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NORWALK, Conn. TheDailyNorwalk.com accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be emailed to letters @ thedailynorwalk.com.
To the Editor,
Recycling offers a chance to save real taxpayer dollars on many levels.
During the city budget-making process that is still in play, we have been requested as citizens to help find places in the operating, capital and Board of Education budgets where thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars can be saved, thus reducing the tax burden on a struggling population.
By examining the city budget pages, one could find that trash-hauling and leaf-hauling costs are unnecessarily huge. What a waste of taxpayer dollars! By examining the Board of Education budget, for example, one could find that there is a surprising lack of a consistent recycling program at every school, with some principals frustrated. Both the Department of Public Works and Board of Ed staff have offered some assistance, but have yet to implement a truly effective plan.
Fingerpointing by these two departments has not solved this issue, identified years ago by groups such as the League of Women Voters and PTOs.
Many of the public assume that we have a recycling program at our schools and are surprised to find out that many schools do not have a truly consistent baseline program. Each PTO could and should give feedback and tell the city to get this program implemented no later than the fall of 2012!
There are cost savings and added revenue opportunities that are being lost due to the way our city handles many of its waste streams.
Many members of the public are now placing their leaves in bags for city curbside pickup or bringing them to the public works department. They do not realize that with a little bit of encouragement and education, many could actually create rich and not-smelly compost in their own back yard, a program abandoned by the city as it just became easier to haul the leaves "out-of-site, out of mind" to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year!
Let's have an open dialogue!
While Norwalk has a recycling program and citizens have been dutifully placing materials in their small blue or green bins, I know that we could have a much better program with a small amount of focus and professional evaluation. The dollars we save can go into other needed programs and eventually into the pockets of taxpayers! Let's emphasize saving precious tax dollars by improving incentives, volume and participation rates of all recycling programs household, all school and government buildings, parks, leaf, business, etc.
Possible solutions: During this difficult economic time, I ask that the city and the council take a serious look at the status of the Norwalk recycling and leaf-hauling programs. I believe that we can increase revenue, reduce trash hauling costs, educate our citizens and vastly elevate participation by adding the following program management elements:
DPW Committee can form a Recycling Task Force made up of interested public and private sector to assist the DPW Committee and reorganize all waste and recycling programs and to assist Allison McCrady, the DPW waste programs manager.
Future recycling contract: Immediately assign Task Force to begin reviewing needs for next recycling contract (the current contract ends June 30, 2013, with possible renewal options). Ensure that open discussions take place that include future trash-hauling options.
Initiate public discussions now and begin a review about the advantages and disadvantages of single-stream recycling. Stamford, Manchester, Milford, New Haven and Bridgeport have adopted or are in the process of adopting this method and have found increased participation and project savings.
Have open, transparent public forums and discussions about how to reduce our trash waste and examine methods now used in 7,000 municipalities across the U.S. called "Pay as You Throw" unit pricing programs that would need to be coordinated with the recycling program.
Allow DPW Waste Manager McCrady the time right now to independently review the entire recycling program, initiate public outreach efforts and redesign those waste programs that can optimize recycling revenue and reduce our trash. The state has laid out a recycling goal of minimum 58 percent by 2024 recycling capacity for each municipality, and we achieve about 23 percent recycling of our waste stream. But we could easily recycle more with a little creative marketing and education and enforcement in that order.
School recycling: Allow McCrady and the Recycling Task Force to evaluate and redesign the school recycling program so that it is consistent, sustainable and offers educational opportunities for our math and science students. Currently, the system varies greatly from school to school in quality and quantity. Sending out an across-the-board memo to school staff and DPW staff with a fall 2012 baseline program is achievable
Request actual statistics/metrics of the amount of trash produced in each school and analyze all recycling opportunities so that each school has a minimum baseline of recycling basics. Let the kids use their math and science skills to assist and get real-world experience.
Request that a Green Recycling Team be formed in each school made up of custodial, PTO, scout, environment club, student government, Board of Ed and DPW members in order to encourage ongoing efforts, produce interesting and fun incentives, and serve as a curriculum enhancement for students taking math (measuring volume of waste containers), science (finding ways to reduce materials that are used) and helping "green up" their school.
Citywide recycling program: Work with groups like Keep Norwalk Beautiful, League of Women Voters, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, PTO Council etc. and produce a forums or workshops to encourage school, business, condominium/apartment, and general citizen recycling and composting opportunities. Emphasize incentives, creative marketing. Have every appropriate city department, like our Conservation Commission and our Health Department, step up and talk about the benefits of recycling and proper waste management.
Review citywide purchasing policies to determine where additional savings, recycling opportunities exist. Emphasize reducing packaging and seek private grant support like Patagonia and Whole Foods to pay for infrastructure such as larger bins and educational materials.
Businesses, apartments and condominiums recycling: Initiate an enforcement program that begins with an educational "carrot" and public outreach about the trash hauling cost reduction benefits of recycling. This would include laundromats, households, and public venues like most fairs.
Enhance the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day with public outreach about buying less- toxic materials.
Explore a regional leaf composting facility where our citizens can pick up the resulting rich soil for free. Christmas trees, brush and similar hauling costs should cease. Well-managed leaf composting programs are not smelly! Consider well-run, mini leaf composting areas for city parks at Cranbury and Taylor Farm.
Advocate, educate and mandate backyard leaf composting for parcels over 1/4 acre accompanied with public education. Think of how much money we would save if we cut the leaf-hauling costs in half!
For those interested in improving the school recycling program so that we finally have a districtwide system by fall 2012, call me at 203-858-1537.
Diane Lauricella is a longtime member of the League of Women Voters, a founder of Norwalk's Household Hazardous Waste Program, a current board member of Keep Norwalk Beautiful, and a waste management professional.
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