Left In Lowell

Save Lowell Recycling!

22 Responses to “Save Lowell Recycling!”

1. Lucy the Dog Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

   Does ANYONE on this site know of a local spot where condo residents who aren’t eligible for curb-side pickup can drop off recyclables?

   For some reason I can’t find this information online, and the city’s recycling department has been sadly unresponsive in offering guidance. Which, by the way, doesn’t exactly make me want to run to City Hall tonight and cry out, SAVE THE RECYCLING PROGRAM!

   (For whiney, agonizing details of this plight, see: http://lucytheblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/its-not-easy-being-green/ )

2. KMM Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

   Lucy,
   We were discussing this at our neighborhood meeting last night.
   There are a few things you can do with your recyclables…there is a large paper recycling “dumpster” at Lowell High School, available to you. You can bring bottles and cans to 143 Tanner St. return center. There are a few condo building participating in a composting effort…
   I am working on notes from meeting, check the LDNA web site, I’ll will post a list.
   www.lowelldna.org
   Also go to www.recyclingcenters.org
   put in your zip code, you will get a list of recycling locations near you.

3. Lucy the Dog Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

   Thanks for your response.

   I’m actually good with the whole returnables thing. And I should give a shout-out to the new redemption center on Western Avenue. Lots of space, clean, friendly service. If you feel like you have to shower after going to the place you’re using, you might want to try this one.

   But getting back to the recycling thing, I’m looking for a place to take bottles and cans that aren’t returnable, as well as cardboard, ‘office’ paper, newspaper, glass, plastic, etc. I’ll check out the places that come up on that recyclingcenters.org site. Thanks for the tip.

4. Lynne Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

   Believe it or not, the subject of condos and recycling came up a lot at the summit, and I suspect that problem will be attacked with as much relish as the main one, because there’s a lot of people who care about it.

5. Josh Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 9:21 pm

   How long has it been losing money?

   If more than a couple years, I say cut it. The only item that is cost effective to recycle is aluminum anyway. Everything else is just feel-good crap.

6. -b Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

   I wish I could have attended the meeting. I will be deeply saddened if the city does away with the recycling program.

7. joe Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 8:32 am

   The City should adopt Pay As You Throw, as the Comprehensive Master Plan, endorsed by the City Council as an official statement of policy, recommends.

8. Just Me Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 8:45 am

   The Sun is reporting that the recycling program will not be cut

9. waittilnextyr Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 9:22 am

   The cities and towns that achieve high recycling rates generally have some type of disincentive for trash disposal. That may be complicated to implement fairly, but it probably would achieve quicker results than attempts to train the citizens to recycle more productively.

10. Josh Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    I just read that its losing $500,000 a year.

    Not $5,000
    Not even $50,000
    But $500,000!

    Talk about a spectacular waste of money. The best part is that the council chose to keep it just they way it is. What a joke.

    Just get rid of the darn program. It’s obviously not working. While we’re at it, the city needs to switch to a per bag charge on trash. That would give people the incentive to throw out less trash and it would obviously be much more equitable. If there was evidence that people would recycle more if they could pay less in trash fees THEN the recycling program might be worth it.

11. tim Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    I’m glad that it’s not getting cut.

    It amazes me what you can just toss out in Lowell. You can throw out one large appliance a week, what other city allows that? Seems eliminating that would be a better way to save some money.

12. KMM Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Josh said…The only item that is cost effective to recycle is aluminum anyway…

    I heard from my auto mechanic this morning scrap metal is in such high demand that you can take a junk car to a scrap yard and get about $300., $100. if you have it towed in.
    Of course it is still a better idea to donate it… but this may be an incentive to people who have 3 or 4 cars parked in the back yard. LOL

13. inside/outside Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Pay As You Throw will only result in people dumping trash in private dumpsters and lots of illegal dumping. It won’t result in more recycling, only green garbage bags dumped in overgrown areas, out of the way places, and other places. Sad to say but that would be the end result if city ever implemented bag/tag system.

14. Mr. Lynne Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

    I know that in Dover NH you paid extra to get special trash bags and tags. They’d pick up as much recycling as you put out, no questions asked, but they would only pick up trash in the special bags. If this is ‘Pay as you Throw’, I’ve got to say I didn’t see any of the negative side effects that you point out. As reported, their numbers look good.

15. Shawn Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 6:43 am

    You should have seen Chemlsford the year they tried “pay as you throw”.. DPW spent more time cleaning up parks, woods and ball fields of all the abandoned trash… and many elderly just start collecting trash rather than putting it out, creating fire traps.

16. kpem Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 10:02 pm

    I never really thought about the after effects of pay as you throw. I live next to a vacant lot that many already throw their trash.(full bags) It is close to the highway and maybe they live in a pay as you throw town. It seems apparant that Lowell however allows way to many bags. I see whole homes remodeled with piles of debris 20′ long and the trash takes it all. Maybe the city could allow a reasonable allowance and you could buy additional tags? Something needs to be done to make the recycling program profitable. I think a lot of it has to do with getting the bins out to people and letting them know what to recycle. (maybe a grant there?)

17. -b Says:
    May 1st, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    I also heard that “pay as you throw” went badly in Chelmsford.

    It sounds like the plan Worcester has may be the best way to go.

    They allow one barrel per household. You pay for any extras.

    Recycling is free, and the participation rate is 40%. Much higher than Lowell’s current 8%.

    I also understand that we pay for trash disposal based on volume, but the recycling is paid for at a flat rate. So the less garbage people put out, the less the city has to pay.

18. kpem Says:
    May 2nd, 2008 at 8:48 pm

    If the city pays by volume do we have any limits at all on the amounts of trash? (I mean 10 bags??) If we have limits how are they enforced by the trash removal companies that get paid by the ton?

19. K-R-S Says:
    May 2nd, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    Kpem, as I understand it, there is no limit to the # of trashbags you put out.
    Us, we put out a 1/2 trash barrel full of bags (for 4 people), a bag or two of paper waste and a bucket or 2, recycling buckets.

    I’ve just begun an initiative within the facility I work to mitigate the amt that we dispose of, as well as the hauling fees, by implementing recycling ( which I would galdly recycle at my own home), cardboard recycling, paper recycling as well as recycling of organic matter into our flower gardens. The cost to recycle on top of the current ocst is too great.

    Hopefully, this works to make a dent in our trash bill and more importantly teach the positives of recycling to folks not aware.

    BTW, just found out last week that Starbucks in the Nashua Mall recycles their used coffee grounds to be used in composting and it is free. Their used coffee grounds are best used within 7 days and can be used to fortify your flower gardens.

    Or, if you don’t have flower gardens ( and community minded), you can pick up the used coffee grounds from Starbucks and turn it over to Community Gardens Greenhouse on Aiken Ave., for composting!
    Or better yet, get your favorite local coffee or ice cream shop on board and let them know where they may bring their coffee grounds and organic waste!~
    Any questions, please click on my name at the top of my post.

20. K-R-S Says:
    May 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 pm

    Also, to answer your question, we pay the cost of each ton of garbage we put out. We pay a flat rate for the recycling we put out. So, each ton we pull out of general garbage, we save a good deal of $$.

    What happens with the recycled goods our waste company picks up from us, is that they then turn it around and sell it on the open market.

    Market demands (which are high, right now) net a good deal of profit for waste companies.

    From a taxpayer point of view, this is a great cost saving measure.
    And with that, I would venture to guess that the City of Lowell could actually argue for a “return” on recycled product sold on the open market. However, Lowell would have to have the volume to back it up to make it a win win for both entities.

    **For those on the CC that are unfamiliar with the terminology in my post, I would be happy to point you in the direction of a “Dic-ti-on-ary”

21. kpem Says:
    May 4th, 2008 at 9:21 pm

    Krs,
    Maybe a little of subject, but what exactly are the community gardens greenhouse?

22. K-R-S Says:
    May 5th, 2008 at 6:47 am

    Kpem, here is the link for more information:
    http://www.communitygardensgreenhouse.org/

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