Rubbish

Rubbish. This seems to be a word that doesn’t inspire a great deal of interest. Who would not discard such a concept? It is an area where very few wish to dwell. Yet to broach such a concept, as undesirable as it may be, is a necessity. Once again, when presented with the present collection of trash, commitments of no increase in finances would be necessary to maintain the program. The concept was that the recycling would off-set such a cost. What a surprise when the administration presented the idea of charging a separate fee for the service. Government will deny that this is a tax increase, but it merely is disguised as a separate charge for services. Let me see, how do we deceive the public again without using the tax word? If it is not a tax, do the residents of the city have the option of opting out of this particular program? At the present time, there is so little trash to be removed from my particular home that with an additional charge it is not the most feasible alternative from my perspective.

When first deciding to relocate to Parma, a variety of concerns were evaluated and agreed upon, or not accepted. Now, in my point of view, there is going to be a fee for something that is used very seldom for me, and the charge would be an increase that is not justified. The wise political machine states that the fee will only be $12 a month. That would come out to $144 a year. You say that is not a great deal, but that is money better spent at my choosing as opposed to the government, and why not take the fee out of your income? There is doubt in your eye as to how can one go without trash disposal. The answer is you can’t. However, in my particular circumstance, there has never been a time when the receptacle has been anywhere near full at this residence; and this is the downsized receptacle. There is one plastic shopping bag of trash in the vast majority of cases. Months would pass prior to my filling of the provided container. The rest is compost or recycled.

Should one go without the present service, you can 1) recycle paper and cardboard at a variety of schools or churches, 2) take any metal to a junkyard and they will actually reward you with cash for your effort, or 3) any food stuffs should be composted and surprise; it will help your garden grow by improving your soil and new vegetation will welcome such preparation. Plastics can be recycled at a number of locations; look it up in a directory. And glass is similar; find a recycler near you.

For many of you, it is not worth the effort and the fee is well worth the convenience; that is fine. However, if there are going to be additional fees added to city operations, should one not have the option of taking care of the situation themselves? Not everyone is conscious of the benefits of taking care of the planet. There will come a time where the disposal of certain trash items is necessary. For situations such as that, go to the disposal site nearest you. Administrators have a problem of not exploring options that do not benefit themselves. Would it not make sense to educate the public on how and what to recycle? Let’s think of the constituents first for a change. Why is it that the fall back solution is to always raise taxes?  As for the way things have been handled for the city and for the tax payers by the administrators…rubbish.

To read more from retired Parma resident Leo Lampeter, check out the online blog, Leo Lampeter Speaks!, at https://leolampeter.wordpress.com