Composting, bags and ideas to follow...

howdy ya'll...

good getting to work on this conversation - the blog is super and i think the soliciting emails just might be working.

i have a small number of ideas that are not quite ready to be articulated, so tonight i will just speak to two that were mentioned:
city-wide composting and the elimination of plastic bags - both noble endeavors.

san francisco has a very successful organic waste collection - i think if a huge city can implement such a system, that surely park city could meet that goal. i have, however, spoken at length with insa at recycle utah regarding this idea and the development of a city-wide management plan for the "disposal"/recycling of organic waste. for some reason, the super woman that is insa believes this to be an unattainable goal at this time. (and i know that she has introduced the idea to certain city officials)
perhaps if we all jump on the natural waste train together we could get enough momentum to support a city-wide compost. i just think that if we embark on this path, we must start with a conversation with insa and the folks at recycle utah.

onto plastic bags:
many cities in europe charge the customer for plastic bags - ANY plastic bag, not just the durable one that we americans consider worthy of sale. i believe that this is how it must be if one is to actually think of the resources they use each time they leave the store with a new plastic bag, a free, fragile and disposal bag. the fee is small, like $0.25, but, like alison said,it would add up quickly. i don't think that this system would deter customers from the grocery store, but that if would act as a solid reminder to bring your own bag. if we did plan to supply reusable, more durable bags, i don't believe that all stores would need to offer them. in fact, i think that small stores would actually benefit from not having to stock so many wasteful bags.

i heard on the radio recently that the number one complaint of tourists and locals alike is park city traffic.
i do believe that this is rapidly becoming a major problem in our little community and i don't believe that local walkability is going to even begin to make a impact on the congested situation (NOT to belittle the walkability, safe street mission - i'm a huge supporter!!! - i just think we need more) and, mike, i like the mention of raising awareness of crosswalk conduct.
i hesitated bringing this up, as i'm not proposing a project, or a solution out at this time; but, i wanted to get you all to start thinking about this issue. i find it to be a dually environmental and humanitarian sickness. one that park city must start paying attention to.

oh, my, sorry for the length of this post.
and julie - i'm bummed to have missed arte latino on saturday, my family was in town and i simply couldn't round up the troops - i heard it was wonderful!

thanks all!!
kaitlin