Comments on: Still thinking outside the bottle… http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-bottle/ Learn to live life with less plastic... for the health of our bodies, our oceans, our planet. I don't buy new plastic. Join me on my plastic-free journey. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:55:13 +0000 hourly 1 By: kitty http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-bottle/comment-page-1/#comment-436 kitty Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:59:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-the-bottle/#comment-436 I second Radical Garbage Man's point about viewing public works as "less than" services provided by major corporations. They simply cannot have your best interests at heart when their #1 priority is increasing profits for their investors. When choosing services, businesses, political candidates, etc, I think about their hidden motivations. I am so grateful to you and others who are raising awareness about this. <br/><br/>Also, I LOVE your series on the recycling plant. THANK YOU!!! It really changed how I recycle my items. I am recycling more things I didn't realize were recyclable, and am packaging them (i.e. not in plastic bags) to assure they will be recycled. I also looked up my own rules here in Boston and that helped a lot too, but i wouldn't have thought of it until you wrote how esoteric the rules can be. And I thought I was a good environmentalist! It really highlighted for me the need to get this information out to everybody. I second Radical Garbage Man’s point about viewing public works as “less than” services provided by major corporations. They simply cannot have your best interests at heart when their #1 priority is increasing profits for their investors. When choosing services, businesses, political candidates, etc, I think about their hidden motivations. I am so grateful to you and others who are raising awareness about this.

Also, I LOVE your series on the recycling plant. THANK YOU!!! It really changed how I recycle my items. I am recycling more things I didn’t realize were recyclable, and am packaging them (i.e. not in plastic bags) to assure they will be recycled. I also looked up my own rules here in Boston and that helped a lot too, but i wouldn’t have thought of it until you wrote how esoteric the rules can be. And I thought I was a good environmentalist! It really highlighted for me the need to get this information out to everybody.

]]> By: Rejin L http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-bottle/comment-page-1/#comment-435 Rejin L Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:38:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-the-bottle/#comment-435 Hi Beth,<br/>I don't think New York's mayor <br/>has signed on to this campaign yet. In the meantime, I am working on a reusable bottle campaign where I work and where my son also goes to school. And looking for examples of other schools or workplaces that have similar projects. Hi Beth,
I don’t think New York’s mayor
has signed on to this campaign yet. In the meantime, I am working on a reusable bottle campaign where I work and where my son also goes to school. And looking for examples of other schools or workplaces that have similar projects.

]]> By: Radical Garbage Man http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-bottle/comment-page-1/#comment-434 Radical Garbage Man Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:32:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/still-thinking-outside-the-bottle/#comment-434 You are so right. As a public employee, I worry about the broad trends towards devaluing municipal services and the shift towards privatization of what has traditionally been considered a public good.<br/><br/>Water is a great example of this. No Impact Man has an excellent post <a HREF="http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/08/some-reasons-i-.html" REL="nofollow">here</a> on this trend. <br/><br/>A huge problem is that there is a kind of feedback loop where people are taught to devalue public services and this are less willing to pay for them which leads to cuts in public services causing people to devalue them.<br/><br/>The thing is, the private sector doesn't care about serving communities. For-profit industries are FOR PROFIT and will provide the minimum level of customer service and product safety they can get away with. When it's your city or county providing the services, it's your neighbors who are invested in the community and provide services because it's the right thing to do.<br/><br/>This means that when you call my municipality with questions or complaints about refuse and recycling collection (which we do with city employees), you get a live, local person to address your concerns instead of a recording with a whole lot of push 9 for this and star in morse code to spell your name for that. Many, many people are actually shocked when they call in and say "I didn't think I'd get a live voice." This is sad. They deserve this level of service.<br/><br/>And they deserve clean, safe tap water regulated by municipalities.<br/><br/>Thanks for the activism, Beth! Municipal employees everywhere appreciate it. You are so right. As a public employee, I worry about the broad trends towards devaluing municipal services and the shift towards privatization of what has traditionally been considered a public good.

Water is a great example of this. No Impact Man has an excellent post here on this trend.

A huge problem is that there is a kind of feedback loop where people are taught to devalue public services and this are less willing to pay for them which leads to cuts in public services causing people to devalue them.

The thing is, the private sector doesn’t care about serving communities. For-profit industries are FOR PROFIT and will provide the minimum level of customer service and product safety they can get away with. When it’s your city or county providing the services, it’s your neighbors who are invested in the community and provide services because it’s the right thing to do.

This means that when you call my municipality with questions or complaints about refuse and recycling collection (which we do with city employees), you get a live, local person to address your concerns instead of a recording with a whole lot of push 9 for this and star in morse code to spell your name for that. Many, many people are actually shocked when they call in and say “I didn’t think I’d get a live voice.” This is sad. They deserve this level of service.

And they deserve clean, safe tap water regulated by municipalities.

Thanks for the activism, Beth! Municipal employees everywhere appreciate it.

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