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Sustainability
Recycling • Resources • Lifestyle
Restoring the trust in state government
In early December, DeKalb County discovered more than 20,000 illegally dumped tires at Fork Creek
Mountain Park.
U o man’s life,
liberty or
^^1 property are
JL. ^ safe when the
legislature is in session,” goes
the (very) old saying.
Starting on Jan. 8, when
the Georgia General Assembly
convenes, it will be time
again to pay attention to the
shenanigans of our elected
officials, as they focus on
matters of major and minor
consequence to the citizens of
our state. Your legislators need
to hear from you regarding your
concerns and interests during
the 40-day session, which
typically ends in late March.
If you don’t know who your
state legislators are, it’s easy
to find out at openstates.org/
find_your_legislator/. Go to
this link, type in your address
and you’ll see the names of your
representatives. These are the
people who will make decisions
on your behalf (ostensibly) in
the next few months, so keep
their contact information handy
and email, call or visit them at
the State Capitol in Downtown.
It’s their job to meet with you
and hear your views.
One of the bills that I will
be following this year has to do
with a law passed in the early
1990s whose implementation
has been problematic, affecting the
environment, public health and safety,
and property values. The bill imposed a
fee of $ 1 on every new tire sold to support
the Georgia Solid Waste Trust
Fund, charged with funding
the cleanup of abandoned scrap
tire dumps and the remediation
of contaminated landfills.
Undoubtedly, you have paid the
tire fee on numerous occasions,
whether you realized it or not.
The problem is that 40
percent of the funds collected
since 1993 — nearly $200
million — has been redirected
by the state legislature to fund
unrelated portions of the state
budget. While the state has
removed 15 million tires from
illegal dump sites over the past
25 years, many abandoned tire
sites remain untouched in the
city and statewide; the number
of improperly discarded tires is
unknown.
The Georgia Constitution, as
currently written, does not allow
state legislators to “dedicate” fees
to their intended use — whether
to clean up environmental waste
sites, fund teen driver programs
or support training for peace
officers. The fees collected are
placed in the state general fund
for allocation by state legislators
as they deem fit, even though
the bill creating the fee may say
differently.
If a private company charges
a fee to perform a certain
service, but fails to do so, it is
considered fraud. Unfortunately, if the
Georgia legislature does the same thing, as
it has done repeatedly with the redirection
of fee monies collected to clean up waste
sites, it’s considered business as usual.
When the state collects fees for a specific
purpose, those funds should be used for
that purpose; otherwise, they can become
de facto taxes.
Introduced last year, FFouse Resolution
158 proposes an amendment to the
Georgia Constitution that would ensure
fees dedicated to a specific purpose are
annually appropriated for that purpose.
If the resolution passes, the amendment
will be placed on the election ballot in
November 2018 for consideration by state
voters.
Let’s help restore trust in our
government and ensure that important
state programs are properly funded by
passing FFouse Resolution 158 during the
2018 session of the General Assembly.
To read this bill, see legis.ga.gov/
Legislation/20172018/166121 .pdf. Then,
make your voice heard by contacting your
state representatives and participating in
our democratic process!
You can also make a personal New
Year’s resolution to take your tires, holiday
lights, electronics, household hazardous
waste, bulky trash and other items to The
Center for Liard to Recycle Materials
(CFFaRM) in southeast Atlanta. A
permanent drop-off facility that recycles
and diverts thousands of pounds of waste
from metro Atlanta landfills, CFFaRM is
holding its annual FFoliday Cleanup from
Jan. 2-13. For more information, visit
livethrive.org/ charm/. QD
ABOVE
THE
WATER
LINE
By Sally Bethea
Sally Bethea is the
retired executive direc
tor of Chattahoochee
Riverkeeper and cur
rent hoard president of
Chattahoochee Parks
Conservancy whose
mission is to build a
community of support
for the Chattahoochee
River National Recre
ation Area.
Recycling on
the rise at
multi-family
residences in
Atlanta
By Michelle Wiseman
City of Atlanta Office of Resilience
The City of Atlanta is on the rise. As
a top-tier city and consistently ranked
among the most desirable places to live,
Atlanta continues to grow and evolve.
Everywhere you go, new buildings are
coming up, especially multi-family
complexes. People want to live inside the
perimeter with easy access to transit, fresh
food and more sustainable living. Over
half of the City’s residents live in multi
family units, and this is where growth is
projected for years to come.
The City of Atlanta’s multi-family
residents will be getting a little greener
thanks to the enforcement of an ordinance
requiring that all 6+ unit multi-family
buildings offer recycling services to their
residents. Multi-family properties around
the City are now being required to set
up separate recycling service for their
residents.
Starting a new recycling program
sounds pretty easy, but it’s not as simple as
putting a few blue recycling bins out near
the current trash dumpsters. Awareness
and education are key. For example, multi
family recycling initiatives should include
a clearly identified recycling area with
labeling to explain what items can and
can’t be recycled. Designate an internal
recycling ambassador to encourage 100
percent participation in the complex’s
recycling program.
Recycling right is critical. Initially
focus on the basics; flattened boxes, paper,
cans, bottles and plastic containers. Please
no plastic bags, no food items & no
Styrofoam. Plastic bags are the number one
contaminant. They pose a special problem
at the recycling center by getting caught
in machinery. Please return plastic bags
to retailers or CFFaRM -the Center for
PFard to Recycle Materials (“CFFaRM”),
located at 1110 FFill Street, SE. Please
note that while the City of Atlanta
residential curbside program accepts glass
for recycling, most multi-family buildings
in Atlanta do not accept glass as they are
serviced by private commercial haulers.
FFowever, glass is accepted at CFFaRM.
Several private entities will be expanding
into Atlanta for glass collection by spring
of 2018.
Recycling is on the rise in Atlanta,
but we need every citizen to be engaged
to meet our goal of 90 percent waste
diversion by 2020. Please reach out to me
at mlwiseman@atlantaga.gov if you want
more information or to get involved or
register your building at atlantaga.gov/
multifamily. IE]
22 January 2018 I DU
AtlantalNtownPaper.com