Garbage Collection
I'm trying to decide if I should laugh at the absurdity of my present situation or cry at the waste that is so frequently a part of any company with a government protected monopoly.
Let me start by explaining how garbage collection works in my town. Everyone pays $15.00 a month for garbage collection. For this you are provided with a garbage and a recycling receptacle. Which is nice, the receptacles are made of sturdy plastic, they have hinged lids, and wheels to make them easy to roll out to the curb. Plus they are big, over 3 feet tall and two foot by two and a half foot wide. Like most places, the company has someone come around once a week and pick up the trash and another truck get the recyclables. They're very reliable, they come about the same time of day each week and have never failed to do there job. For eight years I've had no complaints.
That is until last week. Now, I'm single. I like to consider myself an environmentalist though I'm not militant about it. I don't usually have to take the trash bag out of the kitchen but about once every two weeks and I may or may not bother to cart it out to the curb that week. Last week I didn't have any to take to the curb, but when I got home from work I noticed a receptacle sitting by my curb. I figured a neighbor had a lot of trash and noticed that I wasn't having any picked up and they set an extra container by my driveway. That was okay by me as it didn't cost me anything and I could save them a few bucks (extra garbage cans are like $2.50 a week or something). But then they neglected to retrieve their emptied receptacle. By Friday I'm a little annoyed because we have this Nazi homeowners association that will fine you for doing things like leaving your garbage bins in sight of the road. So I decide to cart it into the garage figuring they'll come and knock on my door when they want it back.
Well no-one has come to claim the bin and when I got home from work today I have another one sitting out by the curb. You guessed it... I didn't take my trash out again this week. I suspect that the company has decided that the only possible reason I'm paying for collection and not having anything collected is that I'm in need of a receptacle. This despite the fact that I've lived here for over 8 years and haven't asked for anything. At this point I'm half tempted to see how long they'll keep dropping off new bins.
Let me start by explaining how garbage collection works in my town. Everyone pays $15.00 a month for garbage collection. For this you are provided with a garbage and a recycling receptacle. Which is nice, the receptacles are made of sturdy plastic, they have hinged lids, and wheels to make them easy to roll out to the curb. Plus they are big, over 3 feet tall and two foot by two and a half foot wide. Like most places, the company has someone come around once a week and pick up the trash and another truck get the recyclables. They're very reliable, they come about the same time of day each week and have never failed to do there job. For eight years I've had no complaints.
That is until last week. Now, I'm single. I like to consider myself an environmentalist though I'm not militant about it. I don't usually have to take the trash bag out of the kitchen but about once every two weeks and I may or may not bother to cart it out to the curb that week. Last week I didn't have any to take to the curb, but when I got home from work I noticed a receptacle sitting by my curb. I figured a neighbor had a lot of trash and noticed that I wasn't having any picked up and they set an extra container by my driveway. That was okay by me as it didn't cost me anything and I could save them a few bucks (extra garbage cans are like $2.50 a week or something). But then they neglected to retrieve their emptied receptacle. By Friday I'm a little annoyed because we have this Nazi homeowners association that will fine you for doing things like leaving your garbage bins in sight of the road. So I decide to cart it into the garage figuring they'll come and knock on my door when they want it back.
Well no-one has come to claim the bin and when I got home from work today I have another one sitting out by the curb. You guessed it... I didn't take my trash out again this week. I suspect that the company has decided that the only possible reason I'm paying for collection and not having anything collected is that I'm in need of a receptacle. This despite the fact that I've lived here for over 8 years and haven't asked for anything. At this point I'm half tempted to see how long they'll keep dropping off new bins.