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(9/3/97)This fall will be something of a novelty
in that I won't have to respond to phone calls about windblown trash along
Route 12 by the City Landfill. Usually, when the trees are bare, the evidence
of a landfill is painfully obvious, but not this year.
Within the past several weeks, the Solid Waste Division staff, a crew from
the Public Works Department, several volunteer groups, and a crew from the
Cheshire County Corrections Facility have undertaken a massive cleanup effort
which has had a noticeable effect.
When it is windy in Keene, you can almost guarantee it is three times as windy at the landfill. There are no trees to stop the freight train-like wind and we have recorded gusts of up to 70 miles per hour with some frequency. When a good gust of wind gets hold of a plastic bag it, sends it high in the air above the landfill, where it eventually settles where it's not supposed to be. As a rule, we cover all delivered refuse on a daily basis. On a windy day as the rubbish trucks empty their loads, it is literally impossible to cover loose plastic fast enough. The recent installation of a 600' x 10' high fencing should help capture rouge bags, but if any do escape, at least cleanup efforts will be more manageable. We hope these steps will reduce the windblown litter situation.
Almost without exception, the litter collected
is some type of plastic bag or packaging. Too often, it is plastic grocery
sacks that create the unsightly mess. Perhaps a part of the solution is
to use reusable cloth bags. I have a dozen cloth bags now and I find they
can hold significantly more groceries than the plastic bags, plus, an added
benefit, is that they won't end up as windblown litter. With a little common
sense, we can help keep the City of Keene a beautiful place.
Note: Charlie says - "Please do not dispose of any type of hypodermic
needle with your recyclables. Any needles should be placed in a sealed container,
labeled `not for recycling' and disposed with the trash."
Duncan Watson is the solid waste coordinator
for the Keene Public Works Department.