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SUBMITTED by Susan Peterson Gateley, Silver Waters Sailing (22-Oct-2009)

Dear Wayne County Resident,

Once again certain people for certain reasons are seeking to privatize the Wayne Co. recycling program, a tax funded program that has consistently been one of the most effective (and profitable) recycling programs in the state. We got them to back down four years ago because it made SENSE to keep this going. I'm putting a letter from Nancy Kasper down below because I think it states the situation well. A recent Wayne County Star news story covers the issue in more detail.

If you agree that this should stay as a county run program which has one of the best percentages of material actually recycled vs. sent to the expensive land fill, then I'd suggest print Nancy's letter out below, add your own short note of support and then mail it to your town supervisor. And stay tuned for more on this if the Macedon supervisor and Casella keep pushing it. Feel free to pass this on to other Wayne County residents too! Your planet thanks you.

P.S. If you have any questions or want more information on this feel free to write me. I have some of the old correspondence and figures in my mailbox from the last go around on this.

Privatizing Wayne County Recycling Will Double Costs and Eliminate Jobs

Once again, some Town Supervisors on our county board are trying to close our county-owned and operated solid waste recovery facility, putting an end to a successfully run program that has served us well and at the lowest possible cost. Those politicians who claim it will increase competition and save taxpayers money are not being honest.

There is only one other MRF (materials recovery facility) in our area, which would effectively create a monopoly in the recycling business. Casella owns it. Casella has a long record of poor business practices and is not a company to be trusted. It can only be viewed as politics as usual. The claim that privatizing recycling will save taxpayers money is simply false. Though the politicians will claim to have eliminated this small part of your tax burden, property owners will have to pay private haulers more for the same service. That is a fact they will not be able to argue. But they will look better at voting time if they can claim to have reduced taxes. In reality they will have cost you more, two to three times as much, than if we keep our own program going.

In addition to increasing residents’ recycling bill, closing our facility and privatizing recycling will put at least twenty-seven people out of work and force local haulers to buy equipment they can hardly afford to stay in business. Some of them will simply have to go out of business. So ask your Town Supervisor why they would want to make life harder for Wayne County residents. Why would they want you to pay more money to an outside corporation for the same service already provided by the county? Why would they want to put more people out of work? Why would we vote for that?

Nancy Kasper
Town of Huron

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3 Comments to "Recycling Under Attack"

  1. Gil Burgess Said,

    Thanks to you, Susan, and to Nancy Kasper for your vigilance on such issues and to Nancy for her logical and clearly expressed argument for not privatizing the recycling program!

    Posted on Sat Oct 24, 10:48:00 AM EDT

     
  2. Paige Said,

    I view this as another scam under the heading of "We have to reduce the size of government", which is itself a scam. While I'm sure some people really believe this, most privatization schemes wind up costing the taxpayers more money and provide less efficient services. And many times, government leaders are simply funnelling cash to their friends in the business community.

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention (even though I am not a Wayne county resident).

    Posted on Sat Oct 24, 12:06:00 PM EDT

     
  3. Seth C. Burgess Said,

    Hi Paige, thanks for expressing your views. I think your comment especially shows how local public issues can have an impact on a larger scale. You are outside Wayne County lines maybe--yet more importantly you care that the best thing happens for your neighbors and our collective future.

    I--for one--really appreciate when people actually care about these discussions, even when they might not have an immediate impact on someone's own "little world".

    Expect more on this Recycling item from members of the Wayne County community!

    Here's the newest post from Nancy Kasper: Your Recycling Service Could End

    Posted on Mon Nov 16, 12:45:00 PM EST

     

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