Green Despair

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Every fcking single one of the green recycling container bins in my block and surrounding blocks have been crowbarred open, their contents strewn all over the road. Aaarrgghh, blood well and truly boiled. This days after the electricity company smashed the pavement into pieces. Along with the nightly spectacle of the black bin bag slash and spill, this is my current neighbourhood bug bear.

Very disheartening, was very happy to see green recycle bins land, but no. Smashed, broken and their innards spewed over the streets. Marvellous.

The chaotic nature of this city sometimes chews up and spits out the more progressive efforts at solving problems.

 

[robbrown]

Which neighbourhood are you in?

 

[Mano Negra]

I happen to know a lot about recycling/ green energy. I used to advise on it. The truth is the contents are worth more to the guys who crowbarred the containers open than to the company that collected the so called homogenous waste. The fact is the latter would have probably taken their contract money and dumped the stuff, while the former will not carry anything that does not have a genuine market value. I do feel uncomfortable watching people go through the bins, but in terms of market efficiency it is much more "green" than leaving it to big companies / governments. You can be assured that anything that has a market value will be separated out...by hand.

 

[PhilipDT]

The large recycling containers that can only be lifted by a crane were a solution to the old recycling container problem which happened in the barrios with the old style containers which was that the cartoneros would just steal the containers and roll them down the streat. Honestly once we get the recycling containers around the city it's time for a draconian crackdown on cartoneros. It doesn't take a phd in economics to realize the absolute waste and inefficiency in trying to run a recycling program the way it's been done with cartineris

 

[PhilipDT]

I happen to know a lot about recycling/ green energy. I used to advise on it. The truth is the contents are worth more to the guys who crowbarred the containers open than to the company that collected the so called homogenous waste. The fact is the latter would have probably taken their contract money and dumped the stuff, while the former will not carry anything that does not have a genuine market value. I do feel uncomfortable watching people go through the bins, but in terms of market efficiency it is much more "green" than leaving it to big companies / governments. You can be assured that anything that has a market value will be separated out...by hand.

It's not green when the city has to send in a crew to basically follow after the cartoneros and clean up the mess. Plus the cost of having to replace the containers.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

While I sympathize with people who have to try to earn a living off other people's debris, the cartoneros are also a public health problem. Their very presence symbolizes the failures of Kirchnerismo (and Peronismo in a larger context).

 

[arlean]

Recycling? I didn't know that existed here. I have been saving mercury light bulbs because I can't bear to put them in the garbage because of how toxic the stuff is. Asked the portero and one other person about where to put toxic stuff and they said no, they just go in the trash. IS there another solution?

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Maybe the answer was to professionalize the carterneros and not set up a conflicting system. Either way, right now its a messy farce.

In Belgrano, nr Olleros subte.y

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

Was I the only one that saw this coming?

It does seem to me that the carterneros are the most motivated, and hence probably the most effective. They aren't going away so let's work with them. I'd like to get a solution that solves the problem of strewing garbage all over the street. If we (REALLY) separated our recyclables into small unlocked bins they would just come by and empty those bins. Easier for them, they don't have to dig through kitchen waste, and cleaner for the street. More effective to enforce the separation of recyclables than to try to crack down on the carterneros - imo.

If they steal the containers then we beat the sh*t out of them. (only half joking)

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

There does seem to be an organized cartonero outfit, who arrive in a lorry, pile out and go to work. They are more conscientious from what I can see, they don't make too much of a mess. Then, there are the individual privateers, they are the ones that I have saw making the most mess. They look a bit more desperate and agressive, I guess there are a myriad of social and personal factors at play there but the effect is not pretty, from a public health perspective it isn't good either.

Anyway, the landfill sites are maxed out from what I read, the containers are really just putting lipstick on this pig...the real problem still exists, where it all goes. Need to bring in a tax on plastic bags, I can't buiy a bottle of watter without someone trying to give me a plastic straw wrapped up in paper with the bottle inserted into a plastic bag. Education won't work. Need to tax litter to stop it's production.