considering NOT getting garbage pick up

I just called the local company that picks up the garbage and was not impressed. the employee really wanted a bunch of info when I thought we could just talk price and* then* I’d give them my info. I told her I had very little so I wanted the cheapest option.

finally I find the price, almost $20 a month. hm. I have so little garbage, even less if I took up composting and figured out where to bring my recycling.

then I called the landfill and had a very nice woman give me great info - she says half the people they have out there every day are just bringing their household garbage and how you have to drive on the scale before and after.

am I kidding myself? is it worth $20 a month just to put it out and forget it? would I hate going to the dump because it smells or has scary seagulls or something else I haven’t thought of?

maybe this should go in the mundane forum - it’s pretty mundane. yet I am asking for the opinions of other garbage producers out there.

:stuck_out_tongue:

In the little town in Connecticut where I grew up, the majority of the residents took their own garbage to the transfer station. It was such a common thing that someone running for state senate or first selectman (basically what they call the town mayor in Connecticut) would stand there on Saturdays to shake hands and introduce themselves to the voters. And you’d see all kinds of cars carrying their garbage, from modest Subarus to Mercedes or Lexus cars.

I’ve found that if I just leave my garbage out in my front yard, it eventually blows into the neighbors’ yards. Problem solved.

Yes, some of my neighbors have complained about it, but I just keep repeating to them that I’m saving TWENTY DOLLARS A MONTH. What part of that do they not understand?

This concludes my rant about people who use wood stoves when they have easy access to gas and/or electric heat.

I think it might depend on the vehicle you use and whether a bag of garbage leaking would be a problem if that ever happened and whatever tarp you had down didn’t hold it. Plus cleaning it up. Me, I’d find the $20 worth it if they picked up whatever I put out there.

Just remember that in many major cities, garbage disposal is an arm of organized crime. You may rethink what a great bargain that $20 a month is, when your household trash suddenly includes

A HORSE HEAD IN YOUR BED!!!

How much are you going to spend on gas driving back and forth to the dump?

I have a Toyota Corolla full of dog hair. I guess I’d be pretty careful with the bags, though - wouldn’t want anything smelly leaking into the car.

but how hard can that be?

you mocking me? :dubious: I can save me the price of a pizza AND a get a trip to the dump out of it.

Some of it will depend upon proximity to the dump and/or recycling center. If one or neither is on your way to or from somewhere you go on a regular basis, you will need to consider the cost of your time, gas and perhaps an extra carwash a month. Where I live, trash pick up is more cost effective.

How often do you intend to go to the dump? Weekly? Monthly? Save up garbage all winter but go more often when it’s hot & garbage stinks more & sooner?

How much does the dump charge? How far away is it from home?

How much time do you have? How much money? Can/Will you dump the trash someplace closer, like at the dumpster behind the local Quicki Mart, illegal though that may be?

The service you’re buying is not sold by the pound. They’re selling the convenience of zero effort on your part for no matter how much garbage you create. That may not be a real bargain for a single person who lives small.

kitchen garbage pail(s) that can stand upright in the rear seat or a tote(s) in the trunk can contain filled garbage bags. don’t use these except for transport in the car and they will stay clean.

something like this

the dump is not too far and $10 for up to 1000 pounds. I think that was it. that’s a lot of garbage, maybe all winter’s worth.

good plan

When we first moved into our house about 20 years ago, the neighborhood didn’t have trash pickup service. Recycling was picked up by the county for free (by which I mean no extra charge beyond our regular taxes), but everybody had to haul their own garbage to the dump. It was about a 15-minute drive and a royal pain in the ass. Awhile later, the HOA finally decided to set up trash service for everyone, and we’ve never looked back. The cost was well off-set by the convenience of being able to just haul everything down the driveway, including junked furniture, yard waste, etc. and leave it there on Tuesday mornings. Now the county has given everybody a giant blue wheelie bin for paper recycling in addition to the cans/bottles bin we had for years (we used to have to put newspapers and stuff out separately in paper bags), so we are in rubbish paradise.

What happens if you go to the dump on Thanksgiving and it’s closed?
Yeah, I went there. :stuck_out_tongue:

This question works on so many different levels.

Let us just hope that the OP does not have a blind judge in their town.

Pay the $20.

Is there no fee at the dump? There is where I live.

Drove to the dump, went to the designated area to throw my trash.

Tires went flat on the way home. It seems my dump did not inspect its pathways for nails, broken glass, sharp objects sticking up, etc.

Do you drive to work? Is there trash service there? Perhaps you could ask permission to get rid of your trash there. Something a little more in a gray area is to put your trash in the trash cans outside businesses such as Walmart or along public sidewalks. This is, of course, kind of a creepy thing to do, and would probably only be a money saver if the trash cans are located along your necessary daily travels.

I don’t use a trash service, but we can still burn paper trash out here in the sticks, and the other trash I can take to a free county dumpster site. The only problem is the site’s about an 18 mile round trip.

yes, $10 for 1000 pounds

OK, now* this* sounds like maybe a good reason not to do the dump thing.