In his strongest words to date, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker is giving the green light for the city to adopt the curbside recycling plan offered by Pinellas County. Although he still has reservations about the environmental effect of trucks picking up recyclables (something the county has scoffed at), he told the St. Petersburg Times today that he thinks that issue could be worked out.
From the Times:
"We all want the same things for the environment," Baker said. "The county solved the money problem, and I'm becoming more convinced that there are ways of addressing these greenhouse issues."
Baker's change of heart most likely stemmed from the hundreds of angry phone calls and e-mails of residents after a series of news reports on Baker's refusal to accept the county's plan. (I wrote about Baker's feet dragging back in July and this week.)
And although it's exciting news for area homeowners, there's one environmentalist and entrepreneur that is not too excited about it: Greg Foster of St. Pete Recycling Solutions, who spent his savings on the subscriber-based curbside recycling business (See "Curb With Enthusiasm," Dec. 12, 2007). I haven't been able to reach Foster, but in past conversations, he's told me the countywide plan has worried him.
The City Council plans to take up the specifics of the curbside recycling issue at a workshop next month.
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2008.