no more garbage pick up

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Douglas
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:36 am

no more garbage pick up

Post by Douglas »

Starting next month the plan is to cancel our garbage services which will save us $19/month. We barely produce any trash but we do need to find a place for our recycling, mostly cardboard and random plastic. All food scraps are compost.

I'm thinking when we go on walks we'll get rid of a little trash each time in the public trash cans. Recycling we might have to collect for a while then go to a depot.

Has anybody else cancelled their garbage pickup and have any pointers? thanks

Frita
Posts: 942
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:43 pm

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by Frita »

We would do this but our city bundles electricity, water, and trash/recycling. One cannot just opt out of one of the three. Grrr...

My parents have not had trash/recycling for decades. The small amount of trash is dumped at the gas station when filling up.

IlliniDave
Posts: 3845
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:46 pm

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by IlliniDave »

I don't think one can opt out in my city either. Emptying public trash cans costs money too. At my hideout at the end of the road in the woods there is no garbage pickup. We in the CIC opted against a small community Dumpster due to the likelihood of attracting nuisance bears. I have permission from a local outfitter/lodge with whom I do business to use their recycling/garbage bins. If I generate enough (e.g., when my dad and brother are up there with me) I make a short side trek to the transfer station on the way to town. Costs $2 to dump a ~40 gal bag. Recycling is free.

Scott 2
Posts: 2824
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:34 pm

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by Scott 2 »

I cancelled my monthly bin rental years ago, but am able to buy stickers for a 30 gallon container. I bought my own bin and put it out every week or two. Sometimes they don't take the $3 sticker and I get to re-use it. That always makes me happy.

$10 a month to have someone take my trash away seems like a good deal.

George the original one
Posts: 5404
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by George the original one »

Many localities require trash pickup and will send the zoning enforcement dudes on you if you don't have trash pickup. It's not meant to deter you from reducing waste, rather it's an old attempt to prevent unsightly homes and/or trash dumping and/or burying waste in the yard.

Douglas
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:36 am

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by Douglas »

We ended up changing to an on demand trash pick up and twice a month recycling. It's $10 / month for recycle and $4 for each trash pickup. I think this will get us down to maybe $11 / month. I think this is a good compromise between savings and convenience. Who knows they might have come after us for canceling but it didn't appear that way.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

It's not meant to deter you from reducing waste, rather it's an old attempt to prevent unsightly homes and/or trash dumping and/or burying waste in the yard.
I used to live in a place where there was trash pickup but the old timers still burned or buried their trash for some reason. It sucked and is not how you want to live.

Campitor
Posts: 1227
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:49 am

Re: no more garbage pick up

Post by Campitor »

@Douglas

Cardboard is compostable. Throwing garbage into public receptacles as primary means of handling garbage is somewhat unethical in my book; your passing your disposal costs to the general public. It's similar to you driving around your neighborhood and dumping a bit of your garbage into every neighbor's trash. There has to be a more ethical way for you to save on trash removal costs.

Where I live, the garbage collection is included in the taxes I pay. There are limits to what the garbage collectors will pick up; they will not pick up construction debris for example. Recycled material is also picked up and included in the tax rates.

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