Waste Management

[GGT]

Who's responsible, and why? Who pays for it, and how?

Include things like sanitary sewer, septic tanks, leach fields, sand percolation, "outhouses", public restrooms, plus:

'Garbage' waste:
(1) recyclables (glass, metals, paper and cardboard, plus compostable kitchen and yard waste)
(2) large items (old mattresses, sofas, broken toilets and refrigerators)
(3) construction and building debris (asphalt shingles, lumber scraps, HVAC items)

Biomedical waste:
(1) Blood, feces, vomit or sputum contaminated items (bedsheets or diapers from home, hotel, public restrooms, etc.)
(2) used sharps (needles)
(3) hospital or lab products (blood, organs, tissues, plus #1 and #2)

[Illusions]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management

http://www.google.com/search?q=waste+management

[agamemnus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management

http://www.google.com/search?q=waste+management

[Aimless]

Ideally, the government, at various levels. In reality, the Sopranos if Illusions were more responsible for it he wouldn't have the time to be such a crafty troll

[Catgrrl]

Some people think they aren't responsible at all, hence all the litter along the side of the roads.

What has spurred on this question? Do you mean literal sense or more of a "who really should be paying it?" Around here, taxpayers pay a majority of the "Garbage" list. We have city workers picking up our regular trash. A private company contracted by our city picks up the recycling (so still tax dollars).

As far as "biomedical waste" that is usually the responsibility of the hospital/lab/office generating it. When I worked for a facility that had an on-call vet, we were able to give our waste to the Occupational Health office (since my facility was city owned) and they would have a private company pick it up for destruction. So, more taxpayer dollars. I can't speak for hospitals/doctor offices but just from glancing around the offices I have been in, it looks like they also have a private company pick up their waste (my doctor's office uses the same company my old job did). So that would be private dollars there.

Now, when it comes to a non-medical field, my experience has been that blood and feces and other bodily fluids end up in the same garbage as everything else. But I'm guessing that hospitals and labs are held to higher standard just from the sheer volume of such waste being disposed of.

[Flixy]

Ordinary trash is paid for by county taxes here, I do know that the university pays to have their toxic/radiological/biomedical waste disposed of.

[Lebanese Dragon]

Do you think that perhaps the private sector may be better suited to take over the industry of waste removal? It may turn out cheaper for individuals, and accomplish trash removal at a lower cost. Since business are all about remaining competitive then you'd suspect deals regaurding how to dispose of it (sell it to companies who can convert it to energy) or to farmers if it's biodegradable may happen at a much quicker pace.

If we can incentivitize governemnt, it is definitely Ideal to have us pool our resources together (aka pay taxes to the government) to accomplish tasks in a uniform/standardized way. However, the private sector has a setting that drives it to perfection... eventually.

[Dreadnaught]

I mean, there is the private company called Waste Management: http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:WM

But like most basic services, waste management is primarily a government responsibility that could (if appropriate and effective) be contracted-out. I'm not sure if this has actually been controversial anywhere.

[GGT]

Some people think they aren't responsible at all, hence all the litter along the side of the roads.

What has spurred on this question? Do you mean literal sense or more of a "who really should be paying it?" Around here, taxpayers pay a majority of the "Garbage" list. We have city workers picking up our regular trash. A private company contracted by our city picks up the recycling (so still tax dollars).

A couple of things. One was local zoning, covenants and restrictions from another thread (bans on outdoor burning of garbage). Another was reading about people who live in RVs. They pay to empty their holding tanks (toilets), but 'sneak' their garbage into strip mall dumpsters, or put big bags at public cans.

I also paid my sewer/refuse bill at the township office the other day, and asked the clerk why they charge $55 per quarter for twice-a-week collection (including weekly recyclables and weekly heavy trash pick-up). "It's in their contract." *Private contract with the township* Did we really need it that often, especially for large items? She said there had been problems with people throwing sofas and fridges at the side of the road, and piling up garbage that attracted rodents. We still get rural folks dropping their bags in our area, because they're responsible for contracting their own garbage removal but end up dumping it here for free.

We also have township leaf pick-up and street sweeping, because too many people didn't keep the street gutters clear of leaves, and we'd get mini-floods as rain backed up in the streets.


edit: She also said that in this 'bad economy', tons of people aren't paying their sewer/refuse bills. (They're bills sent in the mail, separate from taxes.) It's gotten so bad they're now putting liens on homes for non-payment 2 quarters in a row.

[Flixy]

Do you think that perhaps the private sector may be better suited to take over the industry of waste removal? It may turn out cheaper for individuals, and accomplish trash removal at a lower cost. Since business are all about remaining competitive then you'd suspect deals regaurding how to dispose of it (sell it to companies who can convert it to energy) or to farmers if it's biodegradable may happen at a much quicker pace.

If we can incentivitize governemnt, it is definitely Ideal to have us pool our resources together (aka pay taxes to the government) to accomplish tasks in a uniform/standardized way. However, the private sector has a setting that drives it to perfection... eventually.

I mean, there is the private company called Waste Management: http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:WM

But like most basic services, waste management is primarily a government responsibility that could (if appropriate and effective) be contracted-out. I'm not sure if this has actually been controversial anywhere.

Aye, over here it's private companies that are contracted by the local governments, AFAIK. Haven't heard complaints about it, and us Dutchies like to complain, so I'm assuming it works well enough.

Why is there a link between waste management and the mafia in the USA? I know, sortof, how it works in Naples, but the US seems somewhat less corrupt

A couple of things. One was local zoning, covenants and restrictions from another thread (bans on outdoor burning of garbage). Another was reading about people who live in RVs. They pay to empty their holding tanks (toilets), but 'sneak' their garbage into strip mall dumpsters, or put big bags at public cans.

I also paid my sewer/refuse bill at the township office the other day, and asked the clerk why they charge $55 per quarter for twice-a-week collection (including weekly recyclables and weekly heavy trash pick-up). "It's in their contract." *Private contract with the township* Did we really need it that often, especially for large items? She said there had been problems with people throwing sofas and fridges at the side of the road, and piling up garbage that attracted rodents. We still get rural folks dropping their bags in our area, because they're responsible for contracting their own garbage removal but end up dumping it here for free.

We also have township leaf pick-up and street sweeping, because too many people didn't keep the street gutters clear of leaves, and we'd get mini-floods as rain backed up in the streets.


edit: She also said that in this 'bad economy', tons of people aren't paying their sewer/refuse bills. (They're bills sent in the mail, separate from taxes.) It's gotten so bad they're now putting liens on homes for non-payment 2 quarters in a row.

Twice a week seems pretty often.

Over here you can get fines for dumping trash, and they will check dumped bags looking for personal information. There's not much trash dumping here, to be honest. Heavy trash (things like sofas) are not picked up, though you can have it picked up (and pay for it) or drop it off at a recycling center yourself.

I don't really know how often trash is picked up here, they built a cool new system with underground containers in which you dump your trashbags at any time of any day. They are regularly emptied. Seems to work well! Very convenient for the users, at least (no more missing your pickup and having too much smelly trash for a week).

[GGT]

Aye, over here it's private companies that are contracted by the local governments, AFAIK. Haven't heard complaints about it, and us Dutchies like to complain, so I'm assuming it works well enough.

Why is there a link between waste management and the mafia in the USA? I know, sortof, how it works in Naples, but the US seems somewhat less corrupt

Twice a week seems pretty often.

Over here you can get fines for dumping trash, and they will check dumped bags looking for personal information. There's not much trash dumping here, to be honest. Heavy trash (things like sofas) are not picked up, though you can have it picked up (and pay for it) or drop it off at a recycling center yourself.

I don't really know how often trash is picked up here, they built a cool new system with underground containers in which you dump your trashbags at any time of any day. They are regularly emptied. Seems to work well! Very convenient for the users, at least (no more missing your pickup and having too much smelly trash for a week).

We'd never adopt the underground container system here--sounds like spending 'public money'--to which we're allergic.

We also have fines for dumping, if you're caught in the act or can be traced. But folks do it stealthily at night, and have learned not to put bills or anything with their name on it in trash, or shred the paper first. Our contracts change every few years, and we have 3 or 4 garbage companies to choose from, but the contracts can't be changed during the term. I think the "mafia" comment was aimed at unionized workers....but we don't have public employees picking up our trash (or striking) like NYC does.

My township also includes a large hospital and their biomedical waste is contracted separately, but they're still using our sewer system. Since our household fees are based on number of flush toilets, I wonder how theirs are figured? Especially considering the nasty stuff they flush over there, that would impact how much sludge has to be treated/stored/moved by the sewer authority.

At least our drinking water doesn't come from chemically treated sewage or storm drain run-off, like other communities.

[Flixy]

The mafia thing, I meant more in general, thinking of, say, the Sopranos.

Also, what kind of nasty things do you reckon hospitals flush? Anything particularly nasty is medical (or chemical) waste.

Fun thing, our archives we wanted to get rid of were classified as toxic waste, because they didn't have industrial paper shredders, and chemical waste is apparently just burnt to oblivion. So that got rid of it quite nicely

And while it's surely spending public money, I reckon it also saves money, and it's super convenient, clean, and safer for rodents etc.

BTW, what exactly is wrong with treated sewage, as long as it ends up clean? Mind you, my experiences with tap water in the US are not very positive, but clean water is clean water. I have not a clue where my particular drinking water comes from, presumably a mix between source water, and treated river, rain and sewage water.

[GGT]

As far as I know, our local hospitals don't use a separate sewer system, yet they flush all types of infected "waste" down patient toilets (including tissue pieces from suction and collection devices). Since they have their own internal laundry service, even contaminated and infectious laundry wash-waste water empties into the same sewer system as households (washable linens contaminated with blood, feces, sputum, wound drainage, etc.)

I'm not sure how they handle red bagged bio-hazard items from Infectious Isolation patients, unless they're using mostly disposable products (paper sheets and gowns, like surgery does) that finds its way to our Incinerator, or is shipped off "somewhere else" to be incinerated. Someone who currently works in a Lab, dealing with blood and tissue waste, could help fill in the blanks. My guess is most people don't really think about where the stuff goes.

And there's nothing wrong with treated sewage-turned-drinking-water, as long as it's also tested for antibiotic metabolites, or fomites, or whatever. As the holidays come around, I'm remembering Pacific Northwest water that tested high for things like vanilla and cinnamon--end products of cooking that were flushed down the drain.

*edit--maybe it included baking soda too, that changed the pH of the water--does anyone else recall that report?*

Also, that some drinking water tests high in hormones and antibiotics, or comes out of the tap as a flammable liquid you can light with a match. (The latter being well contaminants from natural gas frakking.)

[CitizenCain]

Why is there a link between waste management and the mafia in the USA?

Lot of no-bid monopoly contracts (that, let's face it, any uneducated moron can do), low public visibility/interest, and a good way to prevent corpses from being found, I always assumed.

[GGT]

Interesting to read about the tons of post-tsunami Japanese trash, moving through the Pacific on its way toward Hawaii and the US west coast. I guess whatever floats our way becomes ours to clean up.

[Flixy]

Wouldn't that likely end up in a big vortex in three middle of the ocean? That's where most trash in the sea is (and that's a LOT).

[GGT]

From experts that do this for a living. Sounds like an interesting job!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44946850.../#.TqrSZs22BUM