The City of Seattle’s new trash ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1. In September, Seattle City Council unanimously decreed that residents are prohibited from disposing food waste and compostable paper products in garbage bins and dumpsters. Homes, apartment buildings and businesses that throw away too much food mixed with their garbage will be penalized.
How will the city government enforce the rule? Why, a gross (pun intended) invasion of privacy of course.
Beginning January, trash collectors are instructed to “take a cursory look each time they dump trash into a garbage truck.” Residents and businesses whose trash includes more than 10 percent of “food waste or certain paper products will receive a warning from the start of the year until the end of June.” After July 1, the Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will begin to issue fines.
Private residents whose trash contains more than 10% compostable items will receive a $1 fine on their next garbage bill. Apartment buildings and businesses—their dumpsters will be inspected on a random basis—have two warnings before they receive a fine. A third violation would result in a $50 fine.
According to the Seattle Times, operations supervisor for Recology CleanScapes promised that the new ordinance would not turn his drivers into garbage cops. Rather, “as they toss a can’s contents into the truck, they’ll pay attention to what they do see. And if it appears that more than 10 percent of a trash-can’s contents are either food waste or recyclables, they’ll leave a tag telling of the infraction. Seattle Public Utilities will be notified.”
So, not garbage cops… more like trash informants.
Awesome! Trash Police! More Fees/Fines/Fleecing! Sooooo glad I moved out of that liberal hellhole.
Sodom WA IS trash! Liberal progressive fools of the mindless democratic party have turned that city into a dump!
Seattle is the land of the liberal lunatics. I hope they eat themselves.
So, not garbage cops… more like trash informants.
Also illegal in Seattle: dumping used motor oil down storm drains. Obviously, Seattle is a totalitarian hellhole where secret police monitor storm drains to prevent engine maintenance, or whatever.
Meanwhile, in reality, Seattle’s actual problems originate from it being a very attractive place to live:
Last year, Seattle grew faster than any other major American city, according to population estimates released Thursday by the Census Bureau.
[…]
Seattle leapfrogged Boston to become the nation’s 21st biggest city.
[…]
… surely the city’s healthy economy is responsible for attracting many new residents. According to Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, the city added nearly 15,000 new jobs between 2012 and 2013.
Whatever Seattle has, it’s certainly more attractive than the suburbs:
Seattle didn’t just surpass other big U.S. cities in 2013. For the second consecutive year, it outpaced its suburbs — and the new census data show this trend is accelerating.Seattle grew at double the rate of surrounding King County between 2012 and 2013. That is significantly faster than in the previous year’s census estimates, which clocked Seattle’s growth at 25 percent faster than its King County suburbs.
Happy Holidays!
Pathetic. Yet another way I will become a criminal.
One more step towards 1984.
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Hello, I’m a liberal and I’m here to check the garbage can under your sink before you put it outside for pickup.