Curious about waste management in your areas.

[Jem]

Starting this week, our garbage pickup is moving to every 2 weeks instead of weekly. I'm OK with this as we are still allowed to put the same amount of garbage we would accumulate, just that it will only get picked up less often. I just hope we see those savings when it comes to the next tax increase!

So our city provides garbage, yard trimmings, compost, recycling and "large object" pick up.
We can put unlimited compost, recycling and yard trimmings out to the curb, but have a one bag limit (of 40 lbs) per week for garbage.
As for large items (like fridges and mattresses) and small appliances. I don't think we have a limit, but it may sit on the side of the road past garbage day pick-up until the city gets to it.

We have to put yard/leaf trimmings in paper bags or bundle them in under 40 lbs bundles.
We have to use compost bags for the compost and place them in our "green bin", which was provided by our city. Its a cart with wheels and a lockable lid that is supposed to help keep animals out.
We can put all recyclables in our "blue boxes", and although some cities require you to separate them into separate bins, we don't. But we are supposed to separate plastic from cardboard, for example pull the plastic off of the case of pop, then break down the box...it can all go into the same bin, just pull it all apart and leave loose. The city provides up to 2 blue boxes for free, and if you need more you can purchase them.

Back in the day, we were allowed three bags of garbage, then two and now one. They are trying to encourage people to recycle and compost more.
I don't mind the one bag...most of my garbage when I compost and recycle properly, is mostly cat litter and the "bathroom" garbage, so we can for sure stay under the 40 lbs bag limit a week.
What they are doing now, is garbage and yard trimmings will only get picked up every two weeks, where as the compost and recycling will continue with weekly pick-ups.
One thing to mention though, we can still bring our own garbage to the dump if we surpass the limit. I don't remember how much we are allowed in a week before we have to pay. But they weight your vehicle upon entry, then when you leave and charge you accordingly...if at all. We did some spring cleaning and did a dump run and we didn't have to pay anything...I thought we had a good amount but I guess not.
They also allow special exemptions on bags allowed per week for families in the "diaper stage", with medical waste needs and those with pets. You just need to apply for it. Although, I simply try to avoid as much garbage as I can, because I'm not about to register all my cats with the city. That's the catch...you have to register your pet with the city which has a fee, to qualify for the pet waste exemption....
We also have what's call a "Toxic Taxi". You can call ahead and schedule a pick up for any toxic waste like batteries, paint, old motor oil etc...You can still drop it off yourself at the center, but it's nice to have that option, and it's free.
The public also has access to the compost. Our city composts our food waste, rather than just dump it and wait for it to decompose, and as such they make it available for us to use. But it's a "load it yourself" kinda deal, so bring your pick-up truck.

So how about all of you? I feel like our waste management is very strict but over all I'm fine with it. It's quite easy for me to follow and adhere to the rules. The only thing that bugs me is that yard trimming bags and compost bags are expensive....but that's not a city issue...that's a "corporate" issue.

 

[Kieka]

Wow, my area is super lenient in comparison.

We get weekly pickup. The city provides one bronw bin for regular trash, a blue bin for recycling and a green bin for yard/plants/I guess compost. You can add on extra of any of the bins for an extra $5 monthly fee (although it used to be just $50 to buy and extra bin with no extra pick up fee added on, anyone who bought extra bins doesn't have to pay the extra monthly now). Bins are good sized, maybe 3 feet square on top and about 5 feet tall with wheels. Tip and roll type things.

The big limit on the bins is that the bin has to close for them to pick up. But I've seen them stretch that definition to as long as the lid can sit on top of whatever is piled in they will usually take it. As far as I know there isn't a weight limit, but the company uses grab arms to dump the trash and a human doesn't do anything. We got told that our bin once was almost over the weight limit but there was a lot of rain water that had collected because theblid was open during a storm. We added a little drain hole about two inches up and have been good since. They won't pick up if the bins are too close together to grab or there are cars too close to them. The driver does not exit the vehicle to adjust bins for pickup so if you put them out too close you get skipped. I usually do enough room between for another bin but they just need about a foot between.

We've never been called on things being put in the wrong bin. I think our city gave up on that years ago. But most people do try to get them right. They sort everything after pick up anyways.

Heavy items or oversized, you can call for one free pick up a year. Anything more and you have to take it to the dump yourself (which is the weight you arrive minus weight you leave charge). We usually put anything in usable condition out with a free sign and someone takes it. Guys drive around in trucks looking for metal or old electronics. There are also electronic recycling centers once a month. Oil you can take up to 5 gallons to any auto parts store a month.

 

[Winchester]

We're "out in the country" not living within the Borough limits. So we're on our own. We do have weekly trash pick-ups, but it's up to us to find somebody to pick it up and we pay them every three months. We're allowed one bag a week and we fall well within that, esp since we switched over to clumping cat litter and don't have to completely clean the litterboxes every week.

We recycle everything we possibly can. Our county has several recycling areas and ours is about 2 miles away. Not a problem; we take everything down to our recycling area about every two weeks or so. Paper (we shred), glass, aluminum and steel (separated), cardboard, magazines, newspaper, and plastics #1 and #2. We recycle it all and have separate containers in the basement. If we had single stream recycling, we could recycle pretty much all our plastics, even cat litter containers, but that's an extra payment. And we re-use our cat litter pails for gardening, storing tubers for the winter, etc.

We compost. In the summer, I throw everything into a large bowl that I keep in the fridge. Tea bags and coffee grounds, vegetable peelings, the garbage from freezing our vegetables from the garden. It all get thrown into the composter. When I do my yearly apple run, the waste from the apples (peelings, etc) gets thrown up in the back yard. The animals love the stuff. Same with our butternut peelings. Turns out the deer love butternut. It can create a problem with animals in the garden sometimes, but overall, I'd rather the deer, groundhogs, bunnies and chipmunks have food.

Brush from tree trimmings can go down to our local township authority. As long as it's brush and trimmings, they'll take it. No weeds. They chip it down, keep it for a while and then they use it for mulch. People are allowed to use the mulch, too.

About twice a year we hit the landfill and we make it worth our time and money. We do a basement cleaning and make sure we have enough for a good load. It we don't, my sister and BIL can make up the extra we need.

Our county used to do large recycling events twice a year. Old tvs, computers, AC units, etc. We'd charge a small price for electronics, but pretty much everything else was free. Those events were huge and people came from all over for the chance to get rid of their stuff. It was up to the County Recycler to coordinate it all and he did a great job. (I used to work for the county before I retired and the Recycler is one of our best friends.) It was always a Friday/Saturday kind of thing and, like I said, the events were just huge. I went out a couple times to help with traffic flow and they had it down pat. We had to stop it because the companies that helped with the event got too greedy and we couldn't afford to keep them going. We would have had to charge ridiculous amounts for things, just to keep ahead and we knew people couldn't afford it. We still do a medication recycling event from time to time, but even that's rare anymore. We used to do an "old paint" recycling event to help people get rid of those old cans of paint and cleaning supplies in their basements, but we can't afford those either.

 

[Willowy]

I'm out in the country and am on my own too. I have a pit in "the back 40" where I throw branches and yard clippings and such. I could throw all my garbage in there but I prefer to pay for garbage pickup because I don't want a pit full of garbage and I hate burning smelly stuff that isn't wood/leaves (I really do need to burn it though, because it's getting too full. Before I burn I have to call the local fire dept to tell them I'm burning so that they don't get excited when they see smoke. I haven't done it since I bought the place 7 years ago). I have weekly pickup, I think that's all he offers for wheelie bins. If you have a dumpster you can choose monthly pickup or on-demand pickup, only when you call. I wouldn't mind getting pickup every 2 weeks; I rarely fill the bin. I have to wheel the bin out to the end of the driveway every Sunday night, he won't go any further.

This garbage company will not go on gravel roads. I'm on the highway so that isn't a problem, but if someone lives on a gravel road they have to place their dumpster/bin on a field access along a paved road, which seems like a pain. He'll also refuse to sign you up if he doesn't have any other customers nearby, he doesn't want to go out of his way. There's a new company who's advertising that he'll go on gravel roads, probably trying to poach the first guy's customers, but I wonder how many times his trucks will get stuck in the mud before he gives up on gravel road delivery too.

I put food waste out at the treeline, far enough away from the house so as not to encourage the wildlife to get obnoxious. Something always eats it, raccoons and possums probably, idk.

I have a big wheelie bin, 95 gallon I think. Printed on the lid is "no yard waste, no ashes" but other than that I don't really know the rules. I know that if I have something that won't fit in the bin I have to give him a call, and the owner might add it to the bill or might not depending on his mood---it seems arbitrary. If you don't do it too often they don't charge, but I don't know if there's a set number of times. He also reserves the right to charge extra if it's "too heavy" but I don't know if there's a set weight or just a general "let's be reasonable" vibe. The lid doesn't have to be closed but supposedly if something falls out, he won't get out of the truck to retrieve it. But usually he will anyway .

The county rubble site (for yard waste and big things like appliances) will give you I think 2 free passes a year, upon request. I haven't used that. I think the landfill is 1 free pass a year, I also haven't used that. The toxic waste/small appliance disposal gives 2 passes a year too---I've used that one. If you bring in usable paint or chemicals they'll clean up the can and offer it for free to anyone who wants it, I don't know if that's unlimited access or twice a year too. But it's nice to get free paint if you just need a bit for a project.

I live right on the farthest edge of a county that's part of Sioux Falls so that's why I'm lucky enough have access to the free toxic waste program. The county my parents are in has an event once or twice a year where you pay $10 for every load you bring in. Generally if I'm taking stuff in I'll check with them to see if they have anything that needs to go so they don't have to pay. I never have much so I don't think that's bad.

My trash pickup guy offers a recycling bin too but because I go to the city every 2 weeks to go shopping anyway, I just take it with me and throw it in the single-stream dumpster. Way easier than bagging everything separately.

 

[Jem]

Guys drive around in trucks looking for metal or old electronics.

Us too, they just drive round the neighborhood and load up their trailers with anything out at the curb. People often leave furniture out as well for others if they wish...first come first serve!

Our city dump also has a free dump week twice a year, it's so funny to see the line ups of cars down the road...you seriously need to pack a lunch if you're going to take advantage of the dump week and you go on the weekend.
During free dump week, they also allow you do dispose of 4 tires (regular vehicle tires) without having to pay the dumping fee. Otherwise, no matter if it's all you have to get ride of...no matter if it's under the weight, you pay to dispose of tires.

 

[Willowy]

During free dump week, they also allow you do dispose of 4 tires (regular vehicle tires) without having to pay the dumping fee

When I get new tires I just have the tire guys dispose of the old ones. Usually it's something like $3 a tire. Maybe it's cheaper to get rid of them myself, no idea, I don't want to deal with it .

Our city dump also has a free dump week twice a year, it's so funny to see the line ups of cars down the road.

I think that's why they switched to passes here. You can use the pass any time, so you can avoid the lines if you want. I've heard it's still pretty busy on weekends though.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

Recycling is provided by the city and is picked up every 2 weeks. Trash is something residents pay private companies to take care of and they come every week. It's fairly lenient when it comes to the types of trash though. We can't throw out paint or toxic waste for example. It's not limited by how much trash you have. There are usually 3 trash can sizes and the option to have two cans. Since I live alone, I only need one can. I went with the medium-sized one in case there were weeks where I had more than one or two bags of trash. That costs about $25 a month. I believe, at least according to my mom, it is required that you have a trash service in our area. We had a family friend who refused to pay for a trash service and would collect his trash and dump it at random apartment buildings.

 

[Jem]

The tire shops will dispose of tires for us here too...but the fee is more than 3$...although can't remember what it is. If I remember correctly, you get charged a disposal fee when you BUY a set now...but I really don't know how it all works now. Maybe if you have an old set and can show a receipt but bring them to the dump yourself you won't get charged??? IDK...

 

[NY cat man]

Our garbage pick-up is weekly, and recycling is bi-weekly, and our locality contracts it out to a private company. Yard waste- but not grass clippings- is once a month during the growing season. Electronics have to be taken to a designated site, which is open two days a month. Large items are picked up once a month, and there is a $5 state-imposed fee for tires and car batteries, which is why so many tires can be seen dumped along the roads out in the country

 

[di and bob]

Ours sounds pretty much the same, we are in the country so pay a private company to come once a week, 21.00/Mo. There is no limit on how many bags of garbage. We have free recycling and a free green matter dumpsite for like garden waste and tree limbs, anything woody. All grass clippings in town have to be in the green dump containers provided at every block. I have never done that because I use every bit of grass clippings for mulching my garden. Going to the dump is free with everything but building materials, they don't want people using them during remodeling, building. There is a small fee for that, not much, we have used it often.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

We pay for our own pickup because we are outside of any city limits. They are required to offer recycling. Back when I had kids in diapers we had a lot more trash. They provide 2 large cans and collect trash once a week and recycling every other week. Sometimes we have more recycling than can fit in the can so it stacks up in the garage. That's mostly at times like Christmas when we have toy packaging and things. I believe we can leave one large item per week or call if we have more. They do not take yard waste.

I wouldn't be happy about waiting for every other week or being limited in the number of bags. We get flies breeding in our trash cans as it is. They have lids and bags are tied tight; but they still seem to breed so fast in there. The cans are outside our garage; but every summer we end up hanging fly tape in the garage and shooing them from our cars when we get in. Some always make it in the house. It's gross.