I do not need the County in order to have my trash picked up. I do not want the County to act on my behalf to determine by whom, when, and how my trash will be picked up, and at what cost to me.
I do not trust the County to act in my best interests when contracting for this service and ensuring its chosen contractor provides an appropriate level of serviceat modest cost.There is no need for the County to add trash collection to its responsibilities.
Even the County's most populous municipality, Florissant, allows residents to arrange their own trash hauling. If Florissant, which regulates more matters morestrictly than the vast majority of municipalities, sees no need to become involved in trash hauling, one must question what useful, or even legitimate, purpose is served by the County seeking to do so.
We do not need a larger, more powerful County government. We should not risk having trash collection, which would be among the largest contracts ever let by the County, become a way of dispensing political patronage or funneling tax dollars to favored parties.
. . . Anonymous
Has the Missouri Hanncock Amendment been research regarding this issue?
ReplyDeleteFees are Taxes, and the raising of Taxes requires a vote of the poeple.
PRINTER FRIENDLY
ReplyDelete[Print] [Close]
New St. Louis County trash service standards take effect
By Phil Sutin
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Jan. 14 2008
Trash haulers in St. Louis County must make once-a-week recycling pickups, or
take measures that have the same effect, under new trash collection service
standards that start Tuesday.
Now, about a third of the county's households receive this service, and the
remainder have the option of getting it. Most households in the unincorporated
area lack the service, as do about half of those in municipalities.
The standard encourages "single-stream" recycling, where householders deposit
all recyclable materials in a single container; sorting takes place at the
places where haulers drop off these materials.
The standards apply to both municipalities and the unincorporated area.
Municipalities that do not now collect recyclables will eventually have to
offer that service or meet the Waste Management Code's recycling standards.
That might include proving that they already handle a certain percentage of the
municipality's recyclables.
The county plans to impose the standards as haulers apply for their yearly
licenses, which start on April 15. To get licenses, haulers must provide a plan
to meet the minimum standards, Garry Earls, the county's chief operating
officer, said.
Haulers may increase prices to provide the recycling service. Haulers do not
have to provide it until current contracts expire. So price increases may come
later. These contracts are with municipalities, subdivisions or households.
Bryan Barcom, owner of American Eagle haulers, estimated that his customers who
lack recycling would initially pay up to $5 a month in an additional charge for
that service. Barcom said his company served 17,000 households out of 51,000
households in four ZIP codes — from Lemay to Oakville — that make up much of
south St. Louis County. About 3,000 of these customers recycle, he said.
The two other standards the haulers must meet are once-a-week trash collection
and twice-a-year bulky waste pickup.
Supporters of the recycling standard say it may lower trash bills. Haulers have
to pay a fee of about $30 a ton to deposit their trash in landfills while
paying nothing to get rid of recyclables, Tim Fischesser, executive director of
the St. Louis County Municipal League, said. Hauler costs will go down if they
have less trash to deposit in landfills, he said.
Earls said "single-stream" recycling combined with carts large enough for
homeowners to collect a week's worth of materials is the best way to encourage
recycling. Householders would roll the carts to the curb once a week for their
haulers to empty.
The county plans to provide 65-gallon carts free to households in the
unincorporated area. Some municipalities have obtained grants to give such
carts to residents, and others are likely to seek them. Such a cart costs about
$40, Earls said.
psutin@post-dispatch.com | 314-863-2812
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