Monday, January 25, 2010
Garbage, Yardwaste & Recycling
Maybe it was my inner guilt about filling 7 dumpsters full of construction debris from this renovation or maybe it was just a quest for more civic involvement but I've found my way onto a City of Seattle citizen advisory board on Garbage, Yardwaste & Recycling. This board looks at a bunch of stuff concerning solid waste including rates, frequency of pickup, legislation at the federal/state/local level, conservation, and other policy-related topics. I've been to my first meeting of this group, called the Solid Waste Advisor Committee or SWAC and I'm eager to weigh in from a citizen of Seattle perspective. So, if you're a resident of Seattle and have thoughts about our solid waste service, leave me a comment. Part of my role is to reach out to folks in my community, specifically those folks in SE Seattle.
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3 comments:
I'm up here on Beacon with you, and I have had the most bizarre experience with trash pickup. If the top of my garbage is not perfectly sealed, they fine me. After explaining that my garbage can had been run over by a neighbor, they said it didn't matter and continued to fine me. This was crazy since my can wasn't full, but what was even crazier is that SPU does not have access to the reasons that people are fined. The contractor (Cleanscapes or Waste Management) does not actually release the info to SPU. If the contractors were to be given a portion of that fee, it would benefit them to say that many of us are in error, and SPU would have no way to know that they are committing fraud.
I would also love to see the household hazardous waste dropoff have hours on Sunday too.
Kara,
Thanks for the note. I have a few answers for you:
This is from one of the other SWAC members, Signe Gilson who works for CleanScapes:
CleanScapes is required by the City to charge for extra waste placed out by customers, and the criteria is partially determined by lids raised beyond their normal resting position. Note that CleanScapes does not get paid anything for these, but does face sizeable fines by SPU if we fail to report them. If your can is damaged, please call the SPU call center at 206.684.3000 and request a replacement. You may also wish to talk to a supervisor about removing past charges if they are due to a damaged can, although that is up to their discretion.
I think BH is served by Waste Management but it should be the same for either company. In my own personal experience, SPU has replaced my garbage can for no charge (wind blew away the lid) and has also been receptive to removing extra charges that I disputed because I felt they were in error. By the way, something I didn't know is that there is also a weight limit to the can (for my small can it is 30#) and if you exceed this even if the lid is on tight, you may be charged for extra garbage. So, think twice before filling your garbage with rocks :)
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