The project was designed to track participation, quantities, program cost and other factors for three different collection frequency cycles to determine how well curbside recycling works here and how, or whether, it could be implemented islandwide.
There’s been no significant publicity or status reports for this pilot project that I’m aware of. It would be interesting to see just how well it worked and what it revealed in terms of cost, potential savings, projected landfill impact and other factors that could affect our island environment for the foreseeable future. It may have worked relatively well in established developments with street names, house numbers and — yes — curbs, but how did things go in those off-the-beaten-path areas?
I suppose we should hope the recycling project worked better than the regular curbside refuse collection system. In August 2010, David Manning, point man for GBB in Guam, told us (and the federal court) that only 80 percent of those enrolled in the refuse collection program paid in full and on time, and that 2,600 customers had paid nothing for their refuse collection since January.
That sounds a lot like other free rides we’ve seen, where some folks take full advantage of the reluctance of our public officials to require compliance with the law. The annual property tax charade is one of the best examples, when dozens of newspaper pages list hundreds of delinquent property owners — many of whom show up year after year — and nothing whatsoever happens. No enforcement means no incentive to comply. We also have the example of the dozens of Tiyan “original landowner” claimants who paid no power, water or sewer fees for years at the expense of those of us who do pay. For all I know, they may still be doing it.
It was also reported that the Guam DPW’s Solid Waste Division had a big problem trying to find a secure storage area for the hundreds of carts recovered from the free-riders. Wonder how that turned out? Perhaps Mr. Manning will bring us up to date on how many non-payers he has now and how he’s handling the problem, and how the curbside recycling project turned out. Considering the extraordinarily high level of professional debtors our government is willing to tolerate, I remind those who might view it as a potential cash-flow problem that there’s only one reliable way to enforce refuse collection fees.
The following is from a letter I wrote to Mr. Manning in March of 2008: “Unless residential fees are levied in ways that eliminate opportunity for avoidance, any increase will immediately bring a concurrent increase in illegal dumping Island-wide: a problem that has always existed to some degree. Probably the most effective way to insure recovery of refuse-related costs here is to include them as an additive to water and/or power billings, leveraged through the compelling threat of disconnection.”
We’ve since seen ample evidence of both the increase in illegal dumping and DPW’s inability to collect tipping fees. How long will it be until someone applies the simple solution to the fee collection problem? The illegal dumping is a much tougher problem, but solvable with enhanced enforcement and stiff fines and penalties for violations. It’s doubtful whether any of that will come to pass, however, as it might inconvenience potential voters.
DAVE DAVIS
Yigo, Guam
