PHIL WIELAND: On NIMBYs and unicorns and rainbows

Here's a topic for a philosophical debate should you ever feel philosophic and want to debate something: Is there anything a NIMBY would not object to having in his or her backyard?

A NIMBY is someone whose main reason for opposing something is the "Not In My Back Yard" argument. The definition of "backyard" can sometimes extend several miles or, in the case of a landfill, expressway or major airport, several states.

And who can really blame them? Nobody buys a house hoping someday the government will build a huge, noisy, smelly nuisance next door. If they wanted that, they could buy a house next to Congress.

The NIMBY notion can seem a bit much at times. Some people wouldn't want a unicorn ranch next door because of all the annoying rainbows. (I don't know why, but whenever I see something involving unicorns, it always seems to include rainbows. I assume that's the product of unicorn flatulence.)

The Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction District's plan to accept food waste at its Boone Grove compost site is the newest NIMBY battleground. Residents near the three-acre site told the county recently, all things being equal, the idea wasn't worth a unicorn rainbow in the wind.

This is not the first time that area has been asked to welcome the area's leftovers. The proposed 354-acre landfill of a few years ago is still fresh in residents' minds. The food waste idea is not a landfill the size of Luxembourg, but it is the same to them.

The concern is food waste will create odor and critter problems, especially rats. A contributing and probably bigger factor is that residents didn't hear about the county's intentions until they read it in the newspaper.

"The bottom line is these people don't want it," Porter Township Trustee Edward Morales said at the meeting.

They don't want it or anything else. They assume the worst because it will be in their backyard and possibly because it is being run by the government. The district just wants to send less stuff to the landfill so they don't have to ask somebody else to welcome a Luxembourg-sized seagull magnet.

Done right, the only odor from composting is a rich earthy aroma without any animal problems. Not sending out some sort of notification to the residents about the plan makes it appear the county was trying to slip something past everybody, and that creates a whole different stench.

Sadly, not everybody reads newspapers, and it seems those who don't are the first ones to complain things are being done in secret. It's why we never see unicorns any more. Just the rainbows.

The opinions are those of the writer. He can be reached at phil.wieland@nwi.com or (219) 548-4352.