Trash Day

Thursday, 8:04 am

By Kate

Jan

08

2009

When I woke up this morning, I was a day behind. Thinking it was Wednesday, it came as a jolt to see the garbage truck at the end of the street. Thursday is trash day. I hustled right around and dragged the trash out to the street along with the recycling, too. Me in my jammies cut a dashing figure, I’m sure. I am, indeed, quite happy that the town has instituted new recycling rules called “Single Stream Recycling” - which means that now we can toss all the recycling into the same container without separating everything into distinct piles. I no longer have to break down and tie cardboard boxes, either. This makes the recycling chore a whole lot easier. Especially when I’m making the mad dash to the curb at the very last minute.

Not that I seem to have much of either trash or recycling. I missed the last two recycling collections and only managed to completely fill the container (about the size of a laundry basket) this week. And only one small trash bag to haul to the street today.

This week the town sent along a trash and recyling update sheet along with my shiny new tax bill (increased another $100 this year. Yay.). The new notice announced the Single Stream Recycling plan and also announced that all households in town may only dispose of 5 trash bags per week—the 30 gallon bags. Anything above that will be left behind. The rule will now be strictly enforced.

Because....the town has a new contract with a new a new disposal corporation, which charges a rather hefty fee per ton of trash. As a result, the recycling rules will also be strictly enforced as well. Our town has been rather forgiving about that over the past few years. Many people refuse to recycle (my neighbor being one of them), but now anyone caught putting recyclable material into the trash will be fined $50 for the first offense and $100 for the second offense and so on.

And I do expect that these rules will be rigorously enforced now that the tipping fee per ton of trash has skyrocketed. Our town is feeling the financial pinch along with everyone else.