Talking Trash

Friday, February 12, 2010

How should you set out your trash and recyclables after it snows?

Normally, you set your recycling bins, paper carts, and trash cans at the curb for pickup.

But, what happens when your curb is buried under a layer -- or, as is currently the case, several feet -- of snow?  Suddenly, the term "curbside" becomes relative...

Place your recyclables and trash as close to their regular location as possible.  Look at your items through your collection crew's eyes: could you see your bins, carts, and cans from the vantage point of a truck driving along your street?  If not, adjust the items' location so that your crew will be able to spot everything easily.

This week, my six-year-old helper and I headed out into our neighborhood with cameras in hand.  As we walked around scouting for recyclables and trash, we had a great conversation about the recycling do's and don'ts we saw.  (The most frequent offenders were plastic bags -- please remember to recycle these at your local grocery store, and not in your blue bins.)

Here are some photos of three different post-snow recycling bin and cart placement approaches we saw.  Sorry, the trash had already been collected, so there were no cans for us to photograph.

This resident shoveled out a little niche in a curbside snowbank.  It was perfectly sized to fit the two plastic containers.  The container for "overflow" recyclables on the right was neatly labeled, in big letters, with "Recycle".

This blue bin and paper recycling cart were carefully placed in front of a big snow bank, away from parked cars which might have hidden them.

Here, a snow bank was used to creative advantage.  This resident perched a recycling bin on top of the snow edging his or her driveway.  The bin had just enough snow packed around it to keep it in place, but not enough to obscure it from view.

-- posted by Susanne

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CATEGORIES: Notes from the field , Recycling
POSTED AT: 8:26:00 PM |