Home › Forums › Open Discussion › No Trash Cans in Seattle Parks
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
May 25, 2009 at 4:17 pm #590996
GinaParticipanthttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009259170_parkstrash25m.html
In a utopia, this might work as a money saving idea.
In the real world, I see a potential to turn every city park into a mini landfill.
May 25, 2009 at 5:26 pm #667482
WSBKeymasterLet me know if anyone has noticed this at their neighborhood park. It certainly has not been implemented at places like Alki, Lincoln Park, etc. By the way, if you want to see the BigBelly solar compactor mentioned in the story, it is just west of the Alki Bathhouse.
May 25, 2009 at 6:29 pm #667483
KBearParticipantGood grief! A city park is not a wilderness area. “Pack it out” is a totally irresponsible policy. Garbage collection is not an optional luxury; it should be considered part of the minimum required maintenance of any city park. Maybe the city could save some money by not removing crosswalks and shift it over to garbage collection.
May 25, 2009 at 7:00 pm #667484
clark5080ParticipantDon’t worry they are just setting things up for another parks levy to cover garbage collections
May 25, 2009 at 7:09 pm #667485
SueParticipantI don’t see the big deal – if you can carry it into the park, why can’t you carry it out? Trash cans are not a god-given right in parks. The article did say that they would try to leave garbage cans in place at picnic areas.
May 25, 2009 at 10:22 pm #667486
KBearParticipantUnfortunately, a lot of people won’t do the right thing unless it’s made easy for them, and their garbage will mess up the parks unless the city provides proper receptacles and pickup. What’s the point of having city parks if they’re nothing but polluted garbage dumps? If I want to walk among garbage, I can always visit one of the alleys behind the Alaska Junction–and they HAVE garbage pickup!
May 26, 2009 at 3:05 am #667487
Mayor QuimbyMemberFauntleroy Park I feel has always had minimal trash cans.
Pack it out is a great policy though not many people follow it, unfortunately.
I think this is another example that the City is in dire straights for $$. I look forward to the parks levy update though.
Poor Seattle economy, don’t let the parks lose!
May 26, 2009 at 3:08 am #667488
QueMemberMy daughter was practicing her reading this morning and decided to pick up the paper. (She is 8) She read this article and decided that taking garbage cans out of the parks was stupid and everyone would litter and make the parks gross.
I couldn’t be prouder of her.
May 26, 2009 at 7:30 am #667489
WSBKeymasterDoes she need writing practice? If she wrote a few lines elaborating on that I’d publish it on the home page :) Working on ways to hear from more kids/youth :)
May 26, 2009 at 4:07 pm #667490
WSratsinacageMemberHow is the city so strapped for cash with property tax going up every year with people moving here in droves until recently. Sales tax is 10%, gas tax is 2nd highest in the nation, etc, etc. I am amazed that we have no money and budgets get cut for schools, parks, etc ..
May 26, 2009 at 5:18 pm #667491
alki_2008ParticipantI’m sure that money played a large role in the parks department’s decision, but maybe the city will make even more money by issuing fines for littering…which will undoubtedly happen when there are fewer trash cans available.
But seriously, I’m not too opposed to this on an environmental level. Much of the “trash” that’s placed into the park’s trash cans are recyclable or compostable materials…so ‘packing it out’ should encourage folks to separate out their waste at home. I’ve been to large events (50+ people) at parks before where we had our own trash/recycling bags and took the bags home to dispose of…it’s not that difficult.
I’d rather have the trash cans removed than pay more property taxes to accommodate people that don’t respect the parks/environment enough to separate their waste appropriately.
May 26, 2009 at 7:43 pm #667492
RSMemberTR- this happened at our neighborhood park on 28th ave by Longfellow creek, the dragonfly park or whatever it’s officially called. We noticed the garbage cans missing in late February. I think it’s a terrible idea and I’ve seen first hand how badly it’s working out for the park and for our neighborhood. . The garbage can used to sit right next to a poop-bag dispenser. Now there is no place to throw away dog poop, so people have taken to just leaving the full bags at the base of the dispenser, at various spots around the park or on the sidewalk! I know that people should be responsible enough to “pack it out”, but they clearly are not. It’s a little odd to encourage people to pick up after their dogs and then not provide a place for them to dispose of what they’ve picked up. Ultimately, parks employees have to come and clean up the park. Wouldn’t it be easier for them to empty a few garbage cans rather than go around the entire park picking up all the extra trash??
May 26, 2009 at 7:46 pm #667493
RSMemberTo the Alki_2008’s comment about fines for littering- that may work in larger parks, but the smaller parks are not regularly patrolled by cops or parks staff. I’ve NEVER seen any at our small park and the fear of a littering ticket is clearly not having a deterrent effect on the litterers in our neighborhood.
May 26, 2009 at 8:00 pm #667494
alki_2008ParticipantRS – good point about disposal of dog poop. I used to just carry the little (sometimes not so little) bag on the walk home…but I guess it might be different for people that drive their dogs to the park, rather than walk there.
About the fines…maybe they could ‘deputize’ the parks employees. Since they won’t be spending their time cleaning garbage cans, then they could spend time issuing littering tickets. :p
May 26, 2009 at 8:29 pm #667495
RSMemberUh-oh, update- our trash can has been returned!! My husband pointed out to me that our trash can was restored sometime over the weekend. (you can tell who’s been walking the little avatar lately!) So I wonder if someone complained or if they’re rethinking the policy??
May 26, 2009 at 9:12 pm #667496
OlMomParticipantThe high schoolers will not “pack it out” of Hiawatha. I guarantee it.
May 26, 2009 at 10:17 pm #667497
JulieMemberNot that many of them seem to use the cans, anyway….
May 27, 2009 at 12:01 am #667498Why don’t we just make one big trash can? Duhhhh.
May 27, 2009 at 12:12 am #667499
JoBParticipantpenny wise .. pound foolish…
May 27, 2009 at 7:33 am #667500
QueMemberHey TR! Great Idea! I will talk to her about writing something up for you! She would LOVE that!
May 28, 2009 at 2:13 am #667501
JimmyGMemberThe small park down beside the Harbor West condos has never had cans ever since it got it’s do-over about 9 years ago.
But hey, we’ve got money for car-free Alki. Just no dollars for basic city services like garbage collection in our city parks.
May 28, 2009 at 3:09 am #667502
alki_2008ParticipantProblem is…it’s not all garbage. Most of the stuff going into park garbage cans is compostable or recyclable (paper plates, napkins, paper towels, drink bottles/cans, etc).
With the “powers that be” forcing everyone to be green, then they either have to put out sorted containers at the parks or take away the garbage cans entirely…or pay people to sort the garbage that’s collected at the parks. Yucky job.
May 28, 2009 at 5:19 am #667503
KBearParticipantSo it’s better to have recyclables, compostables AND garbage strewn all over the place than mixed together in a trash can? I think everyone knows that if you’re going to try to collect recycling and compostables in public areas, there’s going to be some additional sorting to do. That’s not an excuse to take away the containers entirely.
May 28, 2009 at 10:04 am #667504
alki_2008ParticipantActually, it’s better to have park-goers responsible and considerate enough to take their garbage away with them. Honestly, it’s not that tough. Done it plenty of times for events with 50+ people, so bringing a bag or two for a dozen people or just a single plastic bag for oneself shouldn’t be too complicated. Bring a bag of mickey-d’s to the park, then put the garbage in the same bag and throw it in the garbage when home.
But yeah – I’m realistic enough to know that people just won’t do it because it just seems “too inconvenient”. How about no parks at all?
May 28, 2009 at 2:02 pm #667505
SueParticipantOne thing I notice here in Seattle is that some people complain about not having certain services, like the cutting back on the garbage cans (and many other things). But somebody’s got to pay for that. We don’t have city or state income tax here. I’ve lived in a state with both and paid many thousands of dollars a year in more taxes than I pay here – and we did get more services. Paying for water/sewer/trash was unheard of to me when I moved here, but I was used to my taxes paying for this stuff. Now, I’m not suggesting we start having city/state income taxes here – I rather like NOT having them. But where is the money going to come from for every pie-in-the-sky thing we want? Would people be upset if they had to pay $5 to visit a local park to pay for park maintenance?
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.