Seeing the People Behind the Garbage
A Utility Approach to Trash Collection
Solving the complex problem of homelessness will require us to see beyond the surface. When we see someone living on the street, the difference between reacting with sympathy and reacting with anger can boil down to whether or not we see them as a neighbor. As with any neighbor, seeing the place they live surrounded by trash makes us less sympathetic. I don’t have the perfect answer for housing the unhoused, but one way to get closer to that answer is to address the garbage problem.
The Garbage Problem. Modern life generates a lot of garbage. Oregonians generate an average of 2,800 pounds of garbage per person, per year. As a legislator, I’ve worked to reduce litter from plastic bags, straws, and other single-use items by limiting some of the worst kinds and by supporting recycling for the remainder. Unfortunately, we have not yet found a practical way to eliminate all garbage.
The unhoused have fewer options to avoid single-use items or to dispose of any other trash appropriately. We do not provide public trashcans in the places where unsheltered neighbors live. To state the obvious, they also can’t afford private trash collection. The distance from their camping sites to easy places to dispose of trash results in its accumulation nearby, understandably complicating our feelings. Who wants to live in or near a litter-strewn neighborhood?
A Solution? Garbage collection falls somewhere between a tax-supported public service and a free market, buy-it-if-you-want-it service. In our cities, the usual solution is that the city council grants a license to one or more collection companies with the requirement that the companies cap their collection fees and profits. This business licensing approach works fine for the housed, but it is missing a key element of economic accommodation that’s in the model we use for electricity, water, and sewage. For utilities, we provide programs like low-income rate assistance, to make sure that the service is available to all of us.
Despite garbage being an unavoidable aspect of modern life, we don’t extend this utility model to garbage collection. Instead, we fund city public works or a contractor to do clean ups irregularly and inefficiently through general city revenues, taking municipal funds away from fire, police, parks, and other city services. This reactive, ad hoc model imposes significant costs. Consider that our current city contract requires expensive hazardous waste clean-up for all trash produced by the unhoused, because they have no way of segregating their waste to avoid toxic contamination.
We can move to a more proactive approach to garbage collection at a reasonable cost. Of the roughly 172,000 people living in Eugene, about 2,000 are unsheltered. If we assume that the cost of ordinary garbage service for them would be the same as for the rest of us, then an increase of about 1% in fees – 27 cents each month – would cover the cost. Even if the cost is twice that, which is possible, given the contents of the trash, it would still add less than $7 per year to the average trash bill to provide dumpsters and recycling carts in the public places where our unhoused neighbors live.
While the unhoused cannot pay for this service, it does not mean they should not bear some responsibility. If we provide convenient trash cans and collection, we can reasonably expect people to use them. Littering is already a violation of the law, but if we provide an alternative—the alternative that housed neighbors employ—it becomes an avoidable and less frequent one. Existing laws will hold us all equally accountable.
Providing garbage collection will not solve our homelessness problem. Its roots are varied and deep, including an inadequate mental health system, failure to construct enough low-income housing over many decades, and a resource-starved educational system with weak connections to workforce needs. But, if we do not yet have a perfect view of the solutions to these problems, we can at least give ourselves a clearer view by picking up the garbage.
Other News
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States. The lifeline connects anyone experiencing a behavioral health crisis with a trained counselor, 24/7. You can also dial 9-8-8 or text 988 if you’re worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. To chat online, visit 988lifeline.org
Lane County’s Firewise Grant Incentive Program is now accepting applications through August 1st, 2022!
Financial grants are available to rural Lane County residents who are interested in making landscaping and structural improvements to their properties, which can increase the survivability of their home in the event of a wildfire. Residents may qualify for up to $15,500 in financial assistance to carry out the following improvements:
Replacement of wood shake roofs with noncombustible roof materials
Installation of fire-resistant windows, doors and siding
Thinning and pruning of vegetation to create a “defensible space” around homes
Planting of low fire risk plants within the defensible space
Installation of an irrigation system & a water catchment/storage tank
Screening of vents and other opening to prevent the entry of firebrands
Installation of spark arrestors on chimneys
Funding for this program is provided to Lane County through Title III of the Federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Program. To learn more visit www.lanecounty.org/firewise.
COVID-19
Vaccinations (including boosters) are available at:
COVID-19 Testing
At-home Test Kits
Each residential households in the U.S. is eligible to order free at-home antigen tests from the federal government. (Each household may place three orders, for a total of 16 free at-home tests per household). Place your online order here.
The Hult Center
RT-PCR test for COVID-19
Results typically within 2 hours
For patients 5+
Patients ages 5 -17 must be swabbed by an accompanying adult
UO's Monitoring and Assessment Program (MAP)
Individuals without symptoms can test inside McArthur Court. Appointments are strongly encouraged for asymptomatic testing. Book online here
Testing for individuals with mild symptoms, similar to the common cold, is available at the McArthur Court ticket booths. Individuals with symptoms should not go inside to test.
Symptomatic testing is offered as walk in only and available during limited hours.
Due to increased demand in testing, plan an hour for the check-in and testing process.
MAP test results are available within 2-4 business days. This is not a rapid test
This is available to all community members, not just UO staff and students.
For individuals who are experiencing symptoms and/or had a recent close encounter with a known positive case may access testing through Lane County Public Health or through your primary care provider. Testing locations are updated weekly online and include drive-thru testing options.
Thanks for all the great comments. I've asked the legislative staff to do some research into any obstacles to this approach. While it's important for the state to remove obstacles, fundamentally, this is an issue that requires a commitment from the city and/or county. I encourage you to write you councilor or commissioner if you'd like to see this approach (or a similar one) move forward.
This is an issue I’ve been concerned about for years mostly because it gives the unhoused a bad rep. Many people don’t realize that they have no place to put their garbage. I think you have a great idea and I’ll help pay for the garbage collection. Let’s see if we can get the powers that be to get on board. Thanks!!!