Musings

Why, if we have met and passed "peak oil" years ago, is EVERYTHING made from plastic these days?

We just were forced into a new refuse hauler - the old one, with trucks that required a human to dump the cans, went out of business.

The new hauler gave us two big plastic wheelie-bins, each marked "350 POUNDS MAX" and "NO HOT ASHES". One has a green lid and is labeled "RECYCLING ONLY" They are designed to be picked up and dumped by a robotic arm on the side of the truck, with little effort by the driver who never has to leave the cab now unless the homeowner does not put the bins close enough to the road.

We have laws that ban certain items from the refuse, and garbage from the recycling bin. How are these laws enforced when the first time the hauler will realize that someone tossed an electronic gadget or flashlight battery - or (gasp!) a vehicle tire or can full of paint or other "chemical" - into the garbage, or worse - into the "RECYCLING ONLY" bin is when they empty the truck? The driver never lifts the lid - it's pushed open by the contents when the bin is up over the top of the truck.

How do communities that mandated clear garbage bags (so the above abuses would be easy to spot) manage with the new collection technology? They must be counting on the sheeple being trained in proper trash etiquette by now...

Lady Bird Johnson's big "Keep America Beautiful" and "Don't Be A Litterbug!" campaign has finally succumbed to politically correctness. Those open top recycling trucks scatter as much trash on the roadside as any fifteen 1960's litter tossers.

At least they provide work for roadside community service crews...