The Unintended Consequence of a Garbage Ban

During 2021, we looked at Bethel, Alaska. Located on a subarctic tundra wetland with a network of ponds and streams, it never connected to the state’s road system. While cargo planes and barges brought their food, medicine, and cars, it was expensive and inconvenient to move anything in the other direction. As a result, they kept their garbage.

Quite the opposite, Jasper, Indiana had a garbage ban. And that too became a problem.

A Garbage Ban

On August 1, 1950, the Mayor of Jasper eliminated garbage collection. Since the city defined garbage as organic waste, you could still throw out your soup cans and plastics. The organic waste, though, was supposed to be decimated by the “disposers” you could install under your sink. To be sure everyone had a “disposer,” the city subsidized the $75 purchase (approximately $1,000 today).

The story of the “disposer” starts during the 1920s. Then, with more people moving to cities, the food waste, piled up in the streets, was smelly. Responding, some cities, burned it; others threw it into local rivers. But General Electric had a better solution. Figuring out how to grind garbage, GE engineers first had a citywide approach. But then, during the 1930s, they realized everyone could do it. And thus we got the “Disposal.” Soon Scientific American even predicted that the garbage can would become obsolete.

In Jasper, Indiana, it did actually become obsolete. After the mayor saw a sign, “Say Goodbye to Your Garbage Can”  he installed a “disposal” under his sink that would grind food waste. Delighted, he decided everyone should have one. Called the Jasper Plan, the program would solve the city’s garbage problems, and, as he proved, not clog the city’s sewers. Pricey at $75 ($1,000 today), the city shared the expense. While it did not say people had to buy them, because there was no garbage pick-up, the disposal became a necessity. The town even got rid of most its flies.

Our Bottom Line: Unintended Consequences

It all sounded too good to be true. And it was.

When you send your waste down the drain, it does not really disappear. The people at 99% Invisible were told by an EPA representative that environmentally, it’s as bad as landfills and incineration. As wastewater, the ground up food emits methane, destroys pipes, and increases the cost of sewer systems.

Jasper’s general manager of utilities said they’ve been capturing some of the methane and using it to cogenerate electricity. In addition, they give some of the treated sewage to local farmers as fertilizer.

And now, recognizing the unintended consequences, Jasper no longer bans garbage.

My sources and more: Thanks to 99% Invisible for its garbage stories on Bethel and Jasper. Please note we have repeated parts of a post from 2021. It was one of our more popular environmental stories. But do note also that nowhere could I confirm that Bethel remains the same as we first wrote about it.