Recycling Program? (Detroit, Troy, Rochester Hills: environment, property taxes, house)

[firecracker123]

In all my excitment I didn't even stop to look into something important to my family....the environment (yes I know Detroit has other issues....perhaps bigger for now

Anyhow while looking through my new residents package I DIDN'T see any type of composting or recycling program in RHills??? THis is what I have here in Toronto

WEEKLY - Compost pickup and includes plate scrappings, eggs/shells, diapers/feminine products, hair, kleenex, paper towels, meats, vegs and fruits, flour/sugar/popcorn bags, pretty much A LOT.....ALSO weekly we have recycling pickup which includes the paper, plastic, cans, paper towel rolls, paper etc etc etc

BI WEEKLY we have regular garbage pickup --- (where I am there is 3 bag per 2 week limit)...but honestly, with all the recycling choices we rarely have one full bag of garbage to go out.

Ok, I know part of is our higher tax rate (though your property taxes are 4x AT LEAST ours) but honestly? Nothing? Nada? THIS is a big surprise to me. I do know that RHills has a site that residents can go and drop of things to....anyone done this? Any other options?

It's a little disconcerting to be honest

[tcb]

Yeah it's sad, some cities have a recycle center where you can drop off newspapers, plastics, glass and aluminum cans for free. Very few offer any type of pickup.

[firecracker123]

Originally Posted by tcb

Yeah it's sad, some cities have a recycle center where you can drop off newspapers, plastics, glass and aluminum cans for free. Very few offer any type of pickup.

This is pretty discouraging...my kiddies have been taught since kindergarten the importance of recycling..my 5 year old can tell you what goes where and has the weekly chore of seperating the households bedroom and bathroom trach cans (with gloves lol).....it's very important to us....hmmm, I guess we'll have to get into the habit of driving our recylcing to the Rhills waste (I know they accept it) and then get a compost ourselves....may be a pain but not as much as not having clean air for my grandkids to breathe (and yes, we are buying a hybrid car and try very hard not to waste natural resources...goofy I know, but important)

Thanks for your input.....gotta say though for a country with so many people (Michigan has almost half the population of all of Canada I am sure) it's a surprise (and not a good one) that there is not more efforts in this area. It can go a long way.

[MICoastieMom]

Geez! For all the disparging remarks people make about the Downriver area, at least we have to-your-door recycling! They come right down the street with garbage truck and the one that recycles yard waste (clippings from pruned trees and shrubs and the like) into compost.

[firecracker123]

Originally Posted by MICoastieMom

Geez! For all the disparging remarks people make about the Downriver area, at least we have to-your-door recycling! They come right down the street with garbage truck and the one that recycles yard waste (clippings from pruned trees and shrubs and the like) into compost.

Oh, I'm not talking about yard waste...Rhills has that too (I hope!) I'm talking about composting....like food, dairy, diapers, used paper towels...etc and actualy recylcing, like cans, newspaper, cardboard, milk containers.....etc....the blue bins (ie. recycling) are typically 4-5 bins full every week and the green bin (composting) is a tall green one full every week....garden garbage (weeds, xmas trees, branches and such) is seperate and picked up every other week in the spring/summer/fall and once a month in the late fall/winter

Hmm, guess we're spoiled with it, but in reality it helps us all....ok....lol....enough tree hugging

[djmilf]

The Southern Oakland County Recovery and Recycling Authoring (website: WELCOME TO SOCRRA) covers Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, and Troy. All of these communities have curb-side recycling.

If you feel strongly about this issue, get involved politically in Rochester Hills and try to get the city to either join SOCRRA or set up their own recycling program.

I believe that SOCRRA also might allow you to participate in their composting program, even if you don't live in one of the communities listed above.

[MICoastieMom]

Originally Posted by firecracker123

Oh, I'm not talking about yard waste...Rhills has that too (I hope!) I'm talking about composting....like food, dairy, diapers, used paper towels...etc and actualy recylcing, like cans, newspaper, cardboard, milk containers.....etc....the blue bins (ie. recycling) are typically 4-5 bins full every week and the green bin (composting) is a tall green one full every week....garden garbage (weeds, xmas trees, branches and such) is seperate and picked up every other week in the spring/summer/fall and once a month in the late fall/winter

Hmm, guess we're spoiled with it, but in reality it helps us all....ok....lol....enough tree hugging

We have both, yard waste for composting and recycling of can, plastic, glass, newspapers, cardboard. They come every week along with the regular garbage truck. The yard waste comes from April to November, and I beleive they also make a couple of special runs right after the holidays to pick up used Christmas trees.

[firecracker123]

Originally Posted by MICoastieMom

We have both, yard waste for composting and recycling of can, plastic, glass, newspapers, cardboard. They come every week along with the regular garbage truck. The yard waste comes from April to November, and I beleive they also make a couple of special runs right after the holidays to pick up used Christmas trees.

hmmm, lucky

[kimba01]

I keep my stuff separate in bins in my garage and then once they are full I load them up and take them to the recycling center. At first I was bummed that Sterling Hts did not have curbside pick up, (I had that in Hazel Park) but now I am used to it and I take my daughter with me to help me unload. It's really not bad.

As far as compost, I really don't know much about that. (I would not wish to dig thru diapers and feminine products to separate them. And they use those for compost? Yuck)

[firecracker123]

Originally Posted by kimba01

I keep my stuff separate in bins in my garage and then once they are full I load them up and take them to the recycling center. At first I was bummed that Sterling Hts did not have curbside pick up, (I had that in Hazel Park) but now I am used to it and I take my daughter with me to help me unload. It's really not bad.

As far as compost, I really don't know much about that. (I would not wish to dig thru diapers and feminine products to separate them. And they use those for compost? Yuck)

Good to know And ... lol ... I don't make my daughter go through THAT I have a system for those things but they add up --- the diapers do --- with 3 kids running around (albeit one if older and the 5 year old is at night only)...yes, they use that for compost....I think it's awesome, I was very close to switching to cloth diapers but the introduced it (yes I know there are issues with that too)

But thanks for the info and I shall keep this in mind