4 ms·

Criminals are after the beige gold! Ha. I'm somewhat baffled by how the government is mishandling this so bad. Just find a way to legitimize the so-called cr

by fouc 6y ago

Criminals are after the beige gold! Ha. I'm somewhat baffled by how the government is mishandling this so bad. Just find a way to legitimize the so-called criminals, make it easier for them to work within the law, and then tax them.

gruez 6y ago
That doesn't solve the main issue: that recycling programs are partially subsidized by profitable waste. eg. cardboard and metals might make a profit when factoring in cost of pick up and processing, but plastic might not. At the same time, you want to promote recycling across all types of materials, so you don't want to penalize people for recycling plastic[1]. If you have private companies picking off the profitable waste, the taxpayers will have to make up the shortfall. You see the same funding model in other areas as well. eg. the postal service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Universal_service_obligation_and_monopoly_status https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#U... [1] Although some argue that if something isn't worth recycling at market rates, then we shouldn't recycle it at all, because it likely means that it's a net-negative for the environment.
- fouc 6y ago
  Yeah I was going to mention that. Recycling programs probably shouldn't be depending on profitable waste. This seems like a problem of mis-aligned incentives..
  - PTOB 6y ago
    Yup. Dependency on profitable waste is a business decision that comes with some risk. If it doesn't pan out, it's the company's own fault.
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
Why does everything need to be taxed? Just increase the frequency the "legitimate" trash collectors bid on the contract (if needed) and pay for it. Sure it will be a little more expensive because you aren't subsidizing it with cardboard but it doesn't really matter since that money is going right back into the community (through however the thieves spend it). This is only an issue because government is a mess of silos, fiefdoms and incompetent resource handling. The people who deal with the trash contract feel slighted because they don't want any extra money coming out of their bucket even if the net result would be a wash for the community as a whole.

by fouc 6y ago

gruez 6y ago

That doesn't solve the main issue: that recycling programs are partially subsidized by profitable waste. eg. cardboard and metals might make a profit when factoring in cost of pick up and processing, but plastic might not. At the same time, you want to promote recycling across all types of materials, so you don't want to penalize people for recycling plastic[1]. If you have private companies picking off the profitable waste, the taxpayers will have to make up the shortfall. You see the same funding model in other areas as well. eg. the postal service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Universal_service_obligation_and_monopoly_status https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#U... [1] Although some argue that if something isn't worth recycling at market rates, then we shouldn't recycle it at all, because it likely means that it's a net-negative for the environment.

fouc 6y ago
Yeah I was going to mention that. Recycling programs probably shouldn't be depending on profitable waste. This seems like a problem of mis-aligned incentives..
- PTOB 6y ago
  Yup. Dependency on profitable waste is a business decision that comes with some risk. If it doesn't pan out, it's the company's own fault.

throwaway0a5e 6y ago

Why does everything need to be taxed? Just increase the frequency the "legitimate" trash collectors bid on the contract (if needed) and pay for it. Sure it will be a little more expensive because you aren't subsidizing it with cardboard but it doesn't really matter since that money is going right back into the community (through however the thieves spend it). This is only an issue because government is a mess of silos, fiefdoms and incompetent resource handling. The people who deal with the trash contract feel slighted because they don't want any extra money coming out of their bucket even if the net result would be a wash for the community as a whole.