Translate

Monday, August 6, 2018

Yellow Stickers and Bulky Waste


                                      Yellow Stickers and Bulky Waste
By Albert B. Kelly

One of the more challenging aspects of being a mayor of a smaller city is the speed with which you go from one thing to another in a given week. I say that, because one day you’re wrestling with putting more police on the streets and tamping down gun violence and the next, you’re discussing bulk waste city-wide. That’s not to say bulk waste isn’t important, but it is a reminder that municipal government is mostly about the everyday things.

In this case, it’s about yellow stickers. Section 300-19 of the City Code says; “all residents who desire to have bulky waste or white goods picked up and disposed of shall first be required to pay for and obtain from the City of Bridgeton Tax Office, or authorized agent, a single-use Bridgeton trash sticker”. Over the past several months, I’ve spoken with many residents about their frustration with the requirements

Before going any further, “bulky waste” is generally defined in Section 300-4 as a bag or receptacle up to 40 lbs. in weight, any bundle and specifically PVC pipe or carpeting that isn’t longer than 4 feet or heavier than 40 lbs., white goods (large appliances) bicycles, lawn mowers, furniture, etc. As things stand now, these require stickers at curbside.

We instituted the sticker and fee because there was a problem with out-of- town people loading up trash on our curbs, some trash came in the form of furnishings and belongings left behind by tenants or former owners of dwellings or a business or contractor avoiding dumpster fees. The point is that the sticker requirement kept down the tonnage which means lower rates than might otherwise be.

Part of the frustration is paying $3.00 per sticker because most folks believe the solid waste fees they already pay should cover everything related to bulky items. That’s a fair point. I think of the airlines that charge extra fees for leg room, carry-on bags, peanuts, and air if you plan to breath during the flight. You might think these would be included in the ticket price, but no. Here it’s about tonnage which is a moving target.

The other frustration with the yellow sticker has to do with schlepping down to the tax office every time you want to get rid of a bulky item. Truth be told, I can understand that frustration- City Hall is only open on weekdays when most people work and if you’re like me, you’re not quite sure who’s an “authorized agent” or when they’re open and the whole sticker thing can just kill a moment of inspiration to clean out the garage, attic, shed, basement, whatever.

And speaking as a resident, even if you do get a sticker, you worry about where to place the thing so that the enforcement people see it, but you don’t want to make it too obvious because you don’t want some knucklehead to come along and steal the thing as a joke or because they’re too cheap or lazy to get their own sticker, while hoping the thing will actually stick so that the rain or snow or wind won’t cause it to fall off - you get the point.

But there was something else residents shared. They said that when you put it all together, the $3.00 fee, schlepping down to the tax office for the sticker, hoping that the sticker stays on- all of these inconveniences actually work against a cleaner community because people simply dump their bulky waste in back alleys and wooded areas. Their point was that the whole sticker thing encourages illegal dumping.

Those wanting to do away with the sticker requirement for bulky waste pick-up believe the result will be less illegal dumping in alleys and wooded areas. I’m not so sure. What I will say, having spent the better part of 8 years working to get the old City Park landfill capped, is that what we do with solid waste in our environment is no small thing.

With these issues and concerns in mind, I will review with City Council the possibility of a 4-month moratorium on the yellow sticker requirement in order to gather data. Will eliminating the requirement mean less illegal dumping or an increase in tonnage amounts or both? Will people come from out of town in the middle of the night to off-load their waste on our curbs at our expense? Yellows stickers or higher rates- Go figure.