"50 miles" Topic

I moved from Oceanside to two blocks outside the Vista city limits in July. Not completely rural, but there is a good 100+ yards/meters between neighboring houses, and we can have livestock.

Yesterday I went out to run errands, drop off household waste, recycling, grocery shopping, browsing the LGS, etc.

I took the 8min drive to the local government household waste drop off to dispose of four 1gal cans of house paint the previous owner left behind that do not match any of the colors the house is currently painted.

After providing a copy of the mortgage payment to prove residency (our DL's have not been address-switched yet), I was told that I was outside city limits, and they do not have the contract to take my waste, that I need to go to Ramona (FIFTY FRICKIN MILES AWAY) to properly dispose because they have the contract.

Tell me again how this is about the environment and not about the money?

Luckily, my route took me to the recycling at another location where I was dropping off cans and plastic, and noticed that they were also taking household waste (they accept twice a month only.) Since my DL still said Oceanside, I pulled around to drop off.

HIM: "Do you have an appointment?"
ME: "Umm, no, did not know I needed one. I only have four cans."
HIM: "Well, seeing how it is small, we'll take it, but you need to get an appointment next time."
ME: "Out of curiosity, how come appointments are required? Do you get too many people if you don't limit?"
HIM: "No, it costs too much money to allow it every weekend, we have to limit how much we can accept."

Tell me again how this is about the environment and not about the money?

Mardaddy – it is always about the money. Anything else is just to distract us from the money.

Same thing in our area. The local waste drop-off is
about 4 miles from us and takes ALMOST everything.

But NOT paint or other 'hazardous' substances. That
repository is 30 miles away.

Leave it behind a gas station. Let Exxon pay to dispose of it (and they will).

Lol. They'll probably just put the cans in the dumpster.

Dan

get some old boxes and pour it out them. they will take dried paint

This might explain graffiti in some areas. People can't or won't drive the distance. Lol

Dan

That's outrageous.

Second option. When I had a bunch of house paint to get rid of. I was told the trash will take it if you mix it with kitty litter (as in dry paint). About two bags was enough to take care of 15 cans and I had enough kitty litter left over for building a few feet of stone walls

VCarter, did you use clay-based litter, or another
type of litter ? Got a few cans I need to be rid
of myself…

It's about both.

The truth is that being green takes a lot of green. The people at the collection centers, for instance, have contracts because they, like must of us, have families to feed and mortgages to pay.

I'm sure that everyone here, including you, have sold your services for money. Should teachers not get paid because it's about the kids? Should policemen not get paid because it's about the safety? I don't get your original post. Don't get me wrong, I understand your frustration. I don't understand your comment about it being about the money.

Clay based. Mixed well and ready for pick up within a day or so.

On the same recycle type rant. We recently spent a week at one of the national chain hotels. We had quite a few empty plastics bottles in the room and ask one of the staff about recycling them. She told us that there were recycle bins down at the breakfast area. We had already seen them. They were a row with 4 labeled opening going into trash cans.

She also told us that all four cans are mixed into their single dumpster outside.

She also told us that all four cans are mixed into their single dumpster outside.

It's not about the environment or the money. It's clearly about stupidity, bureaucracy and a mix of both.

XRays, I am not begrudging anyone their job. Not sure how you arrived at that. Both the reps at both places were polite, and seemed happy to be there.

The post was a comment about how we (at least here on left coast) are constantly preached at over recycling, "to save the environment," when the actual PRACTICAL APPLICATION of those policies by the powers that be go against the intent.

In my example, wasting fuel and emitting pollution driving 100 miles round trip to drop off waste when there are facilities RIGHT THERE that I have to drive PAST to get to the one that is, "allowed," to take my waste.

If recycling were SO IMPORTANT, it would not be made difficult, or inconvenient, (or, hell, I don't know… COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, maybe?) to accomplish.

/rant over.

In my example, wasting fuel and emitting pollution driving 100 miles round trip to drop off waste when there are facilities RIGHT THERE that I have to drive PAST to get to the one that is, "allowed," to take my waste.

You are absolutely right, and when you write this to the local paper, and to those in charge of the facilities, you will probably bring about much needed and positive changes to how things are done in your community. Look at this as an opportunity. Let us know what happens.

I just retired after 27 years of donating over 8,500 hours as a reserve police officer. Sometimes it is about the safety.

When I lived in California we had to sort greens from regular trash and recyclables from the other two; all for curbside pick up once a week. But, electronic waste or hazardous waste we had to drive to the recycling center and drop it off.

If it's so hazardous, why am I driving it around in my car?
If it's so hazardous, why make it harder to get rid of then my lawn clippings?
If it's so hazardous, why don't you give me a special trash can to put it in like the rest of the trash?

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Seriously?

If it's so hazardous, why am I driving it around in my car?

Oh come on. Hazardous doesn't mean explosive. Driving computer batteries in your car is totally safe. Just throwing them out is an environmental hazard. That's why there are special places at the dump for electronics, batteries, paints and solvents, heavy metals, etc.

If it's so hazardous, why make it harder to get rid of then my lawn clippings?

Because it is hazardous a bit more care and thought should be used. Going to the dump and throwing unused paint in the paint bin is hard? The added precautions are exactly because the material is hazardous. Grass clippings aren't.

If it's so hazardous, why don't you give me a special trash can to put it in like the rest of the trash?

That's not a bad idea. Probably less cost effective. How often does the average household throw out hazardous material? Is this a big issue? At my house we generate biodegradable waste, garbage and recyclable waste every day. Paints, solvents, electronics and other hazardous wastes ends up going to the dump maybe once a year. I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time seeing the hardship.