💾 Archived View for stack.tilde.cafe › gemlog › 2023-07-26.composting.nyc.gmi captured on 2023-09-08 at 15:57:16. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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I was very excited to see a composting bin on the corner, a block away from me. It's about time!
But... I was really hoping to stay on the postivie note, because composting is great for everyone involved, and could solve the rat problem... But...
It's one of those little solar compactors that costs $4,000+. Aside from the upfront cost, while compacting trash makes sense, compacting food waste is questionable. Due to the high water content it is guaranteed to leak awful, stinky effluent...
Solar compactors are a great proposition for trash as they reduce the number of collections required, saving cities money (and justifying up-front cost). Compost cannot be left to ferment for more than a few days anyway...
The big problem is restaurants. Every night the street is filled with trash bags full of food, and at around midnight the bags start moving around as they get filled up with rats.
The final blow is this: using the compost bin requires installing an app to open it. What's wrong with people? I have no doubt it's some third-party app that most definitely tracks you in every way possible. NYC always tries to get you to install some or other app. I understand that if left open people would throw all kinds of trash into it, but an app? Why not post a code on a website and change it monthly -- that would be enough of a deterrent for a casual misuser, and if anyone really wants to be a nuisance they could install an app anyway and dump dogshit all they want...
I guess I'm out.