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Jon Devine’s BlogTaking Out the Trash |
"What
will it take to turn the corner on restoring the environmental (and economical)
treasure that is the Chesapeake Bay?", asks Anne Arundel County Councilman,
Chris Trumbauer.[1] Delegate Lafferty
(D - Dsitrict42, Baltimore County) is proposing legislation to require "...the operator of specified stores to
establish an at-store recycling program for plastic carryout bags; requiring
specified stores to print or display specified language on plastic carryout
bags; requiring specified stores to provide collection bins for the recycling
of plastic carryout bags"[2] HB 169 is an attempt to do more than wish the
Chesapeake Bay and our local landscapes clean of litter and pollution. The significant
change in our ecosystem resources means that the "free" services upon
which we depend are changing. Trash in the waterways is just one symptom of the
degradation of the environment in which everyone of is lives. And because we may
not see the trash or the damage, it does not follow that it is not there.
CouncilpersonTrumbauer
points out that "[w] need to consider the long-term impacts of an impaired
Bay when we consider the current investments needed to secure our fisheries,
recreational activities, maritime industry, and other benefits of a restored
Bay."[3] The costs of throwing our trash into the common
areas is not zero; externalizing our trash onto others is a significant cost to
everyone. Allowing trash and pollution to enter into the river systems and open
spaces is a form of taxation; a cost to everyone. So the question is why should
I pay so that you can make a profit at my expense? Why shouldn't the litterer, who
is not thinking about future ecological impacts at the moment, pay for the ease
of disposal?
Without a
willingness to try new things we are doomed to sink into a landscape filled
with litter, trash, pollution and waste. Is this what we want our community to
look like?. Prince George's County spent
$2.15 million on for picking up roadside trash in the 2007 and $2.72 million in
the 2008. Any thoughts to how much we are paying today? And the costs for picking up roadside trash in
Prince George’s in those years were nearly two to three times higher than for
other metropolitan counties in the Washington-Baltimore region.[4] It is evident to me that voluntary measures
are not enough, that I am paying an ever increasing amount in taxes to clean up
after someone has externalized his or her trash into the environment because perhaps
it took too long to find a trash can or because it was simply easer at the
moment to use the supposedly infinite service of the ecosystem to remove the litter
from sight.
There should
be a discussion about accountability for personal and corporate actions. We ought
to explore new ways to meet the challenges of an increasing population with a
corresponding decrease of natural resources. And yes resources are decreasing,
for after all there is a finite amount of land on to which to throw our trash,
and a fixed amount of water to receive it. Addressing these issues is PG 402-12, sponsored by Delegate Barbara A. Frush (Democrat, District 21, Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties,
Prince George's County - Authority to Impose Fees for Use of Disposable Bags authorize
"Prince George's County to impose, by law, a fee on certain retail
establishments for use of disposable bags under certain circumstances; defining
certain terms; and generally relating to the authority for Prince George's
County to impose a fee for use of disposable bags."[5] Some consider this a new additional tax, but
it is not; the clean-up tax already exists imposed on all of us by the wanton
act of throwing trash without a care or
thought into the ecosystem,
[1] Chris
Trumbauer, Anne Arundel County
Councilman. It’s Time to Put Up or Shut
Up. January 21, 2012 [accessed January 23, 2012] http://www.bayactionplan.com/2012/01/it%E2%80%99s-time-to-put-up-or-shut-up/
[2] HOUSE
BILL 169. Bill is in the House - First Reading Environmental Matters. [accessed
January 24, 2012] http://mlis.state.md.us/2012rs/billfile/HB0169.htm
[3] Chris
Trumbauer, Anne Arundel County
Councilman. It’s Time to Put Up or Shut
Up. January 21, 2012 [accessed January 23, 2012] http://www.bayactionplan.com/2012/01/it%E2%80%99s-time-to-put-up-or-shut-up/
[4] Margie
Hyslop. County’s costs for roadside cleanup are highest in state. Gazette.net. July
31, 2008. [accessed January 24, 2012] http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/073108/prinnew185442_32358.shtml
[5] Legislation
- Bill History: PG 402-12 Prince George's County - Authority to Impose Fees for
Use of Disposable Bags [accessed January 24, 2012] http://www.princegeorgeshousedelegation.com/legislation/bill-history?local=PG%20402-12
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