Latest news with #trash
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
How Sacramento's American River Parkway could be impacted by budget cuts
SACRAMENTO — There are concerns about trash troubles growing in Sacramento County parks. This week, the board of supervisors is trying to balance its $8.9 billion budget, and more than a million dollars could be cut from regional park funding. Sacramento County is facing an $18 million general fund deficit, and the parks department is bracing for more than a million and a half dollars in cuts. Many are concerned that these potential cuts could put the American River Parkway in peril. "We're going to see an increase in pollution in the parkway. We're going to see an increase in transient-type behavior, illegal activity," said David Ingram, co-founder of the River City Waterway Alliance. The proposed reductions include eliminating one park maintenance worker, 14 staff who help with park operations and $500,000 for waterway cleanup. "We're hoping with the staff that we have remaining, will be able to mitigate some of that so that our residents don't feel much of the impact of these potential reductions," said county spokesperson Ken Casparis. Ingram said the funding being cut pays for crews to clear debris from Steelhead Creek, which flows through Discovery Park. "Shopping carts and mattresses and tires, really horrible things that are clogging the channel," Ingram said. Much of that debris comes from homeless encampments. "We're definitely going to see an increase in encampments moving back into the parkway with less personnel," Ingram said. "We're making such great progress right now, to try and curb that and curtail that, we just don't think it's the right time," said Lisa Sanchez, co-founder of the River City Waterway Alliance. Sacramento County says there will be no cuts to park rangers and no planned park closures or reduced hours. But parkway supporters say full funding needs to continue to help protect and maintain the scenic stretch of nature. "The American River Parkway is the crown jewel of the Sacramento region," Ingram said. The board of supervisors will begin budget talks on Wednesday and must approve a recommended budget by June 30.
CBC
13-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
New team will patrol downtown Montreal to clean up streets, pick up trash
The City of Montreal and the downtown merchants' association are teaming up and will spend $200,000 for the project. The city is also looking at other measures to keep trash from piling up.
Vogue
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Goodbye to The West Village
I'll admit I was in a bad mood. Boy issues, maybe, or something at work? I don't remember. But I do remember that, in the middle of whatever it was, I had to take my trash out. So I yanked the Hefty bag out of my garbage can, only to realize it was leaking. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' I screamed into the world's tiniest abyss: my 400-square-foot West Village studio. That Hefty bag was stuffed into another Hefty bag, which I then lugged down three flights of dimly lit stairs as trash juice seeped deeper into my sweatpants. I threw open the door, ready to chuck my double-Hefty monstrosity into the dumpster below. In so doing, I nearly hit four 20-something girls taking photos on my stoop. 'Sorry, excuse me,' I said, pushing past them. They shuffled to the side. I dumped my bags and turned to head back up. They'd already re-assumed their photo-taking positions. 'I need you guys to move again,' I said, irritated. They shuffled back over as I stomped up the stairs. Then, when I'd reached my door, I turned back around. 'You can't take up someone's whole stoop,' I hissed. 'People live here.' Then I slammed it. My older neighbor Beverly, who sometimes taught guitar lessons out of her apartment, peeked out into the hallway. 'I think we should put up a sign,' she said. You've likely seen my block before, even if you've never been to the West Village. It's the one supercut in all the TikToks—the 'Days in the Life's, the 'Come with Me's—and the one in the backdrop of the Instagram of your favorite high-profile creator. And I get it: Its charm is why I wanted to live there in the first place. I moved to the West Village during the pandemic. Things aligned perfectly: rents in the neighborhood had plummeted just as I got a raise at work. When my lease on my old apartment in Yorkville ended, I signed a new one in a historic 19th-century brownstone that was once a boarding house for sailors. They paid pennies for their rooms. Two centuries later, I paid thousands. The price wasn't reflective of the space (dark, cramped, and, as I'd later find out, plagued by a slight mouse problem), but the block itself: a tree-lined one with townhouses and critically acclaimed restaurants that spilled out onto the sidewalks. It felt like something from a movie—because it actually was. Film crews often shot there, and one building on my street had famously stood in as Rachel and Monica's in Friends.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From waste to garden gold: Composting reduces trash and saves money
In the minds of many, 'sustainable' means 'environmental.' And to many minds, all that is 'environmental' is, by definition, impractical hippie nonsense. They don't want to hear about it. They'd rather just stick to Business as Usual thank you very much. But Business as Usual is causing problems, and it's not sustainable by any definition of the word. This is especially true in our rapidly growing region. We all know that more people bring more traffic, but there's another issue that is also rapidly growing: trash. Most of us seldomly think about our trash, probably because, unlike traffic, we don't sit in it multiple times a day. If we stick to Business as Usual, however, we could be wallowing in trash sooner than most of us realize. Middle Tennessee, and Nashville, within it, has a serious trash problem. Davidson and twenty neighboring counties rely almost solely on one facility for trash disposal, and this facility is filling up fast. Building another landfill, aka Business as Usual, will take a decade or longer, and in whose backyard will it be located? The only sure answer is that if it's going to landfill, that landfill will be much farther away. There are logistical and environmental consequences to longer hauling, but the one that will hit us all most glaringly is that it will cost more. For business owners, landlords, residents, homeowners, and students alike, Business as Usual is going to cost more. A lot more… …unless there is something we could do locally. …and we could somehow turn waste into something useful. Thankfully, we needn't wait for radical, world-changing breakthroughs to be invented to solve our trash crisis. Composting is an effective weapon against these coming problems, and of environmental benefit to boot. We landfill enormous quantities of food, paper, cardboard and yard waste, all of which could be composted and turned into soil that improves our gardens, farms, and landscaping. With minimal changes in habit in our homes, restaurants, offices, grocery stores, schools, and hotels, we can divert nearly 30% of landfill-bound trash starting today. That's potentially millions of pounds of material that becomes a resource instead of rubbish. Critics of change will say it requires millions in new investment to make this possible. They'll say it's yucky and difficult and hippie-dippy nonsense but, well, they're just plain wrong. Local resources are already in place, and they've demonstrated effectiveness in school pilots and some homes, as well as in restaurants and grocery stores you already patronize. The work has already begun, but more participation is needed. That's where you come in. More: Rutherford, Murfreesboro seek landfill 'to restrict the flow of that trash' from Nashville Nashville residents can drop food scraps for free at Metro Convenience Centers. Services like The Compost Company exist to help businesses dispose of waste in a way that is clean and economical. Compostables can be picked up from your home by a local services such as Compost Nashville and Regener8. Or you can try home composting. It's rewarding, environmentally-friendly, and free. Composting is impactful at any scale and is an action in which anyone can participate. Landfilling trash is not, and never was, a good solution. It's just a cheap one. But 'round here it's getting more expensive by the day, and costs will skyrocket when we have to find new, far-flung locations to keep burying our waste. Composting, alternatively, is a process that can be repeated to cascading financial and social benefit, again and again in the same facilities. Waste comes in, and garden gold comes out. That's Business as Usual, evolved. And composting is also just one example of flipping the script on waste. Plastic, metal, and other commonly disposed-of materials are needed by area manufacturers, yet we throw them away constantly. I'd encourage you to check out the Waste to Jobs Act that is picking up steam in our State Legislature, and should come to the floor in 2026. It is an excellent example of creative problem-solving. Like composting, this act will reduce waste, create jobs, save resources and money, and improve our environment. Small improvements resulting in big impact. Now that, my friends, is what sustainability can mean. Clay Ezell is a certified Master Composter and Co-Owner/CEO of The Compost Company. He has recently served as a founding member and President of the Tennessee Composting Council and is a member of the US Composting Council, the Tennessee Environmental Council, and the Cumberland River Compact. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Middle Tennessee has a trash problem. Composting can help | Opinion
Independent Singapore
09-05-2025
- General
- Independent Singapore
TikToker draws mixed reactions after questioning Singapore's 'cleanest city in the world' tag
SINGAPORE: A TikToker has drawn mixed reactions online after she pointed out a pile of trash in the Boat Quay area and questioned Singapore's long-standing reputation as one of the cleanest cities in the world. TikToker @izamo69, known as Isabelle, posted a video on Thursday (May 8) with the caption, 'Cleanest city in the world? Tell that to this pile of trash.' In the video, she remarked, 'People who say that Singapore is the cleanest city on this planet, you guys haven't seen this. Like, even though it's Singapore, s*** like this happens.' Isabelle, who describes herself as a 'local ang moh' in her other posts, appeared to be calling out a disconnect between Singapore's global image and the on-the-ground reality. The post quickly gained traction on TikTok, drawing a mix of reactions. 'I know right,' one commenter wrote. 'I went to Dubai, New Zealand, and Japan, and I was like who said Singapore is the cleanest city?' Another added: 'Low crime doesn't mean no crime. Clean cities don't mean no trash,' echoing the sentiment that occasional lapses don't negate broader standards. Some quickly offered context, noting that the mess was likely temporary and concentrated in nightlife-heavy spots like Boat Quay. 'They get cleaned up by the next day by cleaners paid to clean up the area,' one user pointed out. In response, Isabelle said, 'I think local people trash as well,' challenging the assumption that tourists are solely to blame. Others chimed in with their own observations, with one commenter noting a perceived decline in public hygiene over the years. 'Singapore streets were cleaner years ago. Our cleaners (many of them foreigners) do a great job. Sadly, the ones littering are our Singaporeans, specifically, in my residential area, the Singaporean youths.' Another TikToker pointed out, 'At least it's cleared by the next day, compared to most other countries where you'll still see it after months.' Still, some insisted that Singapore's reputation remains largely intact despite isolated cases like the one in the video. 'Still one of the cleanest cities in the world,' read one comment. Singapore has long been praised for its strict anti-littering laws, high standards of public hygiene, and an army of cleaners who help maintain the city's polished image. However, the video has reignited a familiar discussion: whether Singapore's cleanliness is due to civic-mindedness or enforcement and whether the image matches everyday reality.
