Comments on: Budget Debate Preview: Cops, Leaves

By: Donna Estabrook

Donna Estabrook — Tue, 20 May 2014 15:59:33 +0000

In the cold months we do not put our garbage or recycle carts at the curb until they are full. The trucks don’t have to stop and empty a partially filled cart – that is a savings right there and we don’t have to wrestle the carts through the snow every week. The garbage and any food waste inadvertently left in recycled containers freezes (or is very cold) in the carts sitting behind our house. We have no trouble with insects (too cold) or animals (well designed carts). The same idea can be applied to plate scrapings in the compost cart. Once a month compost pick-up in the winter sounds reasonable.

By: Luis Vazquez

Luis Vazquez — Mon, 19 May 2014 22:33:30 +0000

@1: The article stated that ” $300,000 in annual costs to be recovered in part through reduced landfill tipping fees for garbage…”. That is not a faulty assumption. Hefting your trash cart in the middle of winter (which I assume you do on a weekly basis?)is the same as hefting a compostables cart, so I’m calling your hefting a red herring. On the basis of simple math, a pound of food scraps going into the compost cart is one less pound going to the landfill. Add that up to include all Ann Arbor residents (and businesses) diverting food waste from tippable landfill trash, and you do have a substantial savings if everybody did their public duty. In addition, a public education campaign may need to take place, but I can see our citizens getting used to it.

Plus year-round composting would negate the “need” for the city to collect all of the fallen leaves – at over $300,000 per year recurring cost. The infrastructure is already in place to collect leaves in compost carts, so I would not support what Jane Lumm is proposing.

Perhaps collecting compostables should be considered for once a month in December, January and February, since most people will have the leaves cleared by December, xmas trees can be cut up and placed into the carts for January pickup, and food scraps are not likely to fill an entire cart in a month’s time. This could minimize the expenses that would be incurred by Sabra Briere’s proposal.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sun, 18 May 2014 12:16:58 +0000

A distasteful aspect of this process is the method often used by Council members of robbing Peter to pay Paul. A perfectly worthwhile objective has funds taken to fill another objective. This means that some of us don’t know what side to cheer on.

Another is that funds are transferred based on faulty assumptions. A standout is CM Briere’s assumption that year-round compostable pickup will be paid for by a substantial reduction in tipping fees because of food waste diversion. If we have another winter like this last one, it means that stalwart residents will be tiptoeing through the drifts to deposit food waste into carts (and it will be most of what is in the cart) and then hefting these out to the street. Is there any basis on which to expect that this voluntary activity will really diminish tonnage at a sufficient level?

Yet another is the transfer of unlike funds – that is, funds that were collected for a specific purpose into another use. The use of the affordable housing trust fund (which was meant to provide a source of capital for building affordable housing) into a human services use (warming center), which is a recurring expense, is just bad accounting and is short-sighted.

And for my part, I hate to see the money for police officers diverted into drug treatment. While such a program is likely needed, I’d like to see the success in increased traffic enforcement continued. That is especially important as we attempt to make Ann Arbor a more pedestrian-friendly city.

Thank you for once again summarizing all this complex detail into a more digestible form.