Turning our old garbage system upside down and inside out

"Most homes are configured to put a lot of stuff in the trash compactor "

Sorry, Petey, *MOST* homes do NOT have a compactor. Think outside the Lindenwood bubble.

Correction: Most home are configured to put a lot of stuff into the garbage can or the trash compactor. With the new recycling system wwe need to change that configuration and pt most of that 'stuff' into compost and recycle pails and very little needs to go into the garbage pail.

And watch out for the anonymice - they go into the garbage pail.

{Post removed. Please refrain from attacking other posters.]

I am not an expert on cowardly anonymous posting - I leave that to those who are just wandering and who have no other apparent expertise.

"I leave that to those who are just wandering and who have no other apparent expertise."

Wow. Really? Posting anonymously equals "no other apparent expertise"?

Rather insulting, Peter. This has been explained to you many times, by Pogo and many others, please go back and review why folks prefer anonymous posting. We know it really gets under your skin by your comments.

Maybe that's why some continue to post anonymously.

Just because anonymous postings, particularly those who do not offer factual information or provide a substantive opinion, are permitted does not mean that I should value or respect all of them. A few anonymous posters like POGO have distinguished themselves by clear thinking and consistency - it is therefore possible to develop respect for such posters and for their opinions.

The old phrase "nobody likes changes" seems to apply to some; however, while re-aligning our patterns will take time, this is a good change.

At one point in time we had to adjust to the "old" recycle bins instead of throwing everything away.

[This and responding posts removed; stick to the topic and be respectful toward other posters.]

They gave me a small plastic pail for food scraps (kept in the kitchen) that is supposed to be emptied into a huge bin (that can also hold yard trimmings) and the huge bin will be picked up and emptied by their truck.
The problem I am having is that the plastic pail is small (and messy with wet food scraps) so dumping that into the huge bin makes for a smelly mess in that bin with a very small volume of stuff. It also gets moldy fast. So I end up with a smelly moldy mess in the bottom of the huge bin.
When the truck comes and empties that huge bin (which hasn't happened yet), I think it will make even more of a mess inside it after it is emptied of it's tiny volume each week, because of course it won't get rinsed out.
Not sure how to do it without making the huge bin be a smelly wet mess inside. But I plan to try it anyway according to their instructions.

Scholar - I agree, the small plastic tub is useless. I have purchased a 1 1/2 gallon stainless steel "compost" pail that has a built in deodorizer to use for my garbage and have ordered a 32 gallon black bin to replace my current 96 gallon black bin. Given my first weeks experience I may even opt for the even smaller 20 gallon black bin.

I talked to one of the Recology drivers today - they are overwhelmed with the new routes. But I also received my extra green bin and my second blue bin today so things are happening.

re: use of the compost pail for food scraps, you can use compostable bags as liners inside the food scrap pail, and then put the bagged scraps into the big compost bin. Ace Hardware sells the biodegradeable bags sized for the kitchen pails- I think they were about $0.04 each.

this would be much less messy for you.

Hasn't anyone else thought of what we have been doing at our house for years now? FREEZE the food scraps in a plastic (or biodegrabible if you prefer) bag and toss, adding to it as needed daily, then toss it into the appropriate outdoor container on trash-removal day. No smell, no mess. The idea of a kitchen slop pail went out with hog-farming. They absolutely must be emptied daily. Those who don't pay attention to history . . .

I would have to say that Recology was a complete disaster today. First, we personally do all of our composting, recycling, etc. So, all of that aside, here's what I observed.

Allied Waste used to at least have the consideration to wait until 6:00 A.M. to start driving down the streets collecting garbage/recycling. This morning Recology came racing in the gates at 5:15 A.M, and very loudly began collecting the garden debris from the green bins. They were braking, yelling and much noisier than Allied Waste. Our green bins and those of 2 of our neighbors were correctly placed next to the street, 24 inches apart. The Recology trucks left about 1/4 of the garden debris dumped on the street and then left the bins almost in the middle of the street. We collected ours, but as I drove out to an early appointment, kids were weaving around the bins (all well into the street) as cars were also trying to get by. Later this afternoon, as I drove back again, bins were in the streets and there was now garbage in the streets. I spoke to a neighbor who said she watched the Recology truck pick up the garbage bin and drop it on the street where it fell and dumped garbage out. They just drove away and left the mess.

The results I saw today were sloppy at best. And yes, some homeowners didn't fully understand the process, probably placing garbage cans where the used to. Allied Waste used to pick up Christmas trees left on the street, but Recology didn't so now there are dying Christmas trees everywhere.

Residents have to take some ownership and responsibility, but to think that we are going to have Recology doing this every single Friday is extremely disturbing. To think that I will now get a wake up call just after 5 A.M. every Friday is just not right. And it would be nice if everyone could go out and bring their cans back onto their property right after they are emptied would be wonderful, but in reality, there are homeowners with jobs and leave before everything is picked up. And I also understand that this was the first day, but one would think that there would be supervisors or at least some attempt to do things with consideration and neatness. Leaving garden debris, garbage and the cans in the middle of the street is unacceptable.

I want to know why they increased Atherton's rates 40% and other cities 9-12%. Why are they charging Atherton more vs. other cities???? Doesn't seem right

I agree with Scholar and Mr Freeze - I have been freezing what little food waste I have for years, never a smelly can, and that is all the more important now that we throw food in with wet leaves. Since soiled paper also goes in the green can, I re-use small paper bags, but will purchase the $.04 liners on principle, great idea.

As for Recology, my small house has not benefitted. Mixing paper and recycled containers is sloppy and wastes space - no wonder a huge blue can needs weekly service now. I have returned to segregating paper so the bin adjacent to my kitchen is manageable, and if Recology wants them mixed it in the bin, what the hell. Meanwhile I have these shiny new huge awkward bins and I have yet to find space to park them - my back porch cupboards that fit all my previous containers are two small for even the 20 gallon black waste oddity, and the trip to the curb is more work, not less. But automation saved money, huh?

I have to admit being a bit shocked that someone thought the city should possibly be responsible for explaining to me how to manage the trash inside my own home. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the source. It certainly challenged my previous assumptions. I would really prefer to not have a city employee spend time and money to help me figure out how to manage trash inside my own house. I read through the info that Recology sent me and put my well educated brain to good use. As to the other Recology issues, I didn't have the same problem, but I sure hope they respond well to the complaints.

As an addendum update: This morning, Saturday, 5:50 A.M., Recology truck came racing down our street and collected garbage from some neighbors' bins that were still out. Heard the truck stop farther down the street. When my husband went out to get our newspaper he said that the garbage bin was left about 2 feet into the street, with grass clipping all around. Someone on this thread said that Recology indicated that they were "overwhelmed." It's still no excuse for this type of very expensive "service!" And to think that this is going to be weekly. . . .

I've been collecting kitchen scraps for backyard composting for years and never had the problems others have described. Maybe they are doing something wrong.

Second Robert Cronin. Compost kitchen scraps in back yard and then ferilize your garden.

Question about compacting recyclables. Won't compacting make sorting on the back end more difficult and time consuming?