Nuance Alert: If you see the world in clear cases of right and wrong, black and white, us and them, you’re going to be confused by what you read next. I color myself fully for the environment. Climate change is real, human impacts are pushing the global environment out of balance, and we should absolutely
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What does it make sense to recycle? That’s not an answer under control of municipalities with recycling programs, because it depends on what the MRFs (material recovery facilities) will accept. And the Minneapolis-based MRF Fargo sends their recycling to is no longer accepting glass. It just doesn’t pay. It’s causing an abrupt change to Fargo’s
Read & Share sourced from: InForum
Minot City Council took action on garbage and landfill rates on Monday night. The larger your bin, the larger your rate increase with increases of a dollar for the largest 95-gallon bins and 50 cents for smaller bins. Plus, we’re building a new landfill cell at a cost of $2.35 million. Jill Schramm with The
Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News
The state of Washington has some of the highest recycling rates in the country, but usage is on the decline and landfills are still filling up. But they aren’t one to ignore the problem. And a new law is proposing a new approach — shift the waste stream burden from consumers to producers. It’s a
Read & Share sourced from: Route Fifty
Resident recyclers of Helena, Montana receive city-subsidized recycling rates, and both the rate and the subsidy are increasing in 2023. The cost for the City for the remainder of 2023 will be $16 per month, the cost to the resident will be ~$8 per month with the City of Helena subsidizing the difference. Both the
Read & Share sourced from: Helena Independent Record
When it comes to single-use plastic, England has decided the costs outweigh the convenience. They’re banning a bunch of stuff. Items caught in the policy net include plastic plates, trays, bowls, utensils, and other implements that find their way into the waste stream. England previously banned plastic straws in 2020. The goal is simple —
Read & Share sourced from: NPR
Recycling is a juggernaut. It has been so ingrained as the solution to waste management that we’ve failed to recognize that it’s just not very effective. For example, in a typical recycling program, only 15% of plastic actually gets collected for recycling. After collection, about 40% of the collected amount is discarded for poor quality.
Read & Share sourced from: Nature
Recycling. It’s been a regular topic of conversation in Minot recently. People — this writer included — want to see us be better stewards of the environment. Others — this writer included — aren’t sure we should be making big public investments in an industry that’s being turned upside down. Where’s it all going to
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The report on recycling will be delivered to Winnipeg City Council in June. While we don’t know the full amounts, it is known that the cost of recycling to the City and citizens will be going up. The reason: contamination rates. Much of Winnipeg’s recycling materials are hauled across the ocean to Malaysia or India,
Read & Share sourced from: Winnipeg Free Press
Many residents in Minot want to see citywide recycling, but before we invest big in the facilities and equipment, perhaps we should ask — what problem is it we’re trying to solve? One answer we’d expect to hear is we need to reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment. If that’s the case, then Matt
Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American
Minot recycling has been a contentious topic of late, and for those who support the effort, there are few reasons worthy of a delay. But circumstances far beyond Minot are wreaking havoc on the pillar of American environmentalism and forcing environmentalists to think differently about the practice. And one problem that’s been identified may surprise
Read & Share sourced from: Bloomberg
In case you didn’t know, the City of Minot had a plan to begin recycling this year. The first phase of the plan was automated garbage pick-up; that got done last summer. The second phase was building a transfer station at a cost of about $2.5 million; that was scheduled to begin about now. The
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With Minot’s recycling program recently delayed, it may be prudent to consider policy changes that hasten our arrival in the land of environmental stewardship. At least, that’s the perspective presented by Ayana Johnson writing commentary — though not specifically about Minot — at Scientific American.
Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American
I wonder what would happen if those of us in government made a deal with the taxpayers and citizens; here’s the framework: as our part of the deal, we in government offer to be smart and resourceful with our dollars and spend them as an investment in a worthwhile outcome. In return, we the taxpayers
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The City of Minot will take its first step towards a citywide recycling program starting in January. A fee increase will help cover deficits that have been running in the sanitation department as wells as $600,000 in the budget for 2017 will cover the acquisition of automated trucks and city-provided bins. Jill Schramm with the
Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News
Winnipeg city council members heard the details on a program to implement curbside organic waste pickup in the City. But the cost of the program has leaders concerned that it would hike already high water and sewer bills.
Read & Share sourced from: Winnipeg Free Press