Going green is a good thing, right? Less trash, more recycling? Fewer landfills, more trees? Surely this is a thought that everyone in Berkeley can get behind. It would be cheaper and better for everyone.

Think again. B-Town is now facing a $10 million deficit partly because its citizens are not throwing away enough trash. Even recycling and composting have come back to bite us in the ass.

The city only charges for trash collecting and hauls away your recycling and compost for free, largely to encourage greener waste disposal habits. And it’s working. Only problem is, it’s working a little too well, because $4 million of the above deficit came from the lack of trash-collecting moolah.

So do you hear that, all you Prius-driving, composting hippies? Start throwing away more trash! Put paper in the garbage can! Never recycle plastic bags! We need to keep this city in the black!

God, where is Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout when you need her?

Image source: soundfromwayout under Creative Commons
Greener living means less green in Berkeley budget [AP] via Mercury News

Due to budget imbalances and the general suckiness thereof, Berkeley’s powers-that-be propose the increase of garbage collection fees. Apparently, the drop in Asian demand for recycled paper contributes to the increasing value of dump collection. Say what?

Meanwhile, we have more trash and less money. Now, more fees? No, thanks. Our proposals:

*Dump our trash on the Stanfurd farm; let them deal with the mess.
*Save scraps of receipts and toilet paper to be used for taking notes in class.
*Find a Delorean to eat our crap.

Image Source: hellodan under Creative Commons
Berkeley Garbage Collection Fees May Rise to Balance Costs [Daily Cal]