Trash Redux and Encore

The information flies fast about the trash problem. Councilwoman Brenner has written to us all again saying that when she said that the County and the WUTC are responsible for garbage being picked up in Pt. Roberts, she didn’t mean to say that the County or the WUTC were responsible for garbage being picked up in Pt. Roberts. What she meant to say was that the County was responsible for running the Transfer Station where you can take your own garbage and the WUTC was responsible for approving rates for such person/company as was certified to actually be responsible for picking up garbage in Pt. Roberts. Actually, she went on, what she meant to say was that she knew we had the kind of community spirit that would make it possible for us to help one another pick up our own trash and take it to the transfer station and that, Golly Gee!, if it were actually necessary, she would drive her own truck up here and help us with our community spirit or just join in our community spirit, or something like that.

Then we got a message from the County Public Works Director and he said that unless something turned up, we’d be taking our trash to the transfer station ourselves for the next month or forever because although one person had said he might put in an offer to do it, he hadn’t gotten any offers yet. Further, that though he’d talked to some other trash collection companies, they hadn’t stepped up to the plate. And finally, he pointed out to us that there were three problems associated with this trash situation: "(1) turnaround time for solid waste disposal (garbage cannot be imported to Canada, so containers must be transported to Bellingham through two border crossings), (2) the small number of collection customers, and (3) recent contraction of recycling markets. There are no ready solutions to these problems.” Suggesting that Ms. Brenner might be making repeated truck trips up here for some time to lend a hand.

Then, the Voters’ Association sent an open letter to the County and us urging the County to have a meeting so we could all talk about this, although I’m not sure what it is that we are going to say to the County when we talk. I mean, when the Border people came up, we all pretty much agreed about what the problem was. With respect to the trash, as far as I can tell, no such agreement exists, although I guess we can all agree—County, WUTC, Pt. Roberts residents—that trash pick up as it now exists will come to an end on June 30. But other than that: well, it’s a topic that some people have agreed not to discuss. The County has now agreed to hold such a meeting on this very day and I, sadly, will not be there for it. Or, perhaps, I fortunately will not be there for it. Anyone who goes is surely free to post their assessment of the event on this blog. Just go the 'post a comment' at the end of this day's writing.

Then an open letter from a neighbor vigorously pointing out the way in which the County had failed to address this problem over a long period of time and suggesting that, as the political blogs are always saying, ‘hoocoodanode?’ is just not a viable defense.

Yesterday, an announcement of a brief radio interview with Dave Gellatly, a Pt. Roberts resident and trucker who now seems to have applied to be the WUTC and County certified trash and recycling hauler for Point Roberts. When asked by the radio interviewer how he planned to overcome the situation the current trash certificate holder found himself in (not being able to make a financial go of it because of the three reasons that the County Public Works Director also cited), Mr. Gellatly assured us that he would do it smarter, based upon his prior trucking experience in which he hauled people and money. Well, Okay! I guess. I never realized that anybody other than Brinks was in the money hauling business, but why not Dave Gellatly in Point Roberts? Trash and money and people might be the combination that would work.

And today, a ‘statement of facts’ about the trash situation, again from Ms. Brenner. As near as I can tell, the point of this statement of facts is to suggest that when the musical chairs game stops, it is the WUTC that should not have a chair, not the County. Let the music play on!

Update: a reader proposes: "How about a garbage barge that doubles as a ferry?"