Comments on: Mandatory composting in San Francisco

By: New Anti-Garbage Laws in San Francisco: Fines, up to $500, for Discarding Orange Peels, Grease-Stained Pizza Boxes, Coffee Grounds « Frugal Café Blog Zone

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:57:50 +0000

[…] Additional: Overlawyered: Mandatory composting in San Francisco […]

By: Dirk D

Dirk D — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:10:38 +0000

I used to sled down it when I was a kid. They banned that a few years back due to …you guessed it… lawsuits.

By: Dave Lincoln

Dave Lincoln — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:44:51 +0000

Great Dirk, did you climb it just “because it’s there”?

How about a real mountain next time, like Mt. Hood or Rainier?

By: Dirk D

Dirk D — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:21:16 +0000

Two Words

Mount Trashmore

By: Dave Lincoln

Dave Lincoln — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:45:50 +0000

Dang, Dennis, I put the gold in the blue bin with the aluminum cans! Was that wrong?

By: Dennis

Dennis — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:46:52 +0000

Bill Alexander:
> A big factor in what gets recycled and what goes into the landfill is
> how far it has to be trucked to its destination.

Transportation is a major cost. If it costs more to “recycle” it than you can earn for it, it’s not going to be recycled. Conversely, if there is money in it, it will be recycled. The scrap value of the material is a pretty good estimate of whether it’s worth the bother to recycle.

Nobody throws away copper, and NOBODY throws away gold.

By: Dave Lincoln

Dave Lincoln — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:54:00 +0000

You’re right, Todd. Hippies are all about hemp. They will tell you all you want to know about the industrial uses, profit margins etc. However, were it to be legal, I kind of doubt any one of their ability to actually become a hemp plant manager, hemp salesman, hemp plant human resources manager, hemp Q/A associate, or any other actual job, for that matter. Well, maybe hemp farmer – on a small organic scale.

Why not just come out and say: We like to smoke pot, and the US government has no business in prohibiting it! I’d have a lot more respect for hippies if I heard that. (well, also, if they wouldn’t always smell live vitamins)

By: Dave Lincoln

Dave Lincoln — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:44:50 +0000

Bill, you bring up a good point that relates to what my friend brought up. What is the problem with sending the compost to the landfill with everything else going there? I figure, the compost can be used locally, and therefore it would save money over trucking it out to the landfill. On the other hand, it means more complicated pick-up (trash, recycling, and compost separately). I don’t know if this is really the reason, or just the simple thought “we’ve got to save the landfills!”.

There is plenty of room in most areas of the country for landfills until the next ice age or longer. In the metro areas, it does get costly to truck stuff out farther, that’s all. In those areas, the taxes that go to trash hauling ought to reflect this, so that, in a free-market way, people will recycle more to keep the costs down, along the lines of what Bill says above. Weighing trash bins would go a long way toward putting people in this business mode. Course, then you got people like Mojo, who would reek havoc on that system, till he feels the salt in his buttocks. 😉

By: Bill Alexander

Bill Alexander — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:43:52 +0000

A big factor in what gets recycled and what goes into the landfill is how far it has to be trucked to its destination.

By: Todd Rogers

Todd Rogers — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:37:18 +0000

If you told the wackos we could burn hemp and its non-industrial “cousin” for fuel, there might be a more favorable response to combustion as fuel. Just a thought, maaannn.