling. Now lets find a solution, not complain about other's actions. The current recyclying options are not enough. This problem will not be solved by one single solution. If cost is the only factor, then we need an open-minded town council to pursue and consider options, not what we have today (with the exception of Wetzel). (Report this comment)
So what if they are transplants, does that mean that unless you have not lived in Boonsboro for 10 generations you have no say in the direction of the town. Most transplants move out here for economic reasons or lifestyle reasons, like they want their kids to have a yard to play in rather than a postage stamp that comes with a townhouse. (Report this comment)
I think curbside recycling is needed to get more residents to recycle. The idea of a once a month pick-up for recycling and even a once a week pick-up for garbage is a great idea. What will happen to the grant from Nora Roberts to the town for the purposes of recycling if the town does not approve of curbside pick-up? Maybe the town residents should get a vote instead of just a few council members deciding for the whole town. (Report this comment)
No, it means transplants who profess to "care" so much for the environment should understand that part of the friggin environment is PEOPLE who have populated the area for years and are, because they are native to the area, in many cases suffering financially. In other words, the limousine liberals who are moving in with their cause-du-jour don't take into account how much their pet projects *cost* the poor people. If they had done a complete economic impact study they would realize the cost of curbside pickup in the area is not sustainable - and that is the name of the game. Sustainable lifestyles ARE what will make recycling and lal the other crunchy-granola projects work. (Report this comment)
Boonsboro is home to many walks of life and not everyone will be in support of curbside recycling, but an "economic impact study" must first be done before you can site its findings. Knowing this town's council, that type of study would be determined by a measure of "change" compared to status quo. Any change is too much, therefore, vote no. Such a small minded council. (Report this comment)
I would counter that everyone is suffering financially. All of our house values are down, all of our property taxes are up and all of our jobs are at risk. Curb-side recycling is doable if you reduce the number of trash pickups per week, and transfer the savings into paying for the recycling. Why does trash need to be picked up 2 times per week? If you reduced pick-up to once per week and that reduced the cost of the contract by 45% you would have enough to cover the twice per month curbside recycling cost. Boonsboro is already going to spend 170,305, so why does it matter if the money pays for trash pickup 2 times per week or trash pickup 1 time per week and recycling 2 times per month? (Report this comment)
Because very little dollar you take from the poor people hurts them. Adding curbside recycling is another layer of bureaucracy that will only tax them more. Leave recycling as it is - voluntary - so it won't hurt the poor people. Remember over a dozen years ago when Boonsboro implemented a "temporary" surcharge to water bills of $19/quarter. That may seem like chump change to you but it really affected a large number of fixed-income people in town. And look how temporary it turned out to be... but that's another boondoggle. The idiots who run things in this county look at Boonsboro as having a median income of $50k/year based on the reality that there are people who make $100k AS WELL AS $0 so they "plan" accordingly! That isn't good thinking. (Report this comment)
The town of Boonsboro is going to spend $170,305 regardless of if it is only on trash collection or on a combination of trash collection and recycling...if you went with 1 time per week trash collection you could then use the remaining money for the curbside recycling and it wouldn't cost anyone anything extra. Since the curbside recycling would be done under the same contract there would be no additional bureaucracy or overhead, other than people putting out the recycling containers on the appropriate days. Recycling would still be voluntary, you would choose to participate or not, just like you do today, curbside would just make it more convenient. (Report this comment)
What's wrong with Wetzel...every month still pushing her own agenda for the recycling...over and over the same thing! She should resign from the town council or they should remove her for being disruptive and combative towards the Town Council.If the supposed majority of residents in Boonsboro want the recycling pick-up service, then they should have enough money to be able to pay for it themselves and stop trying to force it on the town. (Report this comment)
By your logic Tyman, if a majority of residence want trash pickup then they should pay for it themselves and not make the town pay for it, since there are some residence who would probably not mind driving their trash to the dump, and if a member of the town council fights for a particular issue they should be removed from office. (Report this comment)