Trash services (Reston, Fairfax, Washington: home, landscaping, neighborhood)

[lqda4]

What company are you using and how do you like them?

I need to start a new service. Previously had American. Looks like AAA (now aka Republic) has gone downhill according to online reviews. I guess I should stick with American?

[boyd888]

You will find people that hate each company equally. Think about what they do: they pick up your trash. Only people that had a bad experience are going to go online to complain - who would write a positive review of trash service? These companies service thousands of people in the NOVA area and most have no issues with them. Just go with whoever is cheaper.

[airjay75]

I use American and have no complaints. The one thing you may want to consider is which day they pick up what. In my neighborhood, both American and AAA pick up trash on Mondays and Thursdays, and yard debris on Wednesdays. However, AAA picks up their recycling on Mondays while American picks up their recycling on Thursdays. I know some people prefer AAA so that they can just put both their trash and recycling out on Monday and not worry about it the rest of the week. You can do this with American too, it will just be on Thursday, and some people find doing that mid-week to be a little less convenient. When I was shopping AAA was more expensive but said they would match the price of any competitor - that sort of turned me off so I just went with American.

[mlv311]

Started off with AAA Trash and switched to American over a year ago. No complaints. They are less expensive and the service is fine. I spent 7 mths with AAA Trash getting a billing error corrected. Once my contract was up, I didn't want anything to do with them anymore.

[sequon]

Does anyone go to Fairfax landfill to dump trash without having a company for curbside pickup?

We used to have the county take care of the trash pick-up at the last place we lived. Our current home is outside of that area and we need to find our own company for trash pick-up. After reading some reviews, we feel that those companies are usually more expensive than the county (I guess that makes sense because that's a business), and their customer service is horrible in general. We wonder if this idea of going without the company can be viable... Does anyone have any experience?

As far as the fees at the landfill goes, it seems reasonable: 1-5 bags for $6. We expect about 2 or 3 trips to the landfill which isn't too far from us. Then approx. $200 or less per year. That's appealing. Also we live fairly close to one of the recycling drop-off stations. But actually, we are more so inclined to this to avoid possible horrible customer service---I've been so tired of dealing with bad customer services here and there...

By "bad customer service" I mean, price gouging or unreasonable fees--such as cancellation fee, annual trash bin cleanup fee (what the heck?), fee to replace the trash bin (even after it was damaged by their staff)... that kind of crap... Can anyone share their experience with those companies.. AAA or Republic... good, OK, bad, horrible?

[Nancy in Nokomis]

When we lived there we had AAA. Then American came knocking on the door asking us to switch with a lower rate. So we asked AAA to give us a lower rate and they did. Negotiate.

We had not problem with AAAs service. Neighbors had American and they used to speed so fast down the street we were scared they were going to run someone over.

[boyd888]

Originally Posted by sequon

Does anyone go to Fairfax landfill to dump trash without having a company for curbside pickup?

Actually I do because living alone I don't make that much trash so trash service is not worth the $35 a month I was quoted. Nearly anything that will smell can go down a garbage disposal and recycling can be dropped off for free at a number of places in NOVA.

The people at the dump are actually very nice and you can be in and out in 10 minutes if there isn't much of a line. You drop off your bags at an outside dumpster separate from where all the garbage trucks go.

If you're gonna have to make more than two trips a month to the dump you are probably better off just paying for trash service though.

[kutra11]

I am with AAA for the last 5 years. No complaints so far. They come when they are supposed to and pick up trash like they are supposed to. Simple!

[car54]

Originally Posted by boyd888

Actually I do because living alone I don't make that much trash so trash service is not worth the $35 a month I was quoted. Nearly anything that will smell can go down a garbage disposal and recycling can be dropped off for free at a number of places in NOVA.

The people at the dump are actually very nice and you can be in and out in 10 minutes if there isn't much of a line. You drop off your bags at an outside dumpster separate from where all the garbage trucks go.

If you're gonna have to make more than two trips a month to the dump you are probably better off just paying for trash service though.

One thing about going to the landfill....it can be risky. My last trip cost me a $150 for a new tire. I know it happened there because when I left, I heard a clicking noise not present earlier. I pulled over and immediately spotted a huge nail in one of my tires. And it's not the first time it's happened.

Those construction debris trucks drop all kinds of sharp things on the pavement.

The landfill knows it's a problem because they have a tractor with a magnetized bar that they occasionally drive around trying to pick the stuff up.

If you go to the landfill regularly, it's only a matter of time until you ruin a tire.

[ICS67]

Well, here's an interesting official statistic courtesy of the Fairfax County Consumer Afairs Office. If you go to their web site to see how many complaints they have received about various local businesses, click on the category "Housing - Service", which includes home repairs, landscaping, lawn service, contractors, trash companies, etc. Of 463 companies listed in this category, care to guess who has the most complaints? Yes, we have a winner! (drum roll please):

AAA Recycling & Trash, with 48 complaints

Not that the alternatives might be that much better. Both American and Virginia Trash Service have 27 complaints apiece. With one exception, nobody else even comes close to these paragons of customer service.

The reports can be viewed at Complaint History Lookup - Fairfax County, Virginia

Oh, and Boyd888, I have written positive reviews of my trash service, Reston Trash, both here on CityData and on the Washington Consumer Checkbook. If I dump on AAA, so to speak, it's only fair to likewise give praise where it's due.