The amount of trash in Taos is appalling

The Earth Day cleanup did little to lessen the litter blowing down every street and field in every part of town because, despite some of our best efforts, the majority cannot be convinced to not throw garbage out their car windows, tarp and tie-down their loads, be responsible for their construction materials or take mattresses and other large items to the landfill instead of dumping them on the side of the road.

The alleged plastic bag ban that went into effect last year has also made no impact on the cleanliness of town. Some of our largest businesses and plastic distributors (I’m talking to you, Smith’s) have yet to acknowledge the ban, and the town is too lazy to enforce their own ordinance. And the Recycling Center…. well, that’s a bigger joke than the businesses and organizations that pledged to “Adopt-A-Highway” and perform litter control. What can be done?

I propose that we close the landfill.

As the price of everything skyrockets, we could all use a tax break and we would also save ourselves the $30 per month that Waste Management charges for pickup. The increase of garbage around town would slow the area’s surging housing costs and allow our local garbage-loving, environment-hating residents to finally afford real estate. Tourists would realize that Taos isn’t the hippie, eco-friendly destination that they thought it was and stick to vacationing in Colorado, which would lessen the traffic that already overwhelms our pitiful infrastructure. The pros clearly outweigh the cons. It’s time to act. Close the landfill.

(This is a work of satire, but just barely).