Who’s Responsible for This Turd?

Let’s talk about waste.  Not waste as in government inefficiency or fraud, as KING-5 recently uncovered in the ferry system, but waste as in garbage.

Who’s responsible?  That seems to be a question that King County, the Department of Ecology and environmental advocates have already answered.  The manufacturer of any product is responsible for that item from “cradle to grave.”  They have applied this notion to unwanted electronic products, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and have been trying to get the Legislature to apply it to prescription drugs for the last several years.

I say they should stop dancing around the edges and get right to the heart of the matter.  Fiber and caffeine.

Every morning I have a nice bowl of high-fiber cereal and a large cup of coffee.  The effect is predictable.

So who’s responsible for the disposal of that fibrous material in my stool and the caffeine in my urine?  Let’s go with the advocates on this one and place the blame squarely where it belongs, on the wheat farmers and coffee growers.

These unscrupulous people have for years been duping the public into believing that we need their products and then just leaving us holding the bag. I have to have my septic tank pumped at least once every three years at a cost of hundreds of dollars, while wheat farmers continue to profit.  In 2008, the world wheat trade was measured at 123.4 million metric tons! This industry must be held accountable for the disposal cost the product that it sells in a market created by the hard work of Washington’s public servants.

And let’s not forget caffeine – King County researchers found caffeine in more than 160 out of 216 water samples taken in 2006.  Meanwhile, coffee kingpins in Columbia and Ethiopia are laughing all the way to the bank.