Engineering News Blog

Engineering News

Latest news of interest to engineers. Sourced from GlobalSpec's Engineering News

Previous in Blog: Warped Imaginations: Star Wars Fans Want a NASA Hyperdrive   Next in Blog: Perseid Meteor Shower Over the Skies of Joshua Tree National Park
Close
Close
Close
3 comments
Rate Comments: Nested

Recycling Bins Go Big Brother On Cleveland Residents

Posted August 24, 2010 8:14 AM

From Fast Company:

Cleveland residents, beware: your recycling bins may be watching you. The city of Cleveland is introducing a $2.5 million Big Brother-like system next year to make sure residents are recycling. Chips embedded in recycling carts will keep track of how often residents take the carts to the curb for recycling. If a bin hasn't been taken to the curb in a long time, city workers will go rummaging through the trash to find recyclables. And if workers find that over 10% of the trash is made up of recyclable materials, residents could face a $100 fine.

Read the whole article

Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
Guru
United Kingdom - Member - Hearts of Oak Popular Science - Paleontology - New Member Engineering Fields - Mechanical Engineering - New Member

Join Date: May 2005
Location: In the Garden
Posts: 3389
Good Answers: 75
#1

Re: Recycling Bins Go Big Brother On Cleveland Residents

08/25/2010 3:56 AM

That's nothing. In Britain some councils are talking about putting chips in bins that weigh the contents and - I think this is what they're claiming - check the contents somehow. Or maybe they check if the weight isn't what they expect.

"Naughty" people get fined. "Good" people get nothing...

Good luck to them. My non-recycling bin gets very heavy from all the used cat litter (we have fortnightly collections) which makes up 90% of the contents. They're welcome to search through that for recyclables

__________________
Chaos always wins because it's better organised.
Reply
Power-User

Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 146
#2

Re: Recycling Bins Go Big Brother On Cleveland Residents

08/25/2010 5:36 AM

I didn't realise that we used a high-tech rubbish system in the UK.

Could someone please tell me what it is, because even tho I live here I don't have a clue!

Reply Off Topic (Score 5)
Guru
Hobbies - DIY Welding - Wannabeabettawelda

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Posts: 7940
Good Answers: 458
#3

Re: Recycling Bins Go Big Brother On Cleveland Residents

08/25/2010 12:59 PM

Wonderful. I am very happy to recycle all the permissible wastes in my locality. I would be pissed if they spent good money to spy on people's recycling habits. Somehow, someone thinks this is a good idea.

The real problem is not recycling trash. It's that this kind of activity is acceptable to anybody. It's not hard to see where the public good will be served by ensuring that all citizens get their twenty minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week or your government health care system will fine you for your sedentary lifestyle.

Do we really want to go there?

Reply
Reply to Blog Entry 3 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Andy K (1); Brave Sir Robin (1); English Rose (1)

Previous in Blog: Warped Imaginations: Star Wars Fans Want a NASA Hyperdrive   Next in Blog: Perseid Meteor Shower Over the Skies of Joshua Tree National Park

Advertisement