Talking Trash

Monday, March 23, 2009

Why are trash can lids replaced upside down?

We invite residents to share their comments via a survey about our recycling and trash collection service to them.

One recent survey respondent wrote:

Do not like that the can tops are "stuffed" inside -- but I guess that takes less time that putting them back on. Perhaps the crews should just leave the tops flat on the ground rather than stuffing them inside.

 After collection, crews are not supposed to jam lids down into your containers.  They are, however, supposed to place the lids back upside down.

Why upside down?

When crews replace the lids upside down, this signals their supervisors that the containers have been emptied.  This way, the supervisors don't need to stop at a container, lift the lid, and check inside, which would be very inefficient, given that daily routes cover several hundred addresses, and many more containers.

Similarly, emptied wheeled paper carts are replaced with their handles facing the street, and recycling bins are replaced upside down after being serviced.

And regarding that badly cracked recycling bin in the photo and what to do about it, that's the topic of my next post!

-- posted by Susanne

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CATEGORIES: Mailbag , Trash
POSTED AT: 10:02:00 AM |