Comments on: Trucks! – Highlight of the Oct 3, 2011 Cambridge City Council agenda

By: Robert Winters

Robert Winters — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:51:15 +0000

To Jeff – I had to change the spam filtering method because of a sudden spike in spam. I guess the bad guys find a way to get past every protocol eventually.

I agree with you in principle about the freedom to use plastic bags or paper bags or any other kind of box or bag. The only reason I might see for considering a ban (or, better yet, an education campaign) is that a huge amount of labor is necessary at the recycling facility in Charlestown picking plastic bags out of the recycling stream. The bags that get through get caught in the machinery and the whole operation has to be regularly stopped so that the bags wrapped around the machinery can be removed.

By: JChase

JChase — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:46:40 +0000

I prefer this new spam filtering method, although the math method was not bad.

On a different topic, the issue that stuck out at this week’s meeting was the threat of prohibiting plastic shopping bags at Cambridge retail stores.

Grocery stores offer a choice between paper and platic. Nearby Foodmaster gives customers a discount for bringing in a reusable bag. Cambridge store owners and their customers do well with freedom of choice.

People can have many secondary uses for plastic bags. Sealing up daily cat litter, pooper-scooping the dogs during morning and evening walks, sealing used baby diapers, quickly removing raw chicken/meat packaging which quickly becomes extremely stinky, etc.

If plastic bags are banned in Cambridge, some people (not sure what the percentage may be) will avoid Cambridge retailers and become loyal customers to shops in the surrounding towns.

JChase

By: Robert Winters

Robert Winters — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:55:24 +0000

This is just a test message for a different Spam filtering method, but….
Congratulations to Councillor Davis for her invoking the name of former Mayor and City Councillor Al Vellucci as motivation for the idea of threatening to reverse the direction of River Street to send a message regarding Boston’s not-well-considered plans to direct truck traffic to Route 128 which will almost certainly lead to those trucks instead cutting through Cambridge to and from the Mass. Pike.

I could tell ya stories about Al Vellucci…..