Why have a curbside recycling program in Saint Petersburg?

A. Almost all the cities in Pinellas County, with the exception of Saint Petersburg, have curbside recycling programs. However, we are the most densely populated city and account for the majority of the waste entering the Bridgeway Acres Landfill.

B. 70% of the waste entering the landfill can be recycled. Currently the zero emissions waste to energy plant processes 3,150 tons of solid waste or day or approximately 75% of total waste. The other 15% is buried in the Bridgeway Acres Landfill. Do the math, if Saint Petersburg, the largest contributor to the landfill, reduced total solid waste through recycling by just a small percentage, we would have no need to bury waste ever again!! A curbside recycling program would produce these results.

C. So what happens if Saint Petersburg doesn’t adopt a curbside recycling program? At present this means we would soon be shipping our solid waste to Lake Okeechobee. What will this mean for you?

a. Higher garbage collection fees (currently 37.5 a ton). This number would increase at least three fold to account for the greater distance. In fact probably much more then that based on the rise in fuel costs.
b. More greenhouse gases and air pollution in the atmosphere. This will warm the ocean, creating more hurricanes, and also contribute to the rise in asthma and lung cancer.

D. Of course if all of this is not convincing and you don’t believe in lung cancer or climate change, perhaps you will go with the economic growth incentive. If there was a greater volume of recyclables in Pinellas County, small recycling businesses would flourish. This would add a new dynamic to the local economy and support small business development. Believe it or not, trash is quite a lucrative business.

Curbside recycling is about protecting the future of our planet and children. The cost-benefit analysis favors a curbside program without doubt. There really is no room for pointless argument. If Mayor Baker was honest he would say we don’t have a program because we don’t want to put in the initial capital to make it a success. He would admit that the reason is based on fear and uncertainty and not on the future economic and social viability of Saint Petersburg. He would admit that it is easier to waste now then take a small risk and work towards a better future.

By the way, I am a customer of oursprs.com and I am very happy with the service.

I’ve got an idea for the city: enlist the tent dwellers to ride around town on the Post Office bikes and do door-side recycling.

Call it “Bumcycling!” Get it?