Jax Garbage Makes NY Times

[jaxlongtimer]

Only if you believe the adage that any kind of publicity is good publicity is the below article great for our City's image.  #1 in COVID over the summer and now tops in garbage issues.  Not exactly the signs of a "progressive" city.

The New York Times
An Unexpected Pandemic Consequence Frustrates Florida's Biggest City

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man in Florida's largest city wrote to officials that the smell and flies were getting bad, after six weeks of waiting for his yard waste to be picked up. Other residents sent photos of overflowing bins, stacked plastic bags and littered lawns. At one point, the fed-up neighbors of Almira Street in Jacksonville threatened to rent a truck and dump their trash on the steps of City Hall.

The disruption to America's economy created by the coronavirus pandemic has led to mass cancellations of school buses and ferries, to rental-car shortages and a bottleneck of cargo ships waiting at seaports. And, in cities such as Jacksonville, it has created a small but growing indignity: garbage left out to rot.

In the grand scheme of suffering, there are bigger problems. But it has become yet one more example of a public service that most people take for granted but is no longer working right.

"What good" are public servants, one frustrated man emailed the city, "if they can't even maintain basic services??"...

....In Jacksonville, the delays in waste hauling became so bad in late summer and early fall that piles could be seen all over town. The city prioritized trash when it could, but yard debris was left to linger.

On a recent afternoon, mounds of tree branches, palm fronds and grass cuttings spilled onto the road in several residential neighborhoods. Some heaps were as tall as small children. The waste was browning and settled into deep grooves in the ground. It was easy to see why people worried that the lingering waste might attract mosquitoes or vermin....

The angry complaints from residents kept pouring in. Some demanded a refund of their solid waste fees.

"It would be nice to know what day they will pick up in my neighborhood, which is really beginning to look like CRAP," Dennis Connors wrote Sept. 2, noting that his yard waste had been uncollected for nine weeks, and his recycling for four....

https://www.yahoo.com/news/unexpected-pandemic-consequence-frustrates-floridas-114924610.html

[Charles Hunter]

Woo Hoo! The BIG Time!!

[Josh]

Zero issues with solid waste in the city core until they canceled recycling to have COJ employees pickup trash that these private companies haven't been picking up. Yay for privatization.

One thing that is surprising to me about these recycling drop-off sites is how much non-recyclable materials are being dropped off at these sites judging from the images online. Like, you care enough about recycling to haul that stuff off in your own car to a park, but then you don't know plastic bags and styrofoam can't be recycled here?

[MusicMan]

It would make sense to require glass and aluminum to be recycled.  Throwing it into a dump is sad commentary on our stewardship of this planet. 

[acme54321]

It would make sense to require glass and aluminum to be recycled.  Throwing it into a dump is sad commentary on our stewardship of this planet.

Think of all the future landfill mining jobs we are creating though!

[jaxlongtimer]

It would make sense to require glass and aluminum to be recycled.  Throwing it into a dump is sad commentary on our stewardship of this planet.

Think of all the future landfill mining jobs we are creating though!

^ This I believe will happen eventually and will be the ultimate recycling.  How much of the earth's surface can we feasibly, economically and environmentally mine and extract metals and other precious elements from?  And, like oil, there must be a finite supply that eventually will peter out.  Meanwhile, all the scrap metal in landfills from equipment, household goods, circuit boards, etc. is likely pretty substantial at some point and may be far cheaper and easier to extract in the future.  It will have the added benefit of not having to be distilled from ore, likely an energy hogging process in most cases.

[acme54321]

It would make sense to require glass and aluminum to be recycled.  Throwing it into a dump is sad commentary on our stewardship of this planet.

Think of all the future landfill mining jobs we are creating though!

^ This I believe will happen eventually and will be the ultimate recycling.  How much of the earth's surface can we feasibly, economically and environmentally mine and extract metals and other precious elements from?  And, like oil, there must be a finite supply that eventually will peter out.  Meanwhile, all the scrap metal in landfills from equipment, household goods, circuit boards, etc. is likely pretty substantial at some point and may be far cheaper and easier to extract in the future.  It will have the added benefit of not having to be distilled from ore, likely an energy hogging process in most cases.

Oh it will happen once a solution to economically sorting through the garbage is developed.  I think Wall E isn't so far fetched in that aspect.

[BridgeTroll]

It would make sense to require glass and aluminum to be recycled.  Throwing it into a dump is sad commentary on our stewardship of this planet.

Think of all the future landfill mining jobs we are creating though!

^ This I believe will happen eventually and will be the ultimate recycling.  How much of the earth's surface can we feasibly, economically and environmentally mine and extract metals and other precious elements from?  And, like oil, there must be a finite supply that eventually will peter out.  Meanwhile, all the scrap metal in landfills from equipment, household goods, circuit boards, etc. is likely pretty substantial at some point and may be far cheaper and easier to extract in the future.  It will have the added benefit of not having to be distilled from ore, likely an energy hogging process in most cases.

Oh it will happen once a solution to economically sorting through the garbage is developed.  I think Wall E isn't so far fetched in that aspect.

Exactly. If they cannot turn a profit with collected recycling programs mining recyclables from landfills will not happen any time soon. Jacksonville will be looking for another expensive landfill site before that happens.

[MusicMan]

Yep, just like global climate change, once Miami, London, and Tokyo are under 2 feet of water we'll start figuring out a solution.

[BridgeTroll]

Anyone getting recycling pickup yet? Didn't think so... I  am sending three garbage cans of trash to the landfill every week where I once sent only one. Meh... oh well... it's Jacksonville...

[jcjohnpaint]

No. Have been taking mine to riverside drop off point.

[Charles Hunter]

jc - are the recycling dumpsters still being (over)loaded with trash, or have people finally got the message?

[BridgeTroll]

No. Have been taking mine to riverside drop off point.

I considered it for a short time... then  decided that I already pay for recycling and don't want smelly garbage in my vehicle. Fill the landfill...lol

[Charles Hunter]

No. Have been taking mine to riverside drop off point.

I considered it for a short time... then  decided that I already pay for recycling and don't want smelly garbage in my vehicle. Fill the landfill...lol

Should there be anything smelly in recycling? You aren't supposed to include food-contaminated items, and are supposed to rinse out bottles and such.

[BridgeTroll]

No. Have been taking mine to riverside drop off point.

I considered it for a short time... then  decided that I already pay for recycling and don't want smelly garbage in my vehicle. Fill the landfill...lol

Should there be anything smelly in recycling? You aren't supposed to include food-contaminated items, and are supposed to rinse out bottles and such.

Not putting it in my vehicle... sorry not sorry