# Here's a friendly message to the city of Longview **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 3, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627 "2009-06-03T21:10:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/21 "2009-06-04T04:36:24Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’m a libertarian? News to me. I’ve never described myself as such. Objectivism and libertarianism tend to go hand in hand, or at least someone who identifies as the former is almost always also the latter. You’re still a dick. Having trash cans on the curb is not the same as leaving trash around. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/22 "2009-06-04T05:33:05Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > . . . > > P.S. You have trash pickup TWICE per week? _faint_ I’ve never lived anywhere where it wasn’t once per week. I’m lucky to have recycling pickup, but that’s only once per MONTH, and not everyone in the county has it at all. Count yer blessings. I’ve lived one place that had twice weekly pickup, but that was only during summer. They’d been told that fly eggs hatch in three days in summer heat and had adjusted the schedule. Everywhere else, it’s been once a week. However this shakes out, snailboy, you’re not doing anything outrageous by putting it out the night before. It may be against the code, but it’s not outrageous. Shoot, our trash guys are out a 5 a.m. picking up trash. I don’t want to get up that early to set cans out. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/23 "2009-06-04T11:01:25Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > P.S. You have trash pickup TWICE per week? _faint_ I’ve never lived anywhere where it wasn’t once per week. My town just went to twice a week as a cost saving measure. Yes, really, as a cost saving measure. Apparently, the extra cost of doing longer trash runs (covering the same ground twice a week instead of once) is offset by no longer having to do off shift runs to make up for holidays. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/24 "2009-06-04T13:08:36Z")
You don’t have bears, do you? My mom has to put hers out the morning of trash pickup, but only because bears will rifle through people’s garbage if it’s left out. They also can’t have bird feeders for the same reason. Of course, bears’d do that whether the garbage was in the front or back of your house, so I hope it isn’t bears in your case. And speaking of garbage luxury: Where I grew up, the garbage men would come around to the back of the house and get the garbage. It was a very fancy, very small town. However, I forgot this fact one early morning, and the garbage man and I scared the crap out of each other. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/25 "2009-06-04T13:55:59Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Having trash cans on the curb is not the same as leaving trash around. That reminds me – when is the **Rover** pickup? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/26 "2009-06-04T13:59:53Z")
I drag my big plastic wheeled trash bin to the curb the last thing the night before trash day. If I got a letter like the one in the OP, I would throw it in the bin before wheeling it to the curb the night before trash day. IOW, I’d ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/27 "2009-06-04T14:11:07Z")
Ignore the roving troll. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/28 "2009-06-04T14:19:56Z")
When I moved into my neighborhood in 2002 it was kept up farily well by it’s residents. But during the whole foreclosure mess and owners renting out their homes the neighborhood went downhill real fast. Looked like shit. Fences falling apart, broken windows, unmowed lawns, piles of scrap junk on driveways, etc. The city did a sweep handing out warnings and threatening with fines. Seemed to do the trick. My neighbor got forced to either paint his house or get siding. I got ordered to remove some lumber off my drive. Everyones garbage bins were not allowed to be visable from the street (keep them behind your house or in your garage). It worked pretty well and our neighborhood doesn’t look like such a dump anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/29 "2009-06-04T14:24:25Z")
> [@liberty3701](#): > > My mom has to put hers out the morning of trash pickup, but only because bears will rifle through people’s garbage if it’s left out. When bears rifle through garbage, they’re only exercising their 2nd amendment rights! ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/30 "2009-06-04T14:39:19Z")
Lot of trash lovers here on the SDMB apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/31 "2009-06-04T14:48:33Z")
Couldn’t be – they don’t love you. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/32 "2009-06-04T15:07:48Z")
That is certainly silly - round here, pretty well everyone puts out their trash the night before, except for the Green bins (which are absurdly easy for racoons to open). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/33 "2009-06-04T15:15:37Z")
Whadaya know, [Longview’s municipal code is online](http://www.amlegal.com/longview_tx/). Here, apparently, is the relevant section: > [@](#): > > Sec. 49-4. Rules for placement of containers for collection. > > (a) All residential garbage placed for collection must be contained in bags only. All such bags placed for collection shall be securely tied or otherwise fastened or closed so as to prevent spillage or entry by vectors and vermin. Residential rubbish may be placed for collection in bags or bundles. Brush, tree trimmings and limbs shall be properly bundled and in no case may the diameter of said limbs exceed three inches when placed for collection. Residential sanitation customers are expressly prohibited from using cans, boxes, carts, or cages to contain refuse placed for collection. > > (b) Broken glass, jagged metal, razors, needles, wires, and other pointed or sharp objects shall be sufficiently wrapped in paper and securely taped or tied before bagging or bundling so as to prevent injury when handling. > > (c) Each bag and/or bundle shall be placed at curbside for collection. Curbside refers to that portion of right-of-way adjacent to paved or traveled city roadways (including alleys). Bags and/or bundles shall be placed as close to the roadway as practicable without interfering with or endangering the movement of vehicles or pedestrians. When construction work is being performed in the right-of-way, bags and/or bundles shall be placed as close as practicable to an access point for the collection vehicle. > > (d) City shall provide special door-side pick up service for handicapped households. > > (e) Not more than 20 total units of bags and bundles of refuse will be collected by the city sanitation department for each dwelling unit on each day of collection for such unit. > > **(f) Bags containing residential garbage shall not be placed at curbside for collection before 5:00 a.m. of the day on which collection is scheduled.** Emphasis added. Looks pretty clear to me. And really, if you’re required to set out bags only (no cans, according to section (a) above), you’d want to do it as close to pickup time as possible, or else you attract all manner of undesirable creatures. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/34 "2009-06-04T15:21:58Z")
Can you put the bags in a garbage can, and set that out the night before? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/35 "2009-06-04T16:09:29Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Looks pretty clear to me. Laws can be clear and stupid at the same time. Our town allows garbage cans, but clearly indicates what sizes are acceptable. If the law clearly stated “no cans larger than 5 gallons” it would be clear and very very stupid. Of course, there is also [this](http://www.ci.longview.tx.us/services/trash_collection.html) which muddies the waters. > [@](#): > > Refuse must be placed curbside for collection no later than 7:30 a.m., but no earlier than midnight on the day of pick up. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/36 "2009-06-04T16:12:17Z")
You people oughtta count your blessings! We don’t even HAVE trash pickup in my town. We have to haul it all to the dump ourselves, and it’s uphill both ways.\* - for part of the drive ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/37 "2009-06-04T16:46:41Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’m a libertarian? News to me. I’ve never described myself as such. > > And I did read the OP for comprehension, thank you very much. I don’t like trash. A trash can by the curb is unsightly. I live on a street with alleys, so I never have to see trash cans by the curb. If only we’d all just work harder, then we, too, could live where we never have to see unsightly trash cans… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/38 "2009-06-04T17:01:06Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > It ain’t just Longview. [Boston considered a ban on leaving trash out overnight](http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8514664.html). Too much rats and rummaging, they sez. A lot of cities already ban putting out the trash before 6 PM on the night before pickup, and I imagine we’ll start seeing more overnight bans in various places. > > I think it’s a pain in the ass to have to put out trash in the early morning too, but if they say there’s a rat problem I kinda don’t want to encourage it. A better solution IMHO is to require (or better yet, provide) sturdy rat-proof trash barrels and require that all trash must be placed in them. No chewable plastic bags sitting naked on the curb. Well, thats just retarded. How many rats are going to attack the garbage BEFORE 6PM (ie daylight) and how many rats are going to attack the garbage sometime after 6PM (ie at night). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/39 "2009-06-04T17:05:21Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Of course, there is also [this](http://www.ci.longview.tx.us/services/trash_collection.html) which muddies the waters. No, I think it’s pretty clear. Garbage can be put out in bins between midnight and 7:30 am, and in bags between 5 am and 7:30 am. Of course, those limited hours could be very difficult for people on shift work: if you had a permanent midnight to 8 am shift, you would never be able to (legally) put your garbage out. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627/40 "2009-06-04T17:05:38Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Objectivism and libertarianism tend to go hand in hand, or at least someone who identifies as the former is almost always also the latter. > > You’re still a dick. Having trash cans on the curb is not the same as leaving trash around. No, but technically it IS …you see, theres this trash and its in a bag or a can and that can or bag is around…and well, getting all lawyerly on you…you get the pic 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-a-friendly-message-to-the-city-of-longview/498627.md?page=3)