IT HAPPENED ABOUT 30 years ago as I was coming back from a trip downstate. I stopped at a gas station… I believe it was in Seney, to fill up for the final leg home. I had a bag of dead fast food wrappers that I wanted to discard, but I couldn’t locate a trash can, usually found somewhere near the pumps.
When I went in to pay, I took my litter bag with me, figuring I could throw it away inside. Again… I couldn’t find a trash can. I asked the proprietor where I could dump it and he said, “We don’t have any place for that here.”
What? How dare he! No place for me to get rid of my garbage? What kind of full-service gas station was this?
A New Day
As I contemplated what that meant, I came to realize that how we’d always dealt with garbage was going through a change. It was no longer just something to be dumped and dismissed. It was a commodity, with more value going out than going in.
Paying more attention to the issues surrounding the trash I didn’t want to pay any more attention to, I discovered garbage from our area was being trucked all the way to Dafter, a town in the eastern U.P., for permanent disposal. It turns out, garbage was harder to get rid of than I thought.
Fast forward to today, and though most gas stations offer garbage cans, and much of our waste is now deposited at the Marquette County landfill, trash, and how we deal with it, is still a huge issue. One study I saw says that each of us produces about 4 pounds of trash each day. And that probably doesn’t even include all the political ads filling our mailboxes.
Cart Acceptance
To make a short story long… how’s that recycling cart working out for you? If you recall, I, along with many others, was against being forced to use the big blue carts rather than our modest and manageable bins.
Although I still detest the sight of all those carts befouling the curb appeal throughout our neighborhoods, I’ve come to appreciate how they encourage more recycling. Almost everything can be recycled, and if that cuts down on the need for more acreage being dedicated to landfills, I’m all for it.
But those complimentary carts were only for recycling. Carts were available for garbage, but not mandatory. You could still do the bag thing, if that’s what you preferred.
Word on the street now is that carts are soon to be the rule for trash too. Not free, like the recycling carts were, but comparable in cost to what you’d spend on bags and tags. Though it hasn’t been confirmed, it looks like it’s imminent, and we shouldn’t be surprised. Once the move was made to carts for recycling, it was only a matter of time before we’d go the cart route for trash too.
And here’s another mea culpa. Though I stubbornly stuck with bags, I finally gave in and got the garbage cart too. And let me say, I’ve come to appreciate the ability to throw tons of junk in there without worrying about violating the 30 pound rule.
One of the reasons for the move to carts had to come from the haulers themselves. I imagine the guys working for Waste Management don’t mind not having to throw bags of garbage around for eight hours every night, holidays included. Cutting back on manpower and turning the work over to the big loud trucks has to be much more efficient.
Night to Day
Another change on the way is the move to daytime collection. Again, nothing has been confirmed, and a premature announcement would be putting the cart before the truck, but the nighttime pickup looks like it’s on its way out. That’s good news for those of us who like a full night’s sleep, and it must be what’s good for the haulers. Complications will have to be sorted out, like working around traffic and parked cars, but nothing is impossible in the garbage game.
We’ll watch for updates on this and other important trash news.
Recycling Compost
Another way to cut down on your waste going to the landfill, in addition to traditional recycling, is doing the same with compostable materials. A report from the Environmental Resilience Institute indicates 28% of waste deposited in landfills can be composted.
Partridge Creek Compost is now offering curbside compost collections within the city limits of Marquette, Negaunee, and Ishpeming. Weekly collections are available for $28/month or biweekly collections for $18/month.
Originally stemming from Partridge Creek Farm, Partridge Creek Compost established itself as a separate non-profit in 2023. According to their website, although their missions differ in scope, “both organizations share a common commitment to environmental stewardship, community engagement and dedication to a robust interconnected local food system.”
Those in the program can take advantage of 30% off finished bagged compost, 20% off finished bulk compost and apparel, and 10% off raised garden beds. For more information, visit their website at Partridge Creek Compost.
Respect Mother Earth
When the gas station won’t take your garbage, it’s time to recycle. Somebody once said, “When you throw something away, it doesn’t disappear, it just becomes something else. Opt for recycling, and make sure that something else is useful.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself, or I would have.