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.