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August 02, 2006
Throwing Recyclists to the Curb
The task force’s first task is to define itselfThe first meeting held by the Mayor’s task force on recycling was a rough start, by all accounts. At least one city official complained privately of “heartburn” before the session officially began, and it only got worse as the evening progressed. The problem wasn’t so much the subject at hand, but instead whom was supposed to talk about it, and in what capacity.
A sketchy press release on a local news website made it sound like there was a 27-member task force, including yours truly, named to examine the economic and environmental concerns with the current curbside program that’s slated to be trashed, and to come up with recommendations for City Hall. When we arrived at the Development Resource Center on South Market, it was clearer than in said press release that there were “named” members, but not twenty-seven; and the rest were in limbo as to status. We sat in the “audience” chairs, while those selected by the administration and by the City Council sat on the dais and had name tags and microphones. While it turns out that my invitation to the meetings was never intended to imply membership on the committee, others in the group certainly had made reasonable inferences to the contrary—in particular, the citizen activist who first raised the outcry over the proposed end to curbside service, one Frank DePinto.
Let’s talk tactics for a moment. As the people were filing in, DePinto distributed a photocopied handout that listed two items which should be voted on, right at the start of the meeting, with specific instructions for “no discussion.” Just read this, keep quiet, and perform a couple of votes which ostensibly set some kind of direction for the group. It was astonishing. Many of these people had never seen each other before, and were coming together to do serious work on an important issue. It was surely an affront to be asked to vote without discussion on anything before determining how the group was going to function at a fundamental level. Likewise, when the panelists began the initial discussion to get themselves organized, Mr. DePinto stood up and began badgering (some might say, anyway) Chairman Michael Mallen over the task force membership question.
Perhaps, though, abrasive tactics are deemed necessary by those who feel marginalized. In Herman Wang’s succinct coverage in the daily paper, the picture presented was one of the city’s powerful making a show of listening to concerned citizens, but also making damn sure they didn’t have to do anything after so politely listening. The city’s presentation was a well-crafted résumé of past accomplishments (one would have thought Ron Littlefield had invented recycling) combined with a woeful shrug toward low participation and high costs. The one seeming exception to the “just let us handle this” tone was voiced by Betsy Bramlett, appointee of District 9 Councilmember Debbie Gaines. Ms. Bramlett repeatedly called for more educational outreach and other measures to “save” curbside recycling, to the apparent chagrin of at least a couple of her panel-mates.
It is good to know that the city’s mayor is, in his words, a “determined and committed recycler.” On the other hand, it’s disturbing that, according to the Mayor’s office, only about 15 percent of Chattanoogans currently join him in choosing to be good stewards that contribute to the sustainability of our city (not to mention provide vocational opportunities for the clients at Orange Grove). There are many competing factors to balance as we move forward on this question, but here’s hoping that the administration really means to seek a viable, participation-friendly recycling program, and that we who want to see that happen are genteel in our efforts to help bring it about.
[This column appears in the May 2, 2006 Pulse. Author's note: according to today's Times Free Press, it sounds like the August 1st meeting at Orange Grove was a much more unified and civil affair, and I'm glad to hear it.]
Community , Pulsations | By joe lance | 09:53 AM