Consumption

[einride]

brown glass also goes in the green container how do you explain that

 

[dorian gray]

lol @ Mike

 

[lurch70]

there's four of us?

oh

 

[skyrefuge]

But those are based on the amount your house is worth. America is too backwards to do something as radical as paying for refuse collection based on weight.

My town used to have a Pay-As-You-Throw system, which isn't exactly "by weight", but still, every bag of garbage required a $2 sticker (and recycling is free). But a few years ago, they switched to a "normal" system where you can throw out half your house every week for a flat fee. That fee is $16/month, which is fantastic for those families who somehow generate a fortress of trash every week, but for me, who literally throws out one 13 gallon garbage bag every month, I get to pay 8 TIMES what I used to.

And yeah, it removes the incentive to recycle that the old system had. Not to mention the incentive to simply consume less. The city counters that the old PAYT system encouraged people to hoard their garbage. And you don't want to live in a neighborhood of garbage-hoarders, do you?!?

In general, I'm baffled out how I generate so much less garbage than most people. Having only one of me certainly helps, but beyond that, I guess the food packaging must play a major role (I basically cook all my own meals).

Neil

 

[dorian gray]

More info about the garbage-hoarders please.



Yeah, we pretty much cook almost all our own meals. That's what scares me. We can go several weeks before filling up our trash can whereas we've had to order a second recycling can. Yeah, that's great we recycle and all, but I don't trust the system and I still find it appalling that I can fill up two huge recycling bins in the span of a month with bottles, cans, paper. etc.

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

yay bullshit packaging on pretty much EVERYTHING.

example: I can't buy bell peppers without them coming with a plastic tray, some plastic foil and some plastic pad thing in the tray.

 

[Thanatopsis123]

Japan is the king of ridiculous packaging.

http://www.gaijinsmash.net/archives/innocence_and_w.phtml