Here's Your "Trash Fee"

It's not a straight out trash fee, but Mayor Lisa Wong is proposing a pay-as-you-throw program for the city. Public hearing May 14. Details are at the Fitchburg Pride website. The down-and-dirty: You'd have to buy special bags at the grocery store and elsewhere (75 cents for small bags, $1.50 for big ones) for your trash. The idea if you're paying for the bags, you're going to cram a lot of stuff in there, and put more stuff in your recycling bin.

I'll say this, for now. If this is going to happen, the city is going to need to get their hands on a lot of recycling bins, and get them out there, fast. I'm not talking hundreds, I'm talking thousands. If we're supposed to get serious about recycling, we'd need double our current two bins at the Save Fitchburg Mansion. Probably even more than that. Someone in the Pride office lives in an apartment, and has no bins. I'm sure he's not alone. If you're going to want people to recycle and save money, you have to give them the means to do it. Wong says she will, but the more I think about it the more it seems like a big task.

Wong also said the budget won't include money for raises. That public acknowledgement isn't going to go over well.