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Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

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Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#81

Post by isalmon »

hammock wrote: post #77
specialp wrote: post #49

I kayak and fish in the bays of NYC. A fact not known by much of the population of the city is that almost every time it rains, the sewage treatment plants release raw sewage into the ocean. This is due to the storm drains being drained by the same system that sewage is treated from. Due to this the water is filled with trash, floating condoms, and wet wipes. So this isn't just third world countries. It is bad enough…

Because this is top comment and no one has provided further explanation yet, here is a link: https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/stormwater/combined_sewer... Most older cities have what are called combined sewers (there is a good wikipedia article on it) and have to deal with this problem in various ways.

Not just older cities. I live in San Diego and we have exactly the same problem here. Can't swim or surf after the rain. Not exactly sure why it was done this way - maybe because it rains very rarely and they just did not design the sewage system to handle rare (but sometimes heavy) rains.

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#82

Post by acdha »

isalmon wrote: post #81
hammock wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because this is top comment and no one has provided further explanation yet, here is a link: https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/stormwater/combined_sewer... Most older cities have what are called combined sewers (there is a good wikipedia article on it) and have to deal with this problem in various ways.

Not just older cities. I live in San Diego and we have exactly the same problem here. Can't swim or surf after the rain. Not exactly sure why it was done this way - maybe because it rains very rarely and they just did not design the sewage system to handle rare (but sometimes heavy) rains.

California built a ton of great infrastructure and then people decided they didn’t want to pay to maintain it. The entire state is full of projects where the people who ran them are begging for money to avoid needing to spend even more after it finally breaks. One of the big problems was the sprawl due to the highway system – when San Diego raises its property taxes that means people may still work and play in the city but will buy a house somewhere else, paying no taxes at all.

This is a common story around the world but Prop 13 adds the wrinkle that it mostly affects new buyers and people who haven’t figured out how to pass property to their descendants without resetting the tax assessment. That guy who bought a place in PB with his back pay when he got out of the Navy is still paying $100 a year in taxes. He has a massive incentive not to do anything which will reset that, so the city won’t be getting more revenue that way until he (or his heirs) sell the place.

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#83

Post by incompatible »

zizee wrote: post #45
incompatible wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that "Australia" Found a Way is putting credit where it deserves to go. It's not exactly a national priority.

You make it sound like Australia has a huge problem with plastic/trash in waterways that "Australia" is actively ignoring. In general, Australian's culture is to use rubbish bins and keep things tidy. Sidepoint: I am not sure if it is something only Australians do, but whenever something about Australia comes up, there will be an Australian there bemoaning how badly we do things. Yes, there is always room for improve…

I wasn't implying that things were bad in Australia in this case, just that the credit for this net idea could be better given to a specific person or organisation.

I.e., there's no "Australia" program to install these nets, as far as I know.

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#84

Post by manigandham »

gmiller123456 wrote: post #80
manigandham wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does that matter? The issue is that they claim to be recycling and then just dump it in the ocean instead.

That's quite disingenuous to what's really happening. The companies in the US claiming their "recycling" service are probably well aware of what's going on, and China probably isn't making any promises that they're recycling anything. The US companies accept money for "recycling" material, maybe cut off the power cord for reuse, then pay China to take the rest as junk. And it's a given that if you're transporting gar…

You contradicted yourself in your own post. If there's no evidence that they're dumping it in the ocean then what exactly are the US companies supposedly aware of?

The fact is that US companies are paying for a disposal service. What that disposal service does is up to them, and if they just throw in the water then it's their fault alone. Maybe there should be some regulations there to ensure recycling companies actually do some recycling.

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#85

Post by King-Aaron »

toasterlovin wrote: post #78
King-Aaron wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being directly obtuse, but to humour you: > So what if people were lied to? This is fairly serious when you consider that this is the entity which takes a portion of your working income as tax to provide services based on the needs of the community. If the policies which are decided on are based on a misinformed public opinion, then the services which are actually required (as opposed to being perceived as bei…

> I'd put the onus of proof on you for this one, what makes you think that they do not? Governments spend tens of millions of dollars in prime-time advertising with the sole intention of sway opinions of citizens. This seems beyond ridiculous to me that you would want to make that point. Look, your point is that the government lies to people and that this influences they way they vote. I’m sure that has some marginal…

How do you know I even vote?

I could be an expat from another country for all you know.

(Note: This isn't the case, but it well could be. Don't make assumptions. That's why a higher level discussion is better than getting pissy at each other and trying to level attacks - which is what you're doing.)

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#86

Post by toasterlovin »

King-Aaron wrote: post #85
toasterlovin wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd put the onus of proof on you for this one, what makes you think that they do not? Governments spend tens of millions of dollars in prime-time advertising with the sole intention of sway opinions of citizens. This seems beyond ridiculous to me that you would want to make that point. Look, your point is that the government lies to people and that this influences they way they vote. I’m sure that has some marginal…

How do you know I even vote? I could be an expat from another country for all you know. (Note: This isn't the case, but it well could be. Don't make assumptions. That's why a higher level discussion is better than getting pissy at each other and trying to level attacks - which is what you're doing.)

FWIW, you haven’t invalidated my position. Our disagreement is about the direction of the arrow of causality between misinformation and voting. Whether or not I assumed that you vote and/or are an Australian citizen is irrelevant.

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#87

Post by gmiller123456 »

manigandham wrote: post #84
gmiller123456 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's quite disingenuous to what's really happening. The companies in the US claiming their "recycling" service are probably well aware of what's going on, and China probably isn't making any promises that they're recycling anything. The US companies accept money for "recycling" material, maybe cut off the power cord for reuse, then pay China to take the rest as junk. And it's a given that if you're transporting gar…

You contradicted yourself in your own post. If there's no evidence that they're dumping it in the ocean then what exactly are the US companies supposedly aware of? The fact is that US companies are paying for a disposal service. What that disposal service does is up to them, and if they just throw in the water then it's their fault alone. Maybe there should be some regulations there to ensure recycling companies actu…

>what exactly are the US companies supposedly aware of?

That it's not being recycled.

Re: Nets on the outlets of drainage pipes save waterways from pollution

#88

Post by zizee »

incompatible wrote: post #83
zizee wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make it sound like Australia has a huge problem with plastic/trash in waterways that "Australia" is actively ignoring. In general, Australian's culture is to use rubbish bins and keep things tidy. Sidepoint: I am not sure if it is something only Australians do, but whenever something about Australia comes up, there will be an Australian there bemoaning how badly we do things. Yes, there is always room for improve…

I wasn't implying that things were bad in Australia in this case, just that the credit for this net idea could be better given to a specific person or organisation. I.e., there's no "Australia" program to install these nets, as far as I know.

Fair enough. Apologies for reading too much into your words, and ascribing a meaning beyond what you had intended.
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