These are not in my neighborhood, but they are the same size and style as the trash cans the county government recently supplied to us. I'm so frustrated by these gigantic containers. A 95-gallon trash can used for weekly pick-up sends the message that this is a normal or average amount of trash created by a single household, yet my four-person family fills this size can once every three to four weeks.
To provide some perspective, I gave birth to my daughter in a tub just 5 gallons larger than these monstrosities. Sitting at the bottom of the tub, with my legs stretched out, the water came almost up to my chin.
Wow! Those are crazy big!
ReplyDeletewoman giving birth in recycling bin... I may have to start drinking earlier today to erase that from my head.
ReplyDeleteJust teasin'... but they do seem very imposing lined up that way.
Ours are a happy green color and a little smaller (64 gallon)... plus my next-door neighbor puts his recycling in mine as well. With his help - it seems full every week.
The "green" waste can is the biggie where I live - 96 gallons (Yard clipping & such) Way too big for the tiny yard I have. I let my neighbors on either side use mine because they are awesome (and mow my lawns).
Wow, Tricia, it sounds like you have a much more progressive waste management program than we have in Central Va. This is the *trash* trash can, unfortunately. You can only use up to 30 gallons, I think it is, for a recycling bin, though you can use more than one, thank goodness. And green waste is only picked up a few times a year. Lucky for us, we have a big yard with lots of room for compost piles.
ReplyDeleteI knew that was an odd juxtaposition of images, garbage cans and birth tubs. ;) But it's seriously what I think every time I see ours or another one this big: I fit my whole body in a tub that size and had a baby! 'Course, to use one of these trash cans, you'd have to turn it on its side, seal the top, cut an opening in the top...
our neighbor overflows her giant trash can each week, so adds her excess to ours. she runs a business out of her home and doesn't recycle (we are working on her), but it's still crazy to think she creates so much more trash than us. the plus side is that she pulls our can out to the street for us, so we never have to think about whether it's trash day or not... :-P
ReplyDeleteThose cans are a purely financial decision. They wanted to use fewer workers for less time, so they had to distribute cans that could be more automated. ...and I suppose if they are going to force a specific can on people, they have to give out a size that won't get mass complaints, or end up with trash dumped on the side of the road somewhere. (though yes, I have seen single houses that have TWO of these, so evidently you can ask for another one.)
ReplyDeleteI do agree we waste far too much and the large can doesn't make people think about it as much as a small one would. But the can has other motives, and does not care.
In our old neighborhood, people would put out two of these per home, overflowing. It killed me to see how many recyclable items were spilling out, and how much packaging was being consumed and disposed. :o(
ReplyDeleteOur city can is smaller and we still don't fill it.
Jill, when my sister lived next door, they used our trash can and we split the cost. They rarely took it to the curb, however.
ReplyDeleteTrue on the financial points, Charles. I remember that was explained in a letter sent before the cans arrived. I wonder if county officials ever considered the normalizing message the cans send?
We also see many neighbors overflowing this can and even two this size. :( I looked around the room where we keep all our recycling containers and realized we separate our trash into NINE categories: kitchen compost, paper recycling, glass/ metal/ plastic, steel caps, plastic caps, plastics other than 1 and 2, usable plastic bags, non-usable plastic bags, and finally, trash.
Ugh, I hear you. Ours is huge like this, and is picked up every week, though we only put it out once every 3 or 4 weeks. Our recycling bin is the same size, though the cost to have it picked up is more AND they only come to get it once every five weeks. We have to really break everything down and smash all the cans and stuff to get it all in. A lot of people in our town don't even bother to recycle just because of the cost and the hassel. :(
ReplyDeleteMeg, that's so discouraging that recycling costs more than regular trash pick-up. Of course, the fact that there is not enough of a market for all the recyclables we create probably makes that a more realistic price model, unfortunately. :( And that's why "recycle" is the last in "reduce, reuse, recycle."
ReplyDeleteBut trash cans HAVE to be this big to hold all the excessive packaging and disposable goods that are produced! How else can we get rid of all the flimsy, broken crap and stuff created purposefully to not last. Isn't that how we sustain our economy?
ReplyDelete^ sarcasm ^
ReplyDeleteHa ha, Madonna, you are SO right! ;)
ReplyDelete