| Author | |
Angie Mc
Board Moderator
Joined: Jan 31 2005
Location: Arizona
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 11400
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 9:23pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
The private company that has collected our garbage for ~8 years has decided to change their service, effective immediately. Instead of picking up garbage twice a week, they dropped off a recycling can and will pick up garbage once a week and recycling once a week.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I have recycled in the past but honestly feel frustrated that it would be presumed that I can add one more task to my daily duties. They are selling this as a virtuous act?
I'm leaning heavily toward changing services. What would you do? How would you decide?
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 9:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'd be annoyed regardless.
Is it one container and you just put all the recyclables in it? or is it multiple containers and you're expected to wash things and all that? In the first case, I'd be annoyed but probably go with it.. in the second I would be very annoyed and would be checking out my options.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 9:45pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Considerations:
** How much extra work will this require?
** Will I have to store extra stuff? (garbage can and recycling bins?
** Do we have easily identifiable space to store this stuff?
** Will this significantly impact our ability to get rid of trash? ie....do we really need/rely on that second pick up each week?
IF YES:
Decision made - research other 2x weekly options.
IF NO:
Continue to consider...
** Would it take me longer than 15 minutes to brainstorm a new *system* to deal with this change?
IF YES:
I would probably look at other options.
IF NO:
I'd sit down and brainstorm a system and then ask myself:
** Will this new system require significant output of time/habit development in maintaining the new garbage/recycling out system?
IF YES:
Research other options.
IF NO:
I might give it a trial period to see how it works out.
Frankly, I'm annoyed for you! My time is valuable and I DO NOT APPRECIATE IT when people presume upon it without asking for my input or offering an option. The amount of time you have to put into even thinking about this would significantly factor into my decision. Of course, it will take some time to research other options, too...so that needs to be kept in mind.
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MaryM
Board Moderator
Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13104
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I can't believe you had trash pick-up twice a week...I've never heard of that. Every place I've ever lived it was once per week. So once per week would work fine for me and the recycling would be optional (just continue to throw it out if you don't want to recycle). Or is the amount they will let you put out as trash weekly be restricted in amount (i.e. one container)?
Still  about the twice per week - is it because it is so darn hot in Phoenix that it will cook if not picked up frequently... 
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 10:15pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I agree that the waste disposal company should have at least warned you about the policy change and offered tips for making a smooth transition.
Having said that, we have recycled using one big bin (well, now we have four...  ) once per week and it is not a big deal. I rinse cans out as I prepare meals and rinse the other items when we do dishes. My son takes out recycling a couple of times a day. If you set up daily procedures, it should not be too time consuming.
Our county recycles all paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, steel cans, etc. We recycle almost everything. Our biggest issue each week is having enough space to hold our recyclables.
We're getting ready to switch to once-per-week trash collection, which I think would be fine for us. We just don't generate enough trash any more to justify 2x collection per week.
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ekbell
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 22 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 747
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 10:50pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I understand your frustration at things changing without warning, and agree that that isn't proper business practice.
We have once a week recycling and garbage pickup with two large bins and I haven't found it worse then the straight garbage pickup but that's mainly because I only sort out tins, glass bottles and paper products (the most energy efficent items to recycle at all levels) and I was already in the practice of rinsing out tins and the like directly after emptying them. And it's not hard to get the children to collect waste paper for recycling (between paper crafts and practice drawing there's a LOT of waste paper some days), much easier then getting them to put apple cores INTO the garbage not just toss it in the general direction of the garbage.
To tell the truth having a large bin to dump broken down cardboard boxes in rather then trying to fit them into garbage bags makes up for a lot particularly this time of year when I'm receiving a lot of boxes through the mail.  The fact that I recieved a large bin for garbage where large dry items can be placed directly makes up for even more.
There's no way I'd be trying to recycle most plastics though as they tend to be a lot more complicated both in sorting and the actual recycling.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kathryn
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 24 2009
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1520
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 10:53pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I have a small trash bin under the sink that goes out every 1-2 days (of course there's bathroom waste too) and a double that recycle bin in the pantry that goes out almost every day. We recycle at least double what goes into trash. I get the daily newspaper though and tend to be a "box" cooker. We've done it for 15 years so it's just old hat now. Any kind of change is frustrating but I think you'll be surprised how easy it (eventually ) will become.
Oh...and we've had 1x per week trash/recycle pick up for years too...at least 10+ years.
__________________
Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
DominaCaeli
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 24 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3711
|
| Posted: July 27 2011 at 11:37pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I honestly get really frustrated with changes in my household systems, so I feel for you in this situation, Angie! If it doesn't seem like a change you'll be able to make once you've thought it through, I hope you're able to find another option that will work better for your family.
That said, just want to share our experience here. We have three big bins: one for trash, one for recycle, one for yard waste. They pick up trash and yard waste once a week, recycle every other week. It has been like this since I was a child, so I really can't imagine anything else! (Well, that's not entirely true...when I was a child, we used to have to sort out our recycle products by type, and there was a bin for each--glad we don't have to do that anymore!) Anyway, we have a bag under the kitchen sink for trash and a box for recycle. My husband takes them both out in the evening, along with the diaper trashes. We also usually have an extra recycle can in the office for papers which gets emptied once a week. I don't really feel it adds much to our garbage routine much except that there is an extra box to empty and an extra can to roll to the curb.
__________________
Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: July 28 2011 at 12:29am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Angie
Having a cultural moment here, do you have a say in who picks up your garbage? Is there more than one provider per town?
Here one provider is contracted through our local council, we pay rates for this, have no say, council chooses. We have two bins, one standard (picked up once per week) one recycle (picked up once per fortnight). In town they get an extra 'green' bin for grass clippings etc. My brother lives in Mt Isa (Queensland outback) and garbage is picked up twice a week due to the heat.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Becky Parker
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 23 2005
Location: Michigan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2582
|
| Posted: July 28 2011 at 6:22am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm finding this interesting. Here, my DH is the problem! Just kidding. Actually though, he's the one that wants to change how we do things and it's got me a bit be-fuddled regarding how I'm going to make it work. We currently get trash picked up once a week. We compost our yard waste so that's no big deal. DH wants to start recycling everything and then burning the rest. We live in the country so there are people that burn their paper trash. The difficulty is that we would have to store the recyclables until we can take it to the recycling center. (Where we actually have to pay to recycle! It's only a little bit, but still....). I'm worried that it's going to pile up because I know it's even a pain for me to take the bottles back for their deposit. I just can't imagine bins of recyclables sitting in our garage for weeks.
Anyway, I'm finding this whole thread very informative!
__________________
Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385
|
| Posted: July 28 2011 at 7:10am | IP Logged
|
|
|
We have garbage puck up once a week and pay a bit extra for recycling pick up once every two weeks.
When we lived in the city, the city switched from garbage twice a week to once a week and recycling once a week. I loved having the big bin that you didn't have to sort, and there was an incentive program where they weighed your recycling, and you got points to use for local gift cards and coupons. Overall, we were pleased with the change, but it was kind of icky in the summer switching to once a week. With a lot of postage stamp yards surrounding our bigger once, flies were worse with once a week pick up 
It isn't bad at all, though, now that we are in a more rural, suburban area.
I'd be completely overwhelmed with recycling if I had to sort, but being able to put it all in one big barrel made it doable for me. I just do cans, paper, and glass. I still throw peanut butter jars in the garbage Some things you would think are recyclable are not: yogurt/sour cream containers and pizza boxes come to mind.
So, just having two containers is pretty simple for me. I understand the frustration, and snce you pay for twice a week pick up, and they changed without warning, I'd be upset with the switch on principle. In practice, though, I think you could make an easy transition. I might call out of principle and see if they wouldn't apply some sort of temporary discount like they give new customers in an effort to keep your business.
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: July 28 2011 at 10:21am | IP Logged
|
|
|
In Houston and Shreveport, we had garbage collection twice a week. I also remember having "trash" (or refuse) collection as a separate service (non-garbage items).
We live in a city, and they offer once a week, but recycling and garbage is the same day. They also provided huge garbage can for the recycle -- all goes in one bin.
If I was paying for the service, I would totally switch. The only way I would recycle is having it on the same day -- not two separate days. I don't need the extra work.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erica Sanchez
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 05 2005
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1538
|
| Posted: July 28 2011 at 3:34pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm with Mary. I've never heard of 2 times per week trash pick-up.
I think we're like most - 1 large can each for garbage, recycle and greens picked up once per week on the same day. It's always been like this, so we don't know any difference.
One of my children's jobs is to take out the recycle. I usually just gather it all in a plastic grocery sack (hope they are recycling that, too, but probably not) and it goes out or it hangs on the back door handle until after the meal clean-up. It's second-nature here, but this is California! :)
__________________
Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
stefoodie
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 17 2005
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8457
|
| Posted: July 28 2011 at 4:29pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We used to have trash and recycling, separate pick-up days. We canceled the recycling service because 1) we didn't want to pay for another service and 2) they were just too picky about what was allowed and not allowed. It was just too much work to remember what kind of cardboard (or paper or plastic or cans) was okay and not okay. Now we just take all our recycling to the fire department near us (they have giant bins at the back of their parking lot, and they take everything) or if our parish is doing some recycling program (like newspapers only) we'll do that.
__________________
stef
mom to five
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
kristinannie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 27 2011
Location: West Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1363
|
| Posted: July 29 2011 at 12:34pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I am so jealous. I would love to have recycling pick up! We take our recycling to the center and it is a pain in the butt. Are they charging for the recycling or can just opt out if you aren't interested? I haven't found recycling to take up much time at all. As for the twice a week garbage pick-up, I have never heard of that! I have trouble remembering to put my trash out once a week! 
__________________
John Paul 8.5
Meredith Rose 7
Dominic Michael 4.5
Katherine Elizabeth 8 months
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: recycling - no informed consent
