recycling problems

[gookalockgeek.livejournal.com]

I live in Somerville (though not in Davis Square) and I'm having an issue with my trash/recycling. Last night my landlord showed up at my door and yelled at me for having cardboard boxes and paper bags full of recycling next to my recycling bin, claiming that he has been repeatedly fined for this by the city of Somerville. He demanded that we throw all our recycling in the trash to avoid this. We complied because he is scary and was in our building unannounced and had caught us off guard.

This morning, I cleaned up the 6 bags of trash my neighbors had thrown on the curb (most likely what he is actually being fined for) and put them in trash cans. Then I stood at the window and watched the trash truck throw away the contents of not only the several trash cans, but my clearly marked blue "Somerville Recycles" recycling bin.

Has anyone dealt with this problem before? What do I do to stop this? I moved here from Brookline, where you're fined for NOT recycling, and now I am being punished for doing so.

EDIT: I called 311 and reported the issue, but I'm going to leave this up to let people know that their recycling might end up in the dump if they don't pay attention to who is picking it up!

Comments

[ron_newman]

Although, if they don't want me to recycle the pizza boxes, why do they want me to recycle those cardboard containers of dried fruit (raisins, prunes, apricots etc.) ?

I always recycle pizza boxes.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I flatten them and put a string around them. They usually take them! I don't get that policy either, though.

I'd keep putting it out just to drive him nuts!

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Heheheheh! And if he does something illegal, like touching you, then you have him by the balls! Free rent for the rest of the year or else...

I think the contract was renewed recently

[fefie.livejournal.com]

"Does anyone know when the contract with these guys is up again with the city? Is it *really* worth filing a complaint, seeing as most of the BOA seem to love this guy and his company no matter what?"

I recall reading somewhere sometime in 2009 that the contract had been renewed, perhaps in the fall? I have not seen a problem with recycling taken as trash (it would be obvious as trash is picked up really early and recycling in late morning). I do see that the trash pickup leaves a mess though -- a bunch of stuff gets strewn about the street when they pick up.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

That's ambiguous. Does "Place next to recycle bin." apply to papers and cardboard, or just cardboard?

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

The problem with pizza boxes is the grease that soaks into them.

They're recyclable in Cambridge if you turn them inside out and tear off the greasy parts. I'd thin if you did this in Somerville, they'd get picked up, since they wouldn't look like a pizza box any more.

[ron_newman]

Sure, but the insides of those raisin and prune cylinders are pretty greasy too.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Then put them in the trash along with your pizza boxes.

[gookalockgeek.livejournal.com]

yeah, no kidding. the guy is the worst. it was late at night, i wasn't dressed, and he didn't even ring the doorbell, just let himself into the building and banged on what is essentially the door to our bedroom until we answered. i thought one of our neighbors had an emergency or something, otherwise i would never have come to the door.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

Crush. Fold. Spindle. Mutilate. It's fun!

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Maybe the processes that cardboard goes through to be turned into other paper-based products has a problem dealing with grease that the process that turns plastic scrap into other plastic does not.

[trtls.livejournal.com]

Get another recycling bin. We have 3 in case we do have that much recycling. Generally we use 2 for the whole house (3 units).

[smammy]

I went to the DPW and got a second recycling box, and I put my paper/cardboard in there instead. That way it's clearly not trash and it's still separated from the glass/metal/plastic.

Recycling

[fishkiss56.livejournal.com]

The city is currently considering going to co-mingled recycling, where you'd throw all your recyclables (paper, plastic, glass, etc.) into a large (likely with wheels) bin. Hopefully this would reduce the potential for the garbage folks taking the recycling. There's currently one provider in the area and the city was looking at how much it would cost. Vithal Deshpande, the city's environmental coordinator, discussed it at the last Ward 7 Resistat meeting. I'm sure the more 311, emails, and phone calls he received asking about and/or supporting the idea, would help him make a case to the mayor.

Re: Wow. That's ridiculous.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

I've never even been yelled at or penalized for having a spillover paper bag full of plastics (though I try not to do that, and mostly it's just paper in the paper bags), but then, I live in Medford.

[gookalockgeek.livejournal.com]

they took my recycling bin and emptied it into the trash. it was already clearly not trash.

Re: Wow. That's ridiculous.

[gookalockgeek.livejournal.com]

i've lived in allston, brighton, brookline, and elsewhere in somerville and have never had an issue. i imagine they may be stricter here because my current neighborhood is trash-filled to begin with and they think this will help clean it up... but it's a littering problem, not a trash pickup problem.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I believe that problem is called rats. Apparently pizza is mondo tasty to them.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

But what about food residue on other items left in the recycling bin? Rats are really that picky??

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

Grease is definitely a problem with paper recycling. The grease remains, so the recycled paper will have areas that are more translucent than others.

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

You should talk to the trash truck guys directly, too, if possible.

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

Also, some of the recycling bins from the city are actually wheeled canisters that look like trash cans. I live on Highland right by the library and the recycling company is incredibly good at taking out the correct recycling bins rather than the trash ones (which are only different from the shape of the lid.)

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

Yeah, grease from pizza boxes can mess up a whole batch of recycled paper. Interesting article about it here (http://earth911.com/blog/2009/03/02/the-pizza-box-mystery/).

[smammy]

aw, bummer

[ron_newman]

The dried-fruit containers I'm talking about are made of cardboard, not plastic.