A to Z Challenge: Collection of Trash

[livingdeb]

Two muffins and some bubble wrap were lurking in the street near our trash can yesterday. There's something about how our trash is collected that often results in some of the trash remaining uncollected, either still in the trash can or on the ground nearby. In addition, the system has led to our lid getting broken.

I have seen how it's done. A large trash compacting truck pulls up next to the can. Two mechanical arms come out, grab the can, lift it up over the opening at the top of the truck, flip it upside down and shake it. The lid is hinged so it opens automatically. Then the trash can is flipped right side up and put back on the ground.

This certainly sounds like a reasonable procedure, but there are flaws. We have learned a few strategies for dealing with these flaws, but obviously we need more:

* Put heavy things on the bottom of the trash can. These can help push out the light things on the top.

* Make sure nothing is jammed in too tightly or it won't come out. If you're not sure, put it on the bottom so that at least the other stuff doesn't get trapped. (Unfortunately, the bottom of the trash can is narrower, so the items are more likely to get wedges in down there.)

* Make sure lightweight things are in bags with heavier things so they don't blow away in the wind instead of dropping into the truck.

* Close the bags tightly; that bubble wrap was outside of any bags, but I know those muffins were in a bag.

* And obviously: Don't forget when trash day is. We only get one chance per week to get it right!

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Denver has been slowly switching from dumpsters to individual trash cans like the ones you have. Our neighborhood switched years ago, and it's certainly cut down on the amount of dumping in our alley. My problem is that I never have enough garbage to fill the can... not even close! The only thing I reliably dump every day is kitty litter - just about everything else goes into either the recycling or the compost. I sure wish Denver had a "pay as you dump" program, 'cause I'd make out like a bandit! :-)
-Cat

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

We sort of have a pay-as-you-dump system: you can choose from three sizes of trash can, each with a different monthly price. We have the smallest one which is big enough to comfortably fit two kitchen-sized trash bags. So normally ours is half empty unless we forgot the previous week or are in the middle of a big clean-up decluttering episode of some kind.

It sounds like you could easily fit your trash in the leftover space in one of your neighbor's cans. I wonder if there's a way to share, where you'd get the city to not charge you at all, and you pay your neighbor a couple of bucks (or some other trade) for their extra space. Or another strategy is to offer your extra space to a neighbor for some kind of reward (or just to be nice), like if you have a neighbor with a bunch of kids and pets and other causes of trash build-up.

Otherwise, I probably wouldn't bother bringing my can to the curb every week.

[(Anonymous)]

Well trash collection is "free" here - they only charge you for municipal compost. It's totally backwards, but it's politics. I'm lucky if I manage to drag the thing out every three weeks or so!
-Cat

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Oh, right, I remember you saying that once! Well, the good thing is, they can totally accommodate your trash collection needs and wants!