tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733724814208836086.post260761319391725862..comments2012-10-06T12:51:53.416-07:00Comments on Thoughts from a swimmer: Water, Water, Everywhere!Cindy 6http://www.blogger.com/profile/12366515158473554938noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733724814208836086.post-932676359747576702011-04-25T08:38:47.992-07:002011-04-25T08:38:47.992-07:00Nice post. I've noticed the ocean water around...Nice post. I've noticed the ocean water around the mid-Atlantic getting cleaner as well. Ocean city, in particular, seems significantly better than it was 20 years ago. Even in recent trips to New Jersey beaches, I've been impressed with the water quality. This is a very good thing.<br /><br />What's not so good is the lack of curbside recycling in your neighborhood. Without knowing your address, I can't speak to your specific situation, but I can tell you that the county's trash/recycling collection services are paid for with a trash fee that is separate from the taxes that go into the General Fund. Without opening the old "fee vs. taxes" debate, I'll also say that there are a number of factors that go into this fee and it varies based on where you are in the county and the nature of your neighborhood. For instance, homes in the western part of the county pay a bit less in the trash fee because they don't have curbside yard waste pick up. Meanwhile, certain private communities -- i.e. apartments and condos -- that have private trash collection have opted not to utilize county recycling services because of the $39 annual fee per household. The Howard County Times wrote about this a couple years ago: <br /><br />http://www.explorehoward.com/news/64487/cost-cutting-leaves-some-recycling-gaps/<br /><br />If you send me your address or the name of your community, I'd be happy to look into your situation and find out what's going on. You can reach me at 410-313-3075 or ikennedy@howardcountymd.gov.<br /><br />Also, I noticed you linked to the Patch story about the landfill methane capture. Something else of note about our landfill is that we're planning to start "mining" it for recyclable materials, which can be removed and sent off to the recycling plant for processing.Ian Kennedy -- Howard County Governmentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733724814208836086.post-80982113792458650452011-04-22T19:28:33.192-07:002011-04-22T19:28:33.192-07:00There are other parts of HoCo without recycling pi...There are other parts of HoCo without recycling pickup, too. Do you have an HOA? What do they know about the recycling? In some developments, the recycling pickup doesn't start until the county takes over the roads from the developer. I hope you get some answers!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05178493633682395950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733724814208836086.post-48781895549313808042011-04-22T17:16:18.048-07:002011-04-22T17:16:18.048-07:00Nice post--- great tie in with Earth day. I'm...Nice post--- great tie in with Earth day. I'm shocked you don't have recycling. Hoco FAILErinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13936046127305211439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733724814208836086.post-72968007775701637992011-04-22T16:32:03.689-07:002011-04-22T16:32:03.689-07:00When I lived in an apartment in Columbia, we didn&...When I lived in an apartment in Columbia, we didn't have recycling... we saved it and took it to the dump. That was a pain...Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00242584402907862830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733724814208836086.post-21321056707409022462011-04-22T12:03:53.168-07:002011-04-22T12:03:53.168-07:00Now I want to go to a beach. A nice clean not-tras...Now I want to go to a beach. A nice clean not-trashed-from-ecological-fails beach.<br /><br />Great post :)Mohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12982259976961363298noreply@blogger.com