trash pickup not enough (San Antonio, Anton: fit in, how much, buy)

[Emmie2]

Am I the only one who has trouble with this new trash pickup? Once a week for garbage just isn't enough. (The other pickup is just for recyclables.)
I always have more garbage than the garbage can holds. Does anyone know of any solutions for this? Is there anywhere on the Northwest Side of town to dump garbage? Will they pick up extra bags if they are not in the can?
Thanks!

[SA08]

We had a problem with it when we first moved in due to the packing materials & such. We've gotten used to it now & have gotten good at smashing things down & really using the recycle bin. We didn't have the option to recycle where we used to live so it was an adjustment. We just had extra bags of trash every week for a while & never found a place to take it. Hubby found a place to take cardboard & paper but not trash.

[sapphire]

Bring it to my house. Sheesh--we actually skip a week sometimes since there is just not enough trash to fill that huge thing. Three people only, though--I guess if you have a large family it would be a problem. Plus, you can put so much in the recycling bin that it really cuts down on the brown bin. Good luck, since the city website only suggests that you "save it for next week"--not very helpful if you're having the problem every week. They will not pick up "extra bags".

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by Emmie2

Am I the only one who has trouble with this new trash pickup? Once a week for garbage just isn't enough. (The other pickup is just for recyclables.)
I always have more garbage than the garbage can holds. Does anyone know of any solutions for this? Is there anywhere on the Northwest Side of town to dump garbage? Will they pick up extra bags if they are not in the can?
Thanks!

Have you checked with whoever picks up your garbage on how many cans you can have? Tiger will allow you to use your own cans, and will give you a decal for one so they know to pick them up. I didn't like the one huge can as it didn't fit in my garage well, so I just kept using the two 55 gallon cans I had and put the decal on one of them. It works a lot better for me.

Oh, and Tiger will take almost anything you leave out. I commonly put large bags alongside my cans and they have no problem taking them. They are good like that!

And please don't partake in the San Antonio tradition of dumping your large trash items in remote places! Littering, especially old couches and matresses, is a sad epidemic here...

Cheers! M2

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Have you checked with whoever picks up your garbage on how many cans you can have? Tiger will allow you to use your own cans, and will give you a decal for one so they know to pick them up. I didn't like the one huge can as it didn't fit in my garage well, so I just kept using the two 55 gallon cans I had and put the decal on one of them. It works a lot better for me.

Oh, and Tiger will take almost anything you leave out. I commonly put large bags alongside my cans and they have no problem taking them. They are good like that!

And please don't partake in the San Antonio tradition of dumping your large trash items in remote places! Littering, especially old couches and matresses, is a sad epidemic here...

Cheers! M2

It sounds as though the OP is within city limits and does not have much of a choice as far as trash service providers go.

[AFMike]

There are 5 of us and once a week is plenty...

[ashbeeigh]

Call 311. I can't find the phone number right now, but I know that the city will pick up your trash every once in a while if you have a large amount...like boxes or moving materials.

I wish we had the monster trash can. I can't stand dragging out 2 or 3 regular trash cans once a week...and then dealing with the erratic schedules or the garbage pick-up. I can't wait for the day that the automated trash cans make it our way. I feel like we're the only ones left (they're even on the other side of the highway....)

[SilverCreek78250]

I think a lot of the adjustment is getting used to recycling things. For us, the new CoSA program has worked great and in fact, my recycle bin is usually full where the garbage bin goes out half-full or less each week. Each family has different needs but really, if you take the time to consider what you are tossing into the trash can that could easily be put into the recycle bin, it may even out for you.

[Chaka]

I'd agree with SilverCreek - look at what the trash consists of, and you may find you can recycle a substantial amount of it. Also consider what can be re-used, and think also about what you buy (how much packaging is involved).

Granted we're only a family of 3, and we're not on the automated system yet, but we have a regular old fashioned garbage can and unless we have a party, we can get away with only putting it out once every 2 weeks and a lot of that tends to be construction debris. The new recycle program is amazing, you can put so much stuff in. We also compost, so a lot of our kitchen waste goes into the compost.

[catriona]

Compost what you can, recycle what you can and see if that cuts down on what you put in the trash. We are not on the once-a-week cycle yet, but will be soon. We still don't quite fill up two regular garbage cans. Most of our trash seems to come from cardboard boxes used for food items. These are easily broken down and put in the recycling bin. What ever you do, please don't find a place to dump it.