May 18, 2010
Newsmaker Q&A: N.C. Vasuki, former CEO of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority
By Doug Denison
Dover, Del.— Last week, the House approved Gov. Jack Markell’s plan for universal curbside recycling in Delaware, readying the bill for his signature in the coming days.
During debate in the House and Senate, legislators went back and forth over the proposal, which requires all Delaware waste haulers, including municipalities that provide trash services in-house, to offer single-stream, curbside recycling to residents and eventually to businesses.
Residents will not be required to use the recycling service, but they will have to pay for it.
To help fund the up-front costs, the plan converts the state’s five-cent bottle deposit to a four-cent fee and offers the proceeds to haulers in the form of grants and loans.
Though the bill passed both chambers with significant support, Dover resident N.C. Vasuki, former CEO of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority, thinks the legislation was the wrong way to address the issue.
Q What is your main criticism of the governor’s recycling plan?
A We the people pay for everything, and the simpler you make it and the more direct the payment, the more efficient the system. What Senate Bill 234 does is complicate the whole system. It creates the impression that you’re getting something for nothing. They call it a subsidy; it’s we the people who pay for it. You pay four cents tax, but as a city resident I might get half a cent back as a grant to the city of Dover. What they’re going to do is tell the homeowner you’re going to pay for this service whether you use it or not.
Q What could have been done to move toward universal recycling as an alternative to the governor’s plan?
A There was an amendment offered which simplified the whole system, there was no tax, there was no grant fund, it simply said that anyone who offers garbage collection service must provide curbside recycling. People who receive the service would pay for it directly.
Q Would imposing such a mandate have put a hardship on municipalities and waste haulers that would be forced to add recycling service?
A The municipalities are already offering the service, the only thing is, the government is saying we’ll give you some money back. The private haulers wanted this directive from the government to charge the people for the service. The private sector doesn’t need the subsidy; they’re in the business to provide the service. If they’re not making money, they’re not in the business.
Q The governor’s plan phases out the state’s bottle deposit bill. Do you think the bottle bill was working?
A Right from the very beginning it wouldn’t work. When the bottle bill was introduced, the DuPont Company and the aluminum industry put their lobbyists to work and the bottle bill basically said for 2-liter plastic bottles, you don’t need a deposit and for aluminum cans you don’t need a deposit. They didn’t want a deposit on their products. Once they removed the deposits on aluminum and plastic, it was a useless bill.
Q How can the government get more people to recycle?
A Like they do in a number of states and countries, they can mandate that you must recycle. You must wear seatbelts, you must have a driver’s license, you must have insurance. The government tells people to do a lot of things. The government can say you must recycle. They’re not telling people to recycle, they saying you’re going to have access to recycling, you’re going to pay for it. But, you don’t have to recycle. Over the last 10 years, residents of Delaware have had full access to recycling; it wasn’t difficult at all. Those who wanted to recycle did an excellent job. Those who didn’t want to recycle did not. In my experience, about 15% of the population will not participate.
http://www.doverpost.com/communities/dover/x2084251823/Newsmaker-Q-A-N-C-Vasuki-former-CEO-of-the-Delaware-Solid-Waste-Authority
