Same solution as most problems: import tax should include cost of getting rid of the car when you’re done. Then getting rid of a car is free. Ship it off the island at your expense and you get a refund.
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Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
41–50 of 78 posts
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#42this isn't that big of a deal. People do this on purpose. Collect cars, wait until the price of steel goes up, and bring in a moble crusher and truck them out to a port. It's pretty common practice. If you play your cards right, you can make money. It's only 8 acres. I've seen 40+ acres full of cars, which were crushed in a few days with a special machine.
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is actually the popular opinion, world wide. It's what we've been doing for decades. And it's terrible. The really unpopular opinion is "let's generate less trash and reuse everything we can, plus slap a recycling tax on everything".
What is the difference between recycling taxes and regular ones?
This is challenging to answer with the nonspecific, "regular ones?"
What, to you, is a "regular tax?"
Payroll taxes? Income taxes? Property taxes? Sales taxes? Carbon taxes? Gas taxes? Cigarette taxes?
All are as dissimilar to recycling taxes as they are to each other.
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, came for the same comment. Add an import tax of 2x whatever it takes to ship a car out. Each new car that comes in, two cars go out.
Isn't this the Mount Everest trash solution as well? You have to carry out more trash than you carried in
Everyone has to carry out a fair bit more to break even, including the 4-5 poor buggers who die on Mt. Everest every year (and all their trash).
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is actually the popular opinion, world wide. It's what we've been doing for decades. And it's terrible. The really unpopular opinion is "let's generate less trash and reuse everything we can, plus slap a recycling tax on everything".
What is the difference between recycling taxes and regular ones?
I would envision it as a money that don't go to the general pile of tax-raised money which becomes the country's government budget, but be kept separate and be used for investments in recycling and environemtn protection. I am not a lawyer and have no idea if this is a thing anywhere, but it seems so logical. You raise money off an ecological problem and use them, directly, to solve the ecological problem (and others).
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#46Maybe unpopular opinion: Sort it, burn what you can for electricity, dump rest into deep ocean.
This is actually the popular opinion, world wide. It's what we've been doing for decades. And it's terrible. The really unpopular opinion is "let's generate less trash and reuse everything we can, plus slap a recycling tax on everything".
Why is it terrible? The OP said to burn what you can for electricity, so that really should just leave metals. Copper is valuable, so hopefully they'd strip all the wiring and recycle it, leaving just steel and maybe aluminum (which itself is valuable for recycling too). How is dumping steel car frames in the ocean "terrible"? These days, entire ships are sunk (after getting all the fluids out of them) to actually help the ocean wildlife as artificial reefs.
However, I do agree there should be a lot more effort to recycle this stuff.
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#47Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#48Maybe unpopular opinion: Sort it, burn what you can for electricity, dump rest into deep ocean.
This is actually the popular opinion, world wide. It's what we've been doing for decades. And it's terrible. The really unpopular opinion is "let's generate less trash and reuse everything we can, plus slap a recycling tax on everything".
It is but on the scale of this island it's a drop in the ocean ;)
All the car wrecks combined would be like one sunk ship.
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#49These people have lived sustainably for hundreds of years. Clearly, our "modern society" is inferior.
Re: Tonga is running out of space for more than 30k abandoned cars
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s strange how bikes haven’t caught on. Similar to Malta, which is tiny and heavily urbanized, but has a massive car problem. 30 km is what some people commute on bike daily.
When I was living in America, I'd drive 300m to the grocery store because I could, so I understand the feeling. I'm also sure it's hot & humid much of the time, which makes walking & biking a sweaty affair.
So you need a 3 ton machine to avoid sweating?
Shades and trees are cheap to install and maintain, not to mention the wind whilst riding which gives you a nice cooling effect.
The only reason you do not have shading+trees around roads is because they are removed in name of "traffic flow".