Friday, April 04, 2008

Many Residents Upset They Have To Pay For Recycling Services They Don't Use

St. Louis County is going green and many county residents, like Roy Schulze, are finding out it is costing them more “green.” Whether they want to recycle or not, their bills are getting boosted.

"Why do I have to pay for this when I'm not using it?" Schulze asked his trash hauler, "They said because the county council said you will do it." According to the new ordinance county residents don't have to recycle but haulers have to provide the service to be licensed in the county.

"There are folks who are not going to recycle," admits Schulze.

But despite his opposition to the plan, he is not one of them. "I'm all for recycling."

And he's been doing it for years now on his own and would like to continue that way. They donate the newspapers to church. The glass gets dropped off at the park. And cans are recycled for themselves. "There are only so many resources in this world and when they are gone they are gone," says Schulze.

So he is still helping the county reach its goal but, like thousands of other residents, he just doesn't want to reach into his wallet to do it.

"It upset me that we would have to pay for something that we already use."

The bill equates to about a couple bucks more a month. Not much, but a big deal for those on a fixed income like Schulze. The recent retiree is already worrying about increased fees for water, sewer and power and trash is something he doesn't want to worry about especially if he isn't using the service.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous8:35 AM

    County officials were warned of the outcome of there ordinance before it went into affect. They ignored the warnings and the problems they would face. It seems only fair, that maybe they should reduce or credit property owners by an equal amount on their property taxes for the additional cost they have caused them.
    St. Louis County is to blame for this crazy plan, now they need to stand up and acknowledge their error and make it right. Suspend this action until it can be worked out properly.

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