By Brian Smith
Believe it or not, some locals aren’t happy with the recently approved curbside recycling program. Their biggest argument: Adding recycling pick-up trucks will increase the city’s carbon footprint (the amount of greenhouse gases we’re contributing to worldwide climate change).
Here’s the back-story. Earlier this year and due to high cost, City Council chose to shut down the local garbage incinerator. As a result, all garbage is now dumped at the landfill on Dean Forest Road. Raw yard waste (limbs and branches) poses the threat of puncturing the landfill liner and provoking contamination. Under environmental protection laws, trucks separate from the regular garbage fleet must pick up yard waste.
Now, recyclables require their own trucks as well—and it’s got anti-recyclers buzzing. More trucks equals more gas consumption, which equals a larger carbon footprint, right? While burning more fuel isn’t good for the environment, this isn’t necessarily the case.
Once recyclables are separated from regular garbage, each individual truck will be able to carry more. The city is still disposing the same overall amount of waste. If yard waste and recyclables are separated from overall waste, more waste can fit in the garbage trucks. Doesn’t this introduce the possibility of the various trucks taking fewer trips to the landfill, or having larger routes per truck?
People are also concerned about our carbon footprint growing because we’ll be sending our recyclables to the full Pratt Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Conyers, and that burns more gas. What people are neglecting to realize is that under contract, Pratt will construct and operate a full MRF in Chatham County—transporting to Conyers isn’t permanent.
Also, with the introduction of a curbside pick-up program, current recyclers will no longer have to haul their recyclables to the two downtown recycling centers on Gwinnett St. That means fewer cars burning less fuel to recycle.
Using the idea of a growing carbon footprint to battle a citywide recycling program seems a bit off to me. Are we forgetting that recycling does, indeed, decrease our carbon footprint? The amount of energy that goes into making products from recycled materials is markedly less than creating new products from raw materials—and those raw materials are being saved.
If you’re so concerned about the damage we’re doing to the environment, stop driving your car downtown, and commute by bicycle or bus. Stop buying new clothes, furniture, appliances and other products, and buy second-hand. Stop throwing your recyclable materials in the trash, and fill up those new bins you’ll see around town in a few months. The trucks will be driving by anyway.
