ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.

“Penny wise and pound foolish” is an ancient saying from Merry Olde England that describes the process of pinching pennies to save money but eventually paying big bucks as a consequence of their decisions and actions.

Dorr Township and Allegan County would do well to take this old saying under serious advisement when considering the growing costs of recycling services.

The Kent County Department of Public Works gave an important presentation to the Dorr Township Planning Commission about an effort to step up recycling efforts in order to avoid the much more costly, financially and otherwise, alternative of running out of spaces to store our garbage, our trash.

“Reimagine Trash” was a call to arms to do what’s necessary to slow down and eventually eliminate the need to throw stuff away. If we just keep on doing what we’re doing, we will have to open a new landfill in Dorr Township, Allegan County, just across the road from the Kent County landfill, where our refuse is parked today.

Local officials and concerned business representatives estimate that Allegan County has until 2030, when the Kent County rubbish facility will be full enough to be closed down. Then the burden of accepting solid waste will fall on a landfill in the northeastern portion of Allegan County. The downside is more than just being a nuisance.

There has been some wailing and gnashing of teeth about prospects of increased costs for recycling in this county. Many local governments in the last several years have approved, however reluctantly, a proposal to permit a levy of $36 a year per household for curbside recycling. Dorr Township voters approved it by the slimmest of margins, forcing a recount, on the November 2018 ballot.

So it appears that many people are complaining about the increasing costs of recycling, even enough to vote against making it easy to do by using the curbside method. Actually, they don’t seem to understand the long view, that recycling today could save us a lot of money tomorrow and perhaps the environment as well.