I was surprised and disappointed to see in the paper today that Raleigh will be using big new plastic recycling containers and decreasing the number of city employees (no layoffs, but a net loss of jobs). We had a presentation about recycling at a recent Glenwood CAC meeting, but I don't recall any mention of this new plan. I took a survey that a friend forwarded to me, but otherwise didn't know about the upcoming changes until seeing the article today. The survey mentioned a tax increase to pay for the new program, but the article today didn't mention one. Was the RCAC informed of this change? I know the people in the recycling department work hard and have great intentions, but I would have liked to have a more public discussion of the pros and cons of this program before seeing it approved, including RCAC notification. For example: * What is the environmental impact of throwing away the bins we already have and buying new ones? * Where will the new ones come from? A Raleigh firm would be good, a Chinese firm would be very bad. * Is it a good use of tax money to replace jobs with big plastic bins and fancy trucks? * Should we be striving to increase the volume of material recycled or to decrease the amount of overall waste? Sincerely yours, Linda Watson Glenwood CAC chair