Smelly Schools

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Trash is a problem everywhere.

The Associated Press reported that In December 2003, two schools near a landfill in northeastern Pennsylvania temporarily shut down when an overwhelming stink made it impossible for students to concentrate in class. Investigators blamed the stench on decaying gypsum board.

The White Street Landfill will not be closed when household trash is diverted to the new city transfer station. Construction and Demolition Waste, which contains poisonous substances, will continue to be transported by large trucks to the landfill.

Greensboro, High Point, and all of Guilford County should be actively developing a long-term, regional solution to trash disposal. Hauling our household waste to a re-packaging facility and then paying to have it hauled away and become someone else's problem is not a good long-term solution. It is not even a good temporary solution.

We can reduce the volume of waste going into landfills by improved Recycling, Resue, and Resource Recovery and we should build a Waste to Energy program as soon as possible.

I have been gathering information for over five years about waste to energy programs. There are several options for plants that meet good environmental standards. Many facilities are more cost effective than conventional waste disposal methods in common use today.

I have approached city leaders several times and the negative thinking on this subject is unbelievable. Several years ago there was some talk. But even the talk was abandoned as soon as it was decided to stop receiving household trash at the White Street Landfill.

Other cities, both small and large, are looking at better energy sources and better ways of disposing of trash. Greensboro should be planning for the future, NOW ! !

Trash is a problem everywhere. Greensboro should deal with ours in smarter ways.

What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Diane, All of the uses for our trash that you have written about here on your blog are such great ideas. And they would cost far less and do so much more thnt the currently proposed plan. Why are people in power so damned dumb?!? BB

Diane Grey Davis said...

I think that they are like lots of us. They are afraid of things that they don't understand, and unwilling to look for new and better ways to do things.

And, as we all know, new ways are not always better.

The ability to make decisions about what should stay the same and what should change is a large part of any elected official's job.

Anonymous said...

I agree with your last statement Diane but I would also add that when you run for office you give a promise to do the best you can for ALL the people whose money you are spending. A big part of doing your best is making yourself knowledgeable. This is even more so when the project is as huge and costly and becoming more and more of an environmental issue as garbage disposal. Anyone who reads nothing bvut the daily newspaper should be aware of the fact that available disposal sites are becoming more and more scarce ewhich eventually will have use transporting our garbage 2500 miles out to the deserts of the southwest. That is, unless our elected officials wiseup and start thinking.******God Bless you Diane, you are such a sweetheart! You remind me so of my dear friend Sue who was a very intelligent, kind, calm, soft spoken person who was the only person who could get me off my high horse once my dander was up. Then she would send me out to handle the problem as I should. BB