DUMPSTERS: Digging into issue

The dumpster pictures in the July 22 Press appear to be mostly heaping piles of garbage bags and cardboard boxes. While I don’t doubt — and have seen — illegal trash, the bigger issue is the timing (or lack) of dumpster emptying.

Kootenai County made the ill-advised decision to eliminate aluminum and newspapers from the rural recycling bins, rendering them “corrugated cardboard” only. So now people dump bags full of newspapers and cans into the bins along with their regular trash.

Huge cardboard boxes are often dumped into the trash bins because the recycle bins are quickly filled to capacity, resulting in the “haystack” scenario mentioned in the article. With the limited emptying (week to 10 days) the county does coupled with the growth in Kootenai County, is it any wonder these things fill so rapidly?

Three quick actions can help alleviate this issue: First, Solid Waste should empty the bins at least twice a week; maybe three times per week in the summer.

Second, place four recycle bins at each site; two for cardboard, one for newspapers/magazines and one for aluminum — each clearly marked and distanced from each other. There would be little “separation issue” at the processing end as each container would already be sorted.

Lastly, strategically place some “monitors” in the interim to catch the illegal dumpers in the act and fine them heavily. Once the word gets out you can be busted and pay fines, it should taper off.

The rural sites are much appreciated, but they could be operated with a lot more foresight.

J. SCOTT DEARDORFF

Coeur d’Alene