Talking Trash: New Carts in the 'Hood

I heard some rumbling outside of my house yesterday so I looked through the window and, to my excitement, discovered that the new Charlotte recycling carts were being delivered in my neighborhood. Okay, so I wasn't that excited, but I do like the new carts because they're the same size as the city-issued garbage cans (96 gallons), so they'll hold a lot more than the small, red bins we've been using for years. I've become an avid recycler since moving into my house three years ago, and on a given week my recycle pile is often nearly as big as the regular trash.

One other thing about these new carts, which you probably have heard by now: they have microchips in them. Small computer chips have been placed in each cart, the city says, to track who's recycling. And if some neighborhoods aren't recycling like they should, the city can use this data to target them with campaigns on the importance of recycling. Some of the public, of course, has become outraged over the chips, saying that the government could be doing more than just monitoring their trash pickup--i.e. listening to conversations. I think that's highly unlikely, but you can't convince those who don't trust the guvment. I think reporter/columnist Tara Servatius was the first to break the story ("'Spy chips' in Charlotte's recycling bins").

You can learn more about the new recycling carts, including requesting that they take it away and you continue using the old bin, by visiting recycleit.charlottenc.gov.