Modesto garbage can collection still irking locals | Opinion
Cans...
Today was trash pick-up day; my black can was about 10% full, my blue can less than 5%. Meanwhile, since the weather had been nice and I was doing a lot of yard work, my green can is 100% full and I’ve three smaller cans that are also full, but my green can doesn’t get picked up until next Thursday, after which I will empty my extra cans into the green one, probably filling it up again, and that won’t get picked up for two more weeks.
Since it seems obvious that more people are going to regularly fill their green cans, but not so often the blue, why not limit blue pick-up to the first week of the month, and have them pick up green cans the other three or four pick-ups that month? This would seem to serve us far better than the current arrangement.
Gary McNett, Modesto
...More cans
I would like to thank the city of Modesto for their open invitation with the new garbage system that allows people to come onto my property to help themselves to my garbage cans. Many others I have spoken to have had this happen as well, which has resulted in stolen items along with recyclables. I also would like to extend a thank you for adding to my household budget because now we have to buy even more garbage bags to accommodate the change. The system is a bit confusing with what goes where so I just hope for the best.
I agree with the person who wrote the letter titled “Garbage color can-tastrophe,” saying, “too many cans, not enough pick up.” I think perhaps this experiment needs to shelved until they can figure out a better system or immediately go back to the drawing board to work out these kinks; better pick-up schedule, clearer directions, extra garbage bag expense, and keeping people feeling safe by not worrying about strangers coming onto their property to help themselves.
Jo Lambert, Modesto
...And yet more cans
Early on when Modesto started its new garbage collection policy, I wrote a letter to the editor with my opinion that it would make things worse. In Sunday’s letters (March 5) I read two more essentially making the same points:
1. We don’t need the blue cans (recycle) collected every other week. I probably only need it once a month at most.
2. Every other week for the green can is not enough. We don’t fill ours every week right now, but soon it will be spring and we will. If it only gets picked up every other week, the excess is going to go out on the street. Giving an additional green can is not a good solution — the question remains of where we will store all these cans, and the problem of two weeks of food waste smells.
My suggestion is to either charge $3 per month to collect the green cans every week or, at the very least, make the blue can collection once per month and the green cans all of the other weeks.
Raymond Prevost, Modesto
Not a MAGA fan
Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, DeSantis — the list of elected MAGA charlatans goes on. How can America end this practice of electing democracy destroying deniers of the truth?
Here is the answer: Before voting, MAGA voters must submit to and pass a basic literacy and simple common-sense exam, ending with the question, “Who won the 2020 presidential election?” Current data shows that 75 percent of these voters will fail miserably, resulting in loss of voting rights. Prior to the next election, they may retake the exam but not before participating in a truth v. lies intervention, freeing the lost and confused souls from their perverse adoration for MAGA. Passing their make-up tests, they will no longer be forced to cast their ballots out of ignorance, fear, and naivety. They have earned the right to vote with dignity and maturity.
The dark, insidious reign of MAGA will wither and die, becoming nothing more than an embarrassing, shameful chapter in our American history books. God willing.
Brooks Judd, Turlock
Give us a break, MID
Modesto Irrigation District has sent out a proposal to increase the rates of garden-head accounts. They have done this in the past. Since 2013, this would be an increase of over 97%. Please take the time to read the letter, and protest it.
Mary Chaney, Salida
