To the editor:
Gratitude and kudos to the city of Sandy Springs for the quick response and thorough cleanup of the garbage tsunami that struck Roberts Road between Davis Academy and Northridge on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
The city of Sandy Springs was notified of the disaster, and within 24 hours the debris was cleaned and the environment returned to normalcy. This was an avalanche of trash!
Coincidentally, Waste Management Systems picks up residential refuse in the area on Wednesday morning, and the incident had all the visual indicators of trash bags blown from a refuse vehicle.
The city of Sandy Springs is missing a revenue opportunity by assigning a clean-up crew to the waste site without sending a forensic “garbologist” as well. Is it not illegal to litter? Why should taxpayers shoulder the burden of cleanup without compensation from the violator? In this case, a culprit could have been identified immediately.
The city of Sandy Springs can easily justify the salary expense for enforcement of litter and sign ordinance violations by the revenue garnered from fining the perpetrators: $25 for every intersection or telephone pole sign, $100 and more for documented littering incidents. This could add up to some real money. And consider this, an estimated 95 percent of the sign and litter violators are not residents of Sandy Springs!!
Trash Talker