RE: Link

This whole process has been an absolute joke and is indicative of the stupidity of our city government. You will all remember the absolute debacle that went on as the city struggled to do something as simple as selecting a waste company.

North Bay Corp is local and has been in the area for decades, yet our 'government' had to make it difficult. The raised our rates and went with a company that had "Green" in it's name. Now what? Now we're left holding the bag.

THANK GOODNESS for North Bay Corp. We'd be back to Waste Management Inc., recycling crates and another 10% rate increase if it were not for them.

I remember the recycling rates (% of waste that would be recycled) differing greatly among the companies bidding for the city's business. My recollection is that Green Waste was the clear winner on that criteria. If I'm not mistaken, they have lived up to their commitment. Not sending our trash to someone else's backyard is a huge priority for me and I'm willing to pay a few % more for a company that is blazing new trails in that area. Can anyone comment on North Bay's track record and what are they committing to do in that respect?

RP- do you know who processes Petaluma's recycling on behalf of Green Waste?

North Bay does at their modern recycling facility in Santa Rosa.

If Green Waste promised higher recycling rates, they achieved them with the use of this facility. Once the single stream containers were in use, and a state of the art facility was utilized, I am not sure how one entity can promise radically different rates than the other.

All I remember is the city wanting to open the franchise up to lower rates and they ended up doing the opposite. Thanks for that...

I do remember reading about that. I know they process it there, but think I recall that our waste still ends up in the Marin landfill or points further east due to the closure of the SoCo landfill. I'm also aware of the stockpiling of recyclables that has been required due to a drop off in demand during the economic downturn.

I guess my point is that I hope we continue to increase our recycling rate... not settle for status quo. With North Bay requesting an extension of the contract for 5 additional years, I would like to see the City raise the required recycling rate for the additional contract period. Equally important, we should look for more reduce/reuse opportunities. If Petaluman's "use less" we have less to recycle. I'll bet it takes a lot of water to process Petaluma's recyclables.

RP, I agree in principle but would like to see some specifics. Demanding a company meet a certain rate doesn't guarantee it's customers will meet it. Every garbage company wants to recycle as much as possible because they make money off the materials.

The City of Petaluma started dumping at the Redwood Landfill independent and prior to the closure of the Sonoma County Central Landfill. We dump there because we have a good rate.

At the end of the day, we should have been the benefactors of lower rates and higher recycling rates all in one- why that didn't happen is city meddling.

North Bay Corp. was recycling for years while we were stuck with those ridiculous milk crates.

I'm not criticizing Green Waste, but rather our inept city 'leadership'. Those morons spent over $100,000 for a consultant to tell them to go with Green Waste. Look how far that got us?

I completely agree that recycling should be a priority.

You're right. The details are coming back to me now.

My hope is that North Bay and the city will continue to raise the bar and expect citizens to do more. Personally, i think it's great that Seattle requires businesses to charge customers a few cents for a plastic bag. It only takes a few weeks to get in the habit of taking your own bag to the store. Heck, you can buy a mini 2" stuff sack "Chico bag" and clip it to your keychain. (And I wouldn't describe myself as anything close to a tree hugger.) It is just plain crazy how much plastic we use as a society.

Thanks for listening.

Remember, the three milk crates were from Waste Management. I love the single stream concept with the single can. we were always big recyclers but we have more capacity and it's easier now...

The idea of a plastic ban was floated but the plastic industry is fighting tooth and nail and causing headaches and costing jurisdictions a great deal of money to enact and defend such an ordinance. With our City Attorney fees skyrocketing defending law suits and fixing the Planning Commission fiasco, coupled with the fact that the city is seriously in debt as we speak with no reserves +/-$1.5 million!!), having the City Attorney spend another $5-$10,000 to draw up an ordinance is not financially responsible.

It's a shame we waste money on items that have no real effect on our quality of life.

As a petaluma resident what i would like to know is what is taking the City so Damn long to transfer the contract to North bay Corp. Is it because some of the council Members have personal issues with North Bay Corp. There is no reason for it. they just are dragging their feet because they can.

What more does the council want out of North Bay? They have already offered 10% rate redution and free service to petaluma schools. Or is it that they dont want to look like Idiots for not choosing North Bay in the first place. Cause if they would have they would have saved all us petaluma residents more money to start with. Why cant they just get this done.