It’s time for citizens to wake up, Kannapolis.
I’m not normally this harsh, but we need curbside recycling service. The benefits of the system would far outweigh the negative effects it may have.
For starters, let’s talk a little about becoming green. Dumping countless aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other paper and plastic products into your trash can ó which is picked up and dumped into a landfill ó isn’t environmentally friendly.
All that waste is going to keep adding up and ówhile you may not be around to reap the “benefits” of that piled up landfill mess ó your kids and grandkids will be.
Then there’s the other benefit ó attractiveness. The educated people that will be moving to Kannapolis are going to want things like curbside recycling service, and they are willing to pay for it. The fee is nominal ó $3-$5 a month, according to Assistant City Manager Eddie Smith ó and while that may seem like a lot for a taxpaying senior on a fixed income, imagine what your taxes would become if those learned individuals go elsewhere to live.
Salisbury has curbside recycling. Cabarrus County is getting it in the unincorporated areas. Kannapolis needs it.
Yes, there are recycling collection points in Kannapolis, but really? If every household was charged a convenience fee for curbside recycling, my guess is the service would be used a heck of a lot more than people who drive to the convenience sites to dump their recyclables.
It’s time for our City Council to start thinking ahead to things like curbside recycling. The idea of a convenience fee may not sit well with some ó some people call it a tax anyway. But attracting new tax base in the form of more eco-friendly businesses and employees is what Kannapolis wants and needs.
What do you think about curbside recycling and the positives and negatives of the system? Weigh in on this issue at www.salisburypostables.com, under the Kannapolis tab.
Joanie Morris is editor of the Kannapolis Citizen. She can be reached at jmorris@kannapoliscitizen.com or waiting anxiously for sorting bins and her convenience fee.