hire a barge

[MegSing33]

It is good that the subject of recycling and waste management is being discussed...

(how) IS it possible to get a regular (funded?!) barge to haul some of the massive bargeloads of items from our transfer station and yards? If so, where would it go?

... or is it too expensive and not possible?

Are we re-opening the dump. How much space is left. Is the garbage and junk that stays here damaging the environment. Water table. What about yards. SHOULD we bury or burn? How deep should i bury.

In reality the station, too, indeed DOES have some of these same frustrations that landowners experience!

Is this a topic, perhaps, that would be voted on? Island collaborative have advice? Environmental / conservation?
Must private business fund or donate the expense of large item collection?!

[Rosema]

Meg,

Thank you for asking questions - and welcome home!! The island appreciates your family’s contributions. We need more folks of your caliber (and generation!!!) to come here.

I’m sure you’ve already looked it over, but the Master Plan published nearly 4 years ago created a pretty clear picture and path forward for us new folks.

Here’s a link:

http://www.resilientmichigan.org/downlo ... ok6_12.pdf

Here’s an excerpt from Page 127 of the Master Plan

“Possible Resource Management

Providing affordable options for removing junk cars and debris.

Priority Level: TOP

Possible Partners: Townships governments; Beaver Island TRANSFER Station..”

Call me crazy but I read the Master Plan from front to back when I got here in 2018 and I went to the islands Waste Management Facility in 2018 looking for an option for removing debris.

I thought the guy was joking when he said dig a hole and bury it. I like some jokes. But not that one. Surely he’d come up with something. As the days turned to weeks, I kept asking what it’s going to take.

The manager would not offer any solutions. After 11 months of asking, I told him squarely if he didn’t have anything else to offer I would start pulling Things out front.

What do you think, Meg? Should I teach my kids how to bury tires?

If you were a newcomer in 2018 or 2020 and read through the Beaver Island Master Plan - you would think the Transfer Station is the place to go to find green solutions to managing waste.

Why isn’t that the case?

Will it be the place to go in 2021?

Keep it Green - 2021!!

Brock

[BeanieBeanstalk]

Well, this is exciting.... I think I see some leadership going on here!

[John Bolton]

Me thinks I see a learning curve

Old age and treachery will overcome youth and enthusiasm......
Not endorsing...
Just sayin...

[BeanieBeanstalk]

John you’re not old enough to think like that! But we are both old enough and familiar with human nature to see it would, no, make that WILL be a long and difficult endeavor. Thing is, I think it’s worth it, don’t you? Let’s support this!

[John Bolton]

Agreed.
I would support any reasonable & well thought out solution.
With that caveat, I’m all in....

[MegSing33]

I am willing to get involved. I admit that I know about zero in regards to waste management, but can't see much harm in working with others to at least try. No, I have never read the master plan - not even parts of it, shame to say. Thanks for the link. SO perhaps I will learn about how our system is "run"... Is there a board, committee, do I have a say-so? How might we listen to the wants and needs of those up to their elbows in ALL of our trash and is it within expectation to anticipate vast improvement of status-quo. I suppose a gorgeous place to start is within myself - to stop with the language and thinking of "us vs. them". WE ALL have jobs to accomplish. We all want to cherish the beauty. If there are meetings open to the public, when does the next occur?
Sensible to say 1) the station is only so big 2) there are monumental wishes 3) we all see great heaps of useless crud to haul far far away, safely, and legally - and it'll probably cost a fortune.

Here's the truth, Brock... Your roadside array is charming.

Why have junk, sometimes dangerous, littered around at every corner of our beautiful lands when - IF you have the gumption, tools, strength, time, energy, and interest - it can be so delightfully organized.

Burying is harmful to our water cycle, no matter how clever and funny we think it is. Our Water Protectors put their lives, safety, and comfort on the real line to stop government and corporations from destroying our heritage, our future, each minuscule trickle of a stream at a time. Please don't bury your old refrigerator.

[Pam Grassmick]

After a little digging around the Peaine Township website, I found the following information. You're in luck-December 15th at 1 p.m., the Transfer Station Committee is meeting at the Peaine Township Hall. They will probably offer a call-in opportunity. The Waste Management and Transfer Station Committee was "inactive" for a couple of years and has been re-established with a committed group of individuals who also established a new website. I hope this is helpful and our community can come together with solutions.


HOME › GOVERNMENT/DEPARTMENTS › WASTE MANAGEMENT & TRANSFER STATION

Transfer Station Website Link:
https://www.beaverislandtransferstation.com/

Paul Cole - Chair
P.O. Box 5
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 448-2505
chamber@beaverisland.org

Frank D'Andraia (Recording Secretary)
P.O. Box 438
Beaver Island, MI 49782
231) 448-2603
francisdandraia@gmail.com

Carla Martin
P.O. Box 91
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 448-3540
peainetownshipclerk@yahoo.com

Sheri Richards
P.O. Box 49
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 448-2067
s.richards.realtor@gmail.com

Paul Welke
36020 Melody Lane
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 448-2374
pwelke@islandairways.com

Travis Martin - At Large
P.O. Box
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 675-7972
travismartin@tds.net

Joe Moore
P.O. Box 50
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 448-2416
medic5740@gmail.com

Bob Marsh - Transfer Station Manager
36770 East Side Drive
Beaver Island, MI 49782
(231) 448-2228
bitransferstation@gmail.com

[Rosema]

Hi Meg -

Thanks so much for being willing to get involved!!!

I, too, am sorry if I appear to have an us vs. them mindset.

A lifetime of digging up (and burying!!) old drainfields has taught me everybody poops, regardless of truck color or even truck ownership.

My concern is that the Master Plan says the removal of the aforementioned items are Top Priority!!!

If that’s the case, why are we only shipping off Green bags and cardboard?!?!

Is it irrational for us in 2020 to expect tires and cardboard to be treated equally?

We have people like me and you, with JUNK - and cash in hand. We are turned away from seeing (and paying for) our stuff to be removed. No solution given.

We see cardboard and green bags getting shipped off no problem.

We have a full time employee who we are paying a salary wage with benefits to ship big things like cardboard and green bags.

Is it too much to expect said employee could possibly do the same with little, non-essential, Top Priority things like tires and old trailers?

There is a Waste Management Committee. They are amazing people, all 7 of them, and I have been dealing with them for months.

Here’s a link for them: http://www.stjamestwp.org/government_de ... /index.php

Here’s an article from the BIA on the Good work the commute is trying to do dated June 17 2020:

https://www.beaverislandassociation.org ... he-agenda/

They are just a Committee, with no way to hold anyone accountable or manage expectations. You should go to their next meeting and ask questions. They welcome participation.

Hope this helps.

Glad I could charm you. I like to make people smile.

Thanks

Brock

[MegSing33]

Right on!

Thanks, Pam!

[KateL]

Put us down for a couple more news residents that would gladly contribute to sharing the cost of a barge to rid our new property of decades of junk (half buried).
Thanks for starting the conversation. We’ll dial into the township meeting as well, but also are happy to work on this separately with a few other landowners (though I would love to see a more island-wide, affordable solution for all regardless of ability to split the cost of a barge).

Thanks.

Kate

[John Bolton]

IMHO
Best idea so far!
Splitting the cost of a, “Barge Run 2021”
by everyone who actually needs it.
Costed out, percentage wise, by those who use it the most.

Reason dictates those with the most accumulated junk have the resources to dispose of their former treasures.

All the situation needs now is a coordinator, a Little Red Hen..as in
“Who is going to help me bake this bread?”

Perhaps those with the most junk??

Capitalism and self reliance at it’s best.
No need for additional public assistance from our already stressed recycling system.

As you live here on Island, over time, you will find that Self Reliance is a virtuous reward.

Well said, Kate.

[KateL]

John,

While I’d like to think we are pretty darn self-reliant having lived off grid the last 4 years and happen to work in disaster logistics for a living, I think you are misinterpreting what I said. I simply want to raise my hand if others are trying to get a head count of who may come together to hire a barge. That said, I don’t think it is the best solution to an obviously island-wide problem or that it’s a fair assumption that those with the most resources have the most junk, as massive amounts of blight surely lowers property values. Burying trash is not a solution. Cleaning up one property at a time is also not a solution and we are more than happy to help our community address this problem as we address it for ourselves - the two are intrinsically linked.

We have multiple junk cars that are from the 1940s and 1950s, so this problem obviously pre-dates us and has been compounding on itself without a sustainable solution for decades. I think individual contributions are important when possible, but also don’t blame decades of prior land owners for not having an affordable solution that still doesn’t exist today. Any viable solution that comes out of this discussion must be available to the whole island otherwise it is not a solution at all.

This is a complex issue that deserves time and action to achieve a solution for everyone. While we are raising our hand to chip-in in the interim, we are also happy to raise our hand as members of our community to help tackle this issue across the board. A successful solution will benefit all of us which is a great reason to approach this with a more holistic voluntarily and government-by-the-neighbors approach. We all live here because we love this island and want it to better tomorrow than it is today. I’m sure that is an adage we can all agree on.

We’ve met many wonderful people since we moved here, and plan to play an active role in the future of this place, and look forward to meeting many more of you outside of forum-debates.

[BeanieBeanstalk]

This thread is great! Good job, Islanders, on your participation and civility!

The ultimate destination of this junk must also be decided. We can't just send a load of cars to the mainland. Some organization or company has to be willing to take the load and do something responsible with it. For example, check out greenvehicledisposal.com. They give you money for your vehicle and dispose of it in an environmentally acceptable way.

Can we also include the dead boats and equipment lurking around?

[KateL]

Absolutely, I think we need a plan for far more than just cars.