everydaytrash

In August, we asked ourselves what in the world would happen to 750,000 clunker$ that were expected to be the outcome of the Cash for Clunkers programme (or as it’s actually called, the Car Allowance Rebate System; CARS), i.e. the old cars that americans have been allowed to trade in for a cash bonus, with the condition that the car would be subject to recycling, when buying a new car. A couple of months down the line, the New York Times alert us that all is not well:

Under the program, the cars are required to be crushed or shredded within six months of the date the vehicle is transferred from the dealership. Recyclers say the deadline, even a few months away, will be hard as they try to remove spare parts like transmissions, front and rear axles, starters and alternators.

Clearly, there are consequences that were not really thought of, although how on earth you can do policy implementation analysis this poor is beyond my wits. It seems as if deadlines will now be extended, but it proves that just because you have a great political idea that people agree with (not that CARS is one of them, but that’s another discussion), it doesn’t mean that things will automatically fall into place. Or in short, a society with less waste requires excellent civil servants in order to be sustainable. Municipal architects of the world, please report.