Finally it's fall!

Finally it's fall! All summer we are so busy cleaning up garbage piles, and it's so hot that I can hardly wait until fall. We go to the homes of poor people, Rich people and everyone in between. Something that I have noticed is that peoples attitudes about garbage and recycling change with the seasons.

Spring wakes people up. After being cooped up inside all winter they finally muster up the energy to clean out their basement or shed. Winter is muddy and messy, so by the time spring comes around everyone is eager to clean up. What I hear the most from our customers in the spring is " I need this garbage out of here right away " everyone is in a big rush even though they have been piling up the garbage for years sometimes.

Summer is my least favorite season. People focus on cleaning up their overgrown yards and make huge piles of dirty prunings and clippings that are full of bugs. This summer there has been more than usual amounts of wasps and rodents, and they all live in the garbage piles. The hot weather is the other bad thing about summer. If there wasn't a air conditioner in the truck I would die!

Fall is my favorite time of year. Work starts to slow down. Everyone has been working hard all summer and now its time to relax and take it easy. Fall seams to be the time of the year to move and that is good for us because its easy to clean up after a move, it's all boxes and no stinky stuff. We don't get much rain here and the cooler weather is better to work in.

Winter is for vacation. The weather is to wet and cold for anybody to go out side and clean anything up or make a mess. The cold and wet is hard to work in but we don't get a lot of calls so it's not so bad. All the messy people store up there crap inside all winter and that's another reason we get extra busy in the spring. Winter is our time to recharge and get ready for next year.

We see the same cycle every year. People need to think about their waste and impact on the environment all year not just in the summer when its easiest. Most of what we take to the landfill could have been recycled or not needed in the first place. If you don't keep up with your garbage it can get to be overwhelming so recycle all year round and your garbage won't get out of hand.

Rubbish Piles

Holy crap today I got attacked by killer wasps. Allot of garbage piles lately have a wasp nest in them , more then in years past. Maybe it's because of the whether or who knows what but today I got swarmed by the wasps. Most times I just grab whatever the nest is in and quickly throw in in the truck then that's it for the wasps. Today tho about a thousand wasps came out and swarmed me and my partner and chased us down the street. I got bit about five times and my arm swelled up. The wasps usually defend their nest but this was crazy! I have herd about killer bees I wonder if there is such a thing as killer wasps. Has any one else had trouble with wasps in garbage piles? We had to come back for the rest of the garbage the next day after the home owners killed the nest with poisen.

Stop buying crap!

Modern industry makes almost all products to be disposable. In the old days things such as machinery, tools and appliances were made to last. Now after five or ten years they go to the dump. Refrigerators and washers are the most common thing in the metal recycling pile at our landfill. The people that throw them away think they are being responsible by recycling but the truth is they are being wasteful. The manufacturer purposely makes it expensive to repair so you tell yourself I might as well just get a new one. Industry only thinks about money not what is best for the world so we should all stop buying crap to get manufacturers to stop making it!

Garbage Bylaws Are Rubbish!

Every one knows what to do with their paper and cardboard but what about hazardous materials such as paint, pesticides and used moter oil. people don't know what to do with this stuff. They don't want to throw it in the garbage so they wined up storeing it in their shed or garage. The city tells you you must recycle and they give you a list of what you can and can not throw out in your garbge but they don't do a very good job of dealing with the hazzerdous waste.

In my job as a rubbish man a common situation that we come across is people moveing out of their houses call us to come get their trash and junk but find themselves stuck with all the old paint and oil they have been storing up. The city should make it easy to get rid of this stuff insted of being heavy handed with fines becouse the result is alot of hazzerdous waste being dumped down the drain or on the ground and it is a problem that effecs the entire comunity. We find ourselves telling almost every costomers were to take their oil and paint. The fact that nowbody knows what to do with this stuff proves that the city aproch to waste is ineffective and narrow minded.

Spring is Here!

Spring has arrived and everyone wants there rubbish gone right now! The phone has been ringing of the hook and its always the same story "I need it gone today" . When we get to the customers house the garbage emergency turns out to be a bunch of old junk that has been roting in the back yard or under the house and stuff from their basement that has been in boxes for years. My advise to the public is don't let junk clutter up your house. As soon as you don't need or want something get rid of it. Alot of people say to us as we are loading the truck "this is still good" or "it still works" . The thing is if you don't want it and you can't give it away or sell it then it's junk and it needs to go .

Is Recycling Necesary?

Yes recycling is necessary. A common misconception is that the only reason to recycle is to save room in the landfill. This is not true. There is enough room on the planet to bury all our garbage forever. One big problem with landfills is the methane gas created by the rotting garbage. Another is the chemicals that leach out of the garbage. Every town and city in the entire world has a garbage dump and some are huge. The gas screws up the atmosphere and the chemicals screw up the ground and water. This is one reason to reduce waste that is going to the landfill and recycle.

People Are Wastefull

I see it every day, people are very wasteful. It does not matter if i go to someones home, business or a construction site. Most of the garbage that they are paying me to take away is recyclable, reusable or stuff they didn't need in the first place. Most people don't even think about their garbage beyond taking it to the curb. Garbage is a huge industry worldwide that costs alot in terms of both money and the environment.