Monday, January 24, 2011

The Carrot or the Stick...



Big Brother is Watching You Recycle



...Cleveland wants its people recycling.  Cleveland - the nations fastest shrinking city, a city that still uses people to load garbage trucks (Did you know....that Scottsdale, Az, is the home of Godzilla - the worlds first automated garbage truck) thinks it has come up with a way to get people to recycle.

What incentive are they going to use?

If you recycle properly, you will not get fined.

"...Citing the British model, Cleveland, Ohio, is taking a giant step toward a similar scheme of compulsory recycling. In 2011 some 25,000 households will be required to use recycling bins fitted with radio-frequency identification tags (RFIDs)—tiny computer chips that can remotely provide information such as the weight of the bin’s contents and that allow passing garbage trucks to verify their presence. If a household does not put its recycle bin out on the curb, an inspector could check its garbage for improperly discarded recyclables and fine the scofflaws $100. Moreover, if a bin is put out in a tardy manner or left out too long, the household could be fined. Cleveland plans to implement the system citywide within six years.."

"...Cash-starved local governments will be watching to see if an American city as big as Cleveland can use RFID bins to increase revenues. The revenues would flow from three basic sources: a trash-collection fee that could be increased...; the imposition of fines; and the profit, if any, from selling recyclables..."

“...The Division of Waste Collection is on track to meet its goal of issuing 4,000 citations this year.” In short the goal is revenue enhancement not perfect compliance..."


Some people just don't get it...

5 comments:

Mrs. K said...

Is communism not far away? We are being threatened with Socialistic Health Care, now this, what next? Hope received a notice once about what was in and not supposed to be in her recyle can and that is in AZ.

I remember reading the book "1984" when it first came out....we were way beyond it by 1984 in many respects. I remember reading the cartoon Dick Tracy and he would talk into his wrist watch, in the show Get Smart they used a shoe for a phone....our technology has come a long way, now what you put into your garbage can be detected electronically. What next? I hate to ask.

nicole said...

When I read things like this, I almost feel paralyzed. What are we supposed to do?

LL said...

It sounds to me that people need to be voted from office in Cleveland.

Race Bannon said...

...or indicted

Race Bannon said...

Nicole...clearly - stop throwing things away, HOARD!

(BTW - Mrs Bannon drives the streets of the eastern seaboard looking for things people leave out as trash. Chairs seem to be her favorite - though if you come over for dinner, I can't say that your food was not preparred on somebody's cast off grill...)