craniac
Utah
Yeah, I’m sure there are. I live 35 miles south in the reddest county
in the country, and we have recycling. Salt Lake has a definite
environmental movement and is “only” 40 percent mormon.
I would attribute the relative weakness of recycling to rural
conservativism, although mormons have a definite distrust of most
liberals and academics, for a variety of reasons. SLC mormons are
less this way.
http://dooce.com lives in SLC.
http://saltlakecity.about.com/od/recyclingresources/
Not so many containers in public, but they are out there.
Joy
Grand Rapids
Thanks for this answer. It must have been just where I was. I was quite disturbed, though. Best wishes trying to make SLC and your own community green (if that’s what you’re trying to do.)
GBJo1851
Salt Lake City
Joy—-
There are lots of people in Salt Lake that recycle, but as for recycling bins at the malls and such, we’re a ways from that. People in Salt Lake are very enviro-conscious. More so than anywhere else I’ve ever lived.
Joy
Grand Rapids
Thanks for taking the time to answer. It’s interesting that it’s the most enviro-conscious place you’ve ever lived…I found the West coast, particularly Vancouver, much more enviro-consious than anyplace I’ve ever been.
GBJo1851
Salt Lake City
I agree that when I’ve visited Seattle and Portland, they are more enviromentally aware than we are in SLC, but I moved from the east coast (FL/GA/NC) where no one typically cares about recycling.
Don LaVange
Pleasant Grove
There is no recycling where I live (which is close to where craniac lives). There is, as has been said, in SLC. Mormon culture is very republican, though there are a few exceptions.
d.
jadess3
41 places
People usually have recycling bins for their houses along with their trash cans, also at many of the grocery stores there are large containers for you to take recyclables.
I studied in Oregon and definietly see a difference in the general publics willingness to bother about recyclables, but it is available nonetheless.
gthornock
Provo
Recycling is available in Salt Lake, but, at least when I lived there, it wasn’t publicly funded. There are cities in Utah that have tried publicly funded recycling programs, but I don’t think Salt Lake was one of those. Individuals and businesses that want to recycle (and there are many) make their own arrangements.
I don’t think this has anything to do with Mormonism. Rather, it’s probably due to the fact that Utah voters already view themselves as paying too much in taxes, and are reluctant to support any tax increase for any new public program.
Salmar
Salt Lake City
You’d think that, and yet many in my neighborhood, many of them strong conservatives, are putting huge piles of cardboard and other recyclable crap in their 2nd trash bin, when a blue bin is actually cheaper. I’d attribute it to individual stupidity.
Salmar
Salt Lake City
Blue bins are cheap ($8/mo.) in most of SLC. Where I am, yard waste must be taken by the truckload to a county recycling facility, but that’s fine since my friend owns the dumpiest dirt truck in existence.
BTW, it’s ‘Are there,’ not ‘Is there.’
kittygutz
Salt Lake City
The recycling programs here are definitely not as advanced as other cities, but they do exist. For some reason Salt Lake City doesn’t recycle glass. I still haven’t figured that one out.
I also lived in Oregon and they have automated recycling shoots at the grocery stores – makes it very easy to get your bottle deposits back. I wish they had deposits here.
I agree with what craniac has to say about “rural conservatism”.
Mr_Bixby
Salt Lake City
Mormons are almost all republican that I have come across. I would agree with the other opinions that since the republican leaders care little about the environment all that politicking rubs off on the city.
But we did get blue bins in Davis County just approved so maybe things are changing and I don’t have to be so pissed anymore.
