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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Recycling: How did it come to this? and more letters to the editors

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor

Recycling: How did it come to this?

While still living in my hometown, Wilmington, N.C., I designed T-shirts with the caption WECYCLE. My efforts were to celebrate my city’s pro-recycling stance.

Last week, I received an email: “The City of Chattanooga is suspending curbside recycling due to the worsening shortage of truck operators …” The key word here is “worsening” because it means the problem has grown into what it is now purported to be.

How can a city overly concerned with highlighting the positives as reasons people and businesses should relocate to the Scenic City find itself saying to its residents it is “… suspending curbside recycling due to …”? Why wasn’t maintaining continuous curbside recycling a prioritized projection?

Often, in the evening, we walk around downtown. On occasion, my friend’s wife has commented, “I love Chattanooga, I love the art; everywhere I look, something unique and interesting. Last weekend, she asked me, “Did you know they suspended curbside recycling?”