03-30-2017, 11:56 AM
Don't forget the big issue: buildings pay for their own garbage. If someone brings their organics to the chute alongside their recycling and their garbage, on the 25th floor, and they select organics and toss it in, then select recycling and toss it in *before the sorter in the basement has time to change positions* you've now contaminated an entire organics pickup, and get charged by your organics handler (who you're paying for). Then you see them select garbage and toss it in *before the sorter which had moved to recycling has a chance to change to garbage* and you've now contaminated the recycling. But there is not a camera watching you in the garbage room, so you never know who's screwing up the entire building of 250 units. So the board just votes to stop using the multi-sort.
A jerk-proof system is hard to design. You'd need something like a sorter that is always locked, and only unlocks when someone selects garbage/recycling/organics, and locks between type changes so you can't contaminate. Even that might not be enough, and I've never seen a system with locks, but I can promise you this is a problem common to any chute that isn't single type. Kaufman, we have to take our recycling down to the first floor and sort it, and there's no organics at all.
A jerk-proof system is hard to design. You'd need something like a sorter that is always locked, and only unlocks when someone selects garbage/recycling/organics, and locks between type changes so you can't contaminate. Even that might not be enough, and I've never seen a system with locks, but I can promise you this is a problem common to any chute that isn't single type. Kaufman, we have to take our recycling down to the first floor and sort it, and there's no organics at all.