I am upset and frustrated by Fairfax County’s announcement of a new strategic partnership with the City of Alexandria, Prince William County and Arlington County to recover and recycle glass. It just confirms the misinformation and inadequacy of the current program.
I support recycling. However, for years we have been putting glass and paper in curbside recycling bins for pickup weekly by refuse collectors, but now we know that most of it has been going to the landfill instead. We were assured when single stream pickup was started, and separated at pickup was ended, that what we put out was still being recycled. That now appears to have been a lie.
We’re paying for this collection now (and my collection bill has increased 20 percent in the last three years). Now they want us to schlep our recycling to inconvenient distant collection centers while the refuse collectors will still pick it up what is put on the street, but just trash it.
If they are going to do this honestly, they should stop the charade of curbside recycling pickup, reduce our collection fees, reduce the carbon footprint of unnecessary trucks and make the new collection sites convenient. Or maybe, just have the refuse collectors recycle what they pickup.
Peter Christensen
Alexandria