We wanted to recycle. But we had to go to some office that had extremely limited hours. My wife went on an off day. She reported that when she was there the employee ignored her, had a surly attitude, and made her fill out some form saying she would not steal the bin and was actually planning on recycling. Is it any wonder why that office had stacks and stacks of bins sitting there? Why not just dump off bins or totes at each property a garbage can is assigned to?
We obviously recycle a lot. But I can understand why people are hesitant to do so. As Commissioner Stepniak points out, the bins are small and the recyclables blow around on windy days. More importantly, what is in it for the resident? We already pay an obscene "user fee" for garbage that doesn't decrease much even if you get the smaller tote. Why should we help the city earn extra revenue if the city is not going to do anything for us?
Why not offer a rebate on garbage charges for people who recycle? Immediately refunding the money would prevent the city from taking the revenue and putting it into expanding bureaucracy (cough city 'services' cough) which is what they are going to end up doing.