Lakewood versus Trash | Letter to the Editor by Nate Wightman

Editor’s note: Lakewood, CO, is outside of our traditional coverage area, but we support the efforts of all Coloradans to have their voices heard, their concerns aired, and their facts considered. Voting is a duty. Please send Letters to the Editor to [email protected] for consideration.]

Lakewood is voting this November on whether or not to organize our trash system like the majority of other American cities. Lakewood’s current trash system rewards those that do not recycle because recycling services cost extra. Those who produce a lot of trash pay the same amount as those who produce very little of it. This system creates no incentive to recycle or to reduce our waste stream. An even bigger issue our community faces is the number of trash trucks on our streets. In Lakewood, any company can register to collect trash by paying a $50 licensing fee. This leads to streets having many different trucks picking up trash each week and twice as many on recycling days.

To illustrate my point, I am writing this at 7:21 on a Saturday morning and a white trash truck just drove by.

The benefits to adopting Question 2F [see this Q&A by LakewoodTogether for a review of the changes] are many: they include reduced noise and increased diversion rates, which in turn creates many jobs in the green industry. Addition, Question 2F will slow trucks down by having them stop at every house and reduce the street damage caused by to many trucks. This will, in turn, reduce the amount of tax dollars spent on needed road repairs. Since we will be taking advantage of economies of scale, Question 2F also reduces fuel usage by cutting down on total truck miles. This helps address our climate crisis at the local level. It also allows those of us who have wanted this system to finally have our voice heard. We will have the option of getting compost collected, and we will have trash cans on our streets one day a week as opposed to everyday of the week.

Please join me and vote YES on Question 2F.

Sincerely,

Nate Wightman

Founder

#CAVYOT (Climate Action Vote Yes On Trash)