The garbage truck could weigh your trash when it is collected, and send you a bill per pound instead of a flat monthly fee.I'm poor and cheap, I know that my trash would get alot lighter!Alternative: Standardize trash container size and charge by the container. I really think it could work... just think of all the electricity saved by charging per useage instead of flat rate!-- Skyloo, Feb 23 2002 You pay the bin men? Wierd.-- mcscotland, Feb 23 2002 The dump in my city charges by the weight. Your whole car and trailer are weighed on the way in and out, and you are charged for the difference.
We also have roadside collection of standard, plastic , regulation containers.-- Helium, Feb 23 2002 Yup, we pay $20/month US. Even in places where you don't get a bill, you pay it when you pay your taxes.-- Skyloo, Feb 23 2002 The tariff for weekly trash collection does vary by municipality here in the US, Skyloo, but you're close enough to the rates I'm accustomed to in urban areas for single family residential collection that I won't make an issue of it. How many rural or super-urbanized areas have to rely, however, on contract services? Should you pay by the visit or the pound or the cubic foot?-- jurist, Feb 23 2002 I have seen a picture of a field full of fridges somewhere, Rods that they just do not know what to do with or that is waiting for an EEC directive or something.-- po, Feb 23 2002 Even in sub-urbanized areas, I can't relate how many times a car carcass or refrigerator has been dumped on one of my properties. You may laugh, but these are not easy devices to dispose of: Vehicles have VIN numbers that have to be properly cared for, and refrigerators have freon, which is equally difficult to hide beneath the lawn clippings. Since this is private property, the local constabulary has little or no jurisdiction, and really only cares if they happen to see you unloading (er, moving) it on to someone elses' property. Ultimately, it becomes a much larger , more involved, and more expensive problem than most people ever imagine. Plus, those refrigerators are just too heavy.-- jurist, Feb 23 2002 I'm a country girl now, but I lived in a small city during college (Albany, NY). The city had special days when large items like fridges and sofas would be collected. I believe it happened at the end of each semester, which was the time when, being a college town, many of the residents were moving out.-- Skyloo, Feb 23 2002 In Texas and CA they charge by cubic foot, both at the dumps and for residential pick up. Monthly fees vary by trash can size, and you have to buy stickers ($3) for extra trash bags. Items seperated for recycling are free.-- tolly3, Feb 23 2002 Stickers on extra trash bags! Thats brilliant! Tho it does add 1 more thing to the landfill, I'm sure it cuts down on trash! Our garbage is collected by a private company, and they have a bag limit per week, with no way of getting anymore collected. They dont even allow large families to have 2 accounts. The limit is pretty high, I think 10 bags per family, more than enough for the 2 people & 2 pets in my home, but larger families are stuck with all that extra trash. I'll suggest the "trash stamp" method to our service. Will be handy during spring cleaning!-- Skyloo, Feb 23 2002 We pay around $50 per year for a sticker for our vehicle and the privilege of delivering our trash to the dump during 3 specified time periods per week. No limit on number of bags. Can also get rid of appliances, tires, motor oil. No brush dump, though. Oh, excuse me, it's not called a dump any more - it's a "transfer center".-- TeaTotal, Feb 23 2002 "...just think of all the electricity saved..." What electricity?
I'd put the unemployed to work sorting the recyclables out of the rest of the trash.-- phoenix, Feb 23 2002 Wouldn't this encourage more people to burn their trash?-- RayfordSteele, Feb 23 2002 I gave away my old cooker, oh s**t does this mean I am cooking for them for the rest of my born natural?-- po, Feb 23 2002 Rods: I feel so cheap now, I find nothing more satisfying than a good find at the 'tip' or the odd garden skip. The treasures I have found, fridges, computers (with lots of games) lovely old clocks, motor cycles (still in good working order) now used for off road playing, the odd really good carpet. The problem nowadays is people seem to have so much money or credit facility, they replace their good quality old stuff, with new unpaid for cr*p. My prize piece is a collection of signed, very old opera records. I suppose I'm doing my bit for recycling.-- arora, Feb 23 2002 you are in good company, arora, I am wracking my brain for the superstar who jumps into skips. Possibly an ex-Beatle????-- po, Feb 23 2002 If unable to sell at yard sale or donate to charity, put a sign on item: "FREE", as one wo-mans junk is another wo-mans treasure-- thumbwax, Feb 23 2002 I agree with RayfordSteele. I'd just burn more of my trash.-- seal, Feb 23 2002 In Germany, every household and apartment building has at least 4 bins: one for plastics and similar, one for metal and similar, one for paper and one for biological waste (and glass is either taken back to the shop for the return on the bottle or put in bottle banks). In some areas people are charged for collection of biological waste by weight and encouraged to use composters. It sounds a lot of hassle but really isn't. Unfortunately, although the principle is sound, a considerable amount of the separated rubbish ends up chucked together in landfills. Still, its better than just always bunging everything on a tip, a lot of stuff does get recycled.-- squeak, Jan 24 2003 [Seal], then you are a fuckwit.-- squeak, Jan 24 2003 squeak - actually, burning some forms of trash can be beneficial to the environment - especially if you regain energy by doing so.-- yamahito, Jan 24 2003 yeah [yamahito] I know about waste incineration and the high tech filters and the production of energy etc. (once gave a lecture on the subject) Fact is though, [seal] sez "I'D just burn more of my trash" which indicates a garden bonfire or something similar. Not v.green and v.v.wasteful and thoughtless. And so I repeat, he is a fuckwit.-- squeak, Jan 24 2003 I burn all my newspapers, and quite a bit of my tree trimmings in the fireplace each winter. Does that make me a fuckwit?-- ye_river_xiv, Dec 16 2008 This is another thing i believe should be free! If it was free to take your rubbish to the tip where it can be sorted, recycled, treated, etc, and it was expensive (fine, gaol, torcher) to dump it on the road or in the bush then there'd be alot less crap around the place.
I picked up an old rim and tyre in the bush the other day that someone had dumped. When i took it to the tip they charged me $10. Doesn't make sense to me, maybe i'm too old.-- superjohn, Dec 16 2008 Here in the Netherlands we have such a recycling fee you pay extra for each appliance you buy, and as a consequence, you can deposit old appliances at the dump for free. And trash is nearly everywhere collected separately, glass, paper, chemicals, batteries, old but usable clothes, decomposables and remaining trash (only the latter two are collected at your house, the rest you'll have to deposit yourself at collection points).
At least it makes us feel a bit better about ourselves. Especially considering we throw out a LOT of good food and other stuff.-- Forthur, Dec 16 2008 (large city in) Canada:
furniture: call for pickup appliances, used motor-oil, etc.: free to tip metal, plastic, paper recycleables: bi-weekly pickup organics: weekly pickup garbage: bi-weekly (recycleables off-week)
Our city has issued a bin for organics, choice of 3 sizes bins for recycleables, and choice of 4 sizes bins for garbage. The size of the garbage bins can add to or subtract from, utility taxation.
Good, except with all these bins (none of which really fit inside the house) the looks of the city has dropped down a few notches. (Previous system which I prefer in some ways had weekly pickup of everything and bins that fit under the sink)-- FlyingToaster, Dec 17 2008 random, halfbakery