13 days to go + Blue bin blues: This week in Outspoken
It is Wednesday, Oct. 21 and this is the Outspoken newsletter.
Hey young SLO County!
The election is 13 days away! We’re in the final sprint now, and the San Luis Obispo County Elections Office is feeling the heat. As of last Thursday, more than 47,000 people have voted locally.
Mail-in ballot voter registration closed Monday, but if you missed it, don’t worry — you can still register to vote in person before Nov. 3.
For all your voting questions, check out our handy-dandy guide. And if your questions still aren’t answered, let us know!
Since we talked last, Outspoken has published a story about recycling and some potential ways to keep recycled goods out of the landfill.
We’ve also translated some of the most need-to-know info into Spanish. Here is our guide on voting and here is the Citizen’s Agenda. ¡Por favor transmite esto a nuestra comunidad que habla Español principalmente!
Up next, we are looking into child care solutions, diversity among elected officials and the question of going back-to-school. Want to weigh in? You can reach us at cgaribay@thetribunenews.com or kleslie@thetribunenews.com.
That’s all for now. Hope you have a great rest of your week!
Best,
Cassandra and Kaytlyn
SLO County residents have the Blue Bin Blues
As promised, we dove into the blue bin blues to take a look at what SLO County could do to improve recycling. The answer is: a lot. But we narrowed it down to a few specific ideas.
While the county does pretty well at diverting recycling from the landfill, in the past five to 10 years, recycling contamination has increased from 11% up to sometimes 30% — a “horribly high number,” according to one source.
The reason for contamination ranges from more types of packaging on the market, fewer recycling markets and outright confusion on what can go in the blue bin.
But we’re not just here to tell you all about what’s wrong with recycling. There are ways we can get it right.
A more unified recycling authority would be a big help, for starters. Discounts for good and fines for bad recycling was also something we looked into. But when we talked to SLO County residents, they said they wanted one thing: education, education, education!
So here’s one pro tip that’s not too hard to implement: If you have the option to buy goods in aluminum, glass or plastic packaging, always choose aluminum or glass packaging over plastic. Plastic can only be recycled once, and that only applies to the very few recyclable plastics.
You can read more about local recycling here. Have follow up questions? Let us know!
ICYMI
Here are some of the other Outspoken stories we’ve published, just in case you missed them:
Young SLO County voters want candidates to talk about racism. Here’s what they said
SLO County is expensive. Here’s how candidates say they can keep young people from fleeing
What do young SLO County voters care about the most? Here’s their Citizens’ Agenda
Here’s everything you need to know about voting in SLO County this election
In other news
Some local candidates have been keeping busy with back-and-forth emails, Nextdoor scuffles and polishing up their social media feeds. Meanwhile, the SLO County Elections Office has been busy clarifying where voters can turn in their ballots and then, of course, counting those ballots.
SLO mayor condemns District Attorney Dan Dow over new protest charges against Black men
SLO County school board candidate shared QAnon video, fake news. Is that ‘part of the past’?
Cat found after controversy involving SLO City Council candidate. Here’s what happened
47,000 people have voted in SLO County so far. What does that mean for Election Night?
SLO County GOP urged voters to drop ballots at its offices — then stopped amid state uproar
Any comments, questions or concerns? Feel free to reach us at cgaribay@thetribunenews.com or kleslie@thetribunenews.com. A huge thanks to everyone who has reached out so far.
We’re excited to keep the conversation going!
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 10:56 AM.
%20Cropped.jpg)
