Junk or Junque, treasure or trash, do you have a permit?

This is the second time in 3 months that I have pulled 3 of these Razors out of the dumpster for a total of 6, the same dumpster, a cardboard recycling dumpster. If you believe these are made out of cardboard, please move on to someone else’s post. I’m sure that my friend Holly would find those number sequences significant. 

I used to want to say, “People, please pay attention, if it’s a cardboard recycling container that’s what you put in there, and only that”. I used to want to say “People, it’s not your dumpster; you’re not paying for it, stop dumping illegally”. Now all I want to say is “If you people are going to be a pain in the ass and I have to come and clean up after you, then the least you could do is tape or tie the charging units to the Razors”. Used Razors generally are easy to repair; most often they just need a new battery and can continue to provide joy and glee for children and the ER Doctors. But if I have to replace the battery and the charger, then I can’t sell them for a reasonable price, and they are scrap. Scrap battery, scrap aluminum, scrap motor, some scrap wiring and of course some debris that ends up going to an incinerator disguised as a renewable energy plant. The net result is that I’ll get about $5 or$6 out of each scooter without considering the labor to tear them down.

I’m monetizing this to make it easier to understand the impact of this waste. With a charger and a working battery, I could conceivably get $25 to $30 per unit. This bottom line, this methodology for measuring all of the events in our lives is extremely important. We have to look beyond just the intrinsic or enhanced value of this scrap and look at it in terms of what it really represents. Look at it as purely scrap and it can pay for 2 to 3 meals at a mass feeding organization, a shelter or a soup kitchen, whatever you want to call it, non-profit organizations helping their neighbors with the help of your financial donation is the best description I can offer. But an intact unit sold for reuse or continued life would garner 12 to 15 meals (based on a rounded $2 per meal). This is important for me, because the profits I get in exchange for keeping waste out of the landfills is going towards helping other people. That other man’s trash is being converted to fill the treasury, for disbursement where needed.

I have thought about opening a junk yard or as we say now “Junque Yard” where I could relieve suffering dumpers of their goods without them running afoul of the law, and converting the currency of trash to hard cash to benefit our community. There are some organizations that do that like Habitat for Humanity, and then there is a whole long list of organizations who would blow more smoke than the aforementioned incinerator to convince you that they are: 1. Recycling.  2. Benefiting the community 3. Training people and helping them. 4. Profits go back into the community. What many of them are doing in reality is siphoning money out of the community to enrich their executives, trashing what they can’t sell, there is no recycling involved other than the resale of popular products, all participating in a greenwashing scheme encouraging an overwhelming amount of “feel good on your part”, daily deposits feel great on their part. I would be happy just processing the rejects from these wonderful organizations that the sheep all contribute to. And I know, because I’ve climbed into their dumpsters where I could or looked at the stationary compactors at some of their store and receiving locations. One thrift store with 4 compactors to deal with the rejects, the things that don’t turn the quick buck for their executives. 

All of these organizations want you to donate, they put out bins, they spend money on mailers and will even pick up from your home, free of charge. The county will pick up from your home as well. They’ll take everything in a trash can or bag, without ever thinking about how much missed opportunity is in that pick up. They’ll also provide pick up for bulky items and even metal items, all to service you and keep your life convenient. Put it on the curb, it’s out of sight and out of mind when that big truck comes along, and you feel good, and you participated in wasting resources and opportunities.

But can you imagine, if I offered to set up a “Junque Yard” here in Lily White County? Can you just see all of the petty bureaucrats having seizures because they don’t understand what I’m saying and are going by their concept of a junk yard, or they are so set in their ways that they cannot and will not accept anything that deviates from their norm. Can you see me going to Rockville to get a permit? Can you see that I likely would have to go to Baltimore to get permits? Can you see that none of this will happen because we are so entrenched in the various terms and concepts that define business as usual that we will do nothing to change that?  We will of course tout Economic Development and spend millions on that, and millions more to cover the Director’s needs, and we won’t spend a cent on Environmental Development.

Once I get past the outrageous cost of the land and buildings to do this, I have to recognize that it is of course far away and secluded so as to not offend the sensibilities of the gentry. Then likely I will have to face zoning issues and waivers, building permits, environmental reviews, state permits, Non-title V air permit, NPDES permit, fire Marshall’s inspection and permit, use and occupancy permits, permits for every function in that building, a permit to repaint the office, a permit to replace the old carpeting, a permit to operate a transfer station, a permit to breathe. And all of this is in a county that claims to be progressive and pro business, as long as those businesses fit within their image of themselves.

There is apparently no category for trying to help solve a problem or for trying to do something new and different and creative. Forget about that, let’s just maintain business as usual and avoid any inconvenient truths or possibilities thereof. And sadly, this is how everything is done and nobody is permitted to allow anything different, not at the county level or at the state level, and well at the Federal level we don’t really know unless you have a briefcase full of cash.