On Friday’s Z107.7 Up Close Show, host Gary Daigneault spoke with representatives from the City of Twentynine Palms on a number of topics including the implementation of green waste bins. Twentynine Palms Mayor and council member Steve Bilderain and newly hired City Manager Stone James discussed the city’s implementation of the state’s mandated green waste collection program.
James began the meeting by previewing this week’s meeting of the City Council.
Stone James: “The roll-out of the Organics has already begun. We’re going to have a gentleman from City staff and he’s going to share a success report this coming Tuesday. It is breathtaking what his creativity and his tenacity – to ask the tough questions (and) to push back on state requirements – what he has accomplished for the city.”
Gary Daigneault: “When is the general population going to participate? In Indian Cove we still don’t have our cans and our extra bags…”
Stone James: “Burrtec should be beginning to deliver some of the barrels for the organic recycling this month.”
Gary Daigneault: “And just so people understand what that means that right now you’ve got a can for trash and a can for recycling. Now you’re going to have a third can which is for green waste, which is what you cut off from bushes and that kind of stuff. Then you’ll have to take a smaller plastic bag and do your scraping of your your plates into the Green Recycling can… so you have three cans. When they required you to do that did they give you the money to pay for it?”
Stone James: “So that’s one of the challenges with the State of California. Unfunded mandates.”
Gary Daigneault: “As that is getting rolled out, are you getting pushback Steve?”
Steve Bilderain: “People who do their research know it’s not the city’s call. There’s always the outside that think the city is the one driving the train of nonsense, but it’s not us. We try to fight it, we try to see what we can do to slow down the process because they want us to provide these services and give them out but they have no facility to take them to.”
Tomorrow’s (June 11) meeting of the Twentynine Palms City Council begins at 6 p.m.
Listen to the full interview here:
