The city’s plan for changing the residential trash collection operation is an environmental mess. Initially, there will be a ton of plastic waste to deal with because of the replacement of the current containers. Then in the areas that opted for the cheaper smaller containers, it will take a lot longer to pick up even a significantly smaller amount of trash. This will require more trash trucks on the streets creating more pollution. Finally, if the expensive-to-maintain equipment that scans the containers and rejects the old ones works, then the rats will have a field day with the results.

— Roy Dahl, Hillcrest