text: Talking trash: Seattle's Scarlet Letter program
  The garbage police sift through waste in effort to find waste.
  Talking trash: Seattle's Scarlet Letter program The garbage police sift through waste in effort to find waste. Check out this story on montgomeryadvertiser.com: http://on.mgmadv.com/1CI1qCR
  Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser Published 12:28 p.m. CT Jan. 30, 2015 | Updated 12:49 p.m. CT Jan. 30, 2015
  Marty Roney(Photo: Advertiser file)Buy Photo
  It seems Seattle has a new Scarlet Letter program, geared at preventing too much trash in the trash. A new law went into effect Jan. 1 that forces people to have no more than 10 percent food in their waste stream. And just to keep things from getting too crazy, the sanitation company that hauls the city's trash is going through the trash to make sure the quota is met.
  So, if John or Susie Q. Public has too many orange peels, or coffee grounds, or pieces of moldy bread in their Hefty bag each week, the inspector puts a bright red sticker on the gar-BAHG receptacle.
  Supporters of the effort have even dubbed the intimidation practice as "public shaming to raise awareness to a very serious environmental issue that is effecting the future of this community and the planet," an NPR story on the new law quotes.
  Ever notice that the more wacky an effort is, the more nonsensical words are used to describe the wacky effort?
  See the garbage police want folks to compost their food, in an effort to keep trash out of the landfill. Wait a minute, I thought landfills were built for trash. I mean we aren't talking about hauling off meth lab remnants or car batteries or old tires. This was last week's moo shu pork takeout, your leftover roast chicken from Sunday dinner and the odd nanner peel or two.
  If you quit putting the trash in the landfill, what are all the seagulls going to eat? See that's the problem with all this liberal, weenie feel good bilious schmata. The bed wetting, hand wringing liberals are the first to scream that government should stay out of our bedrooms. But apparently they don't have a problem with government sifting through our trash.
  All in the name of eco-advances don't you know.
  Oh, and it gets better. After July 1, the garbage police will fine single household customers $1 a month for overly trashy trash, and commercial customers like apartments or condos get gigged 50 bucks for not hitting quota.
  And while we are at it, how would you like to be the poor schlub who has to ride around going through everybody's trash? I mean who attains to that? I can see the conversation in some first grade class.
  "Johnny, what do you want to be when you grow up?" from the front of the room.
  "I want to be a soldier, so I can protect freedom and liberty," is the answer.
  "What about you Susie?" the conversation continues.
  "Teacher, I want to be a doctor and cure cancer," is the reply
  "And how about you Bobby?" comes the followup.
  "I want to be a sanitation quota enforcement officer teacher, so I can keep all kinds of bad things out of the landfill," is the answer.
  Apparently good old fashioned common sense has been thrown out in the trash as well.
  If you enjoyed reading this, check out Marty's thoughts on falling gas prices by clicking the link below, or follow him on Twitter at @MartyRoney1.