Seattle Utilities wants 150 bux for garbage... (rental, house, buy) - Washington (WA) -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

LucaBella · 10-18-2009, 12:56 PM

I just moved into a rental house, with 4 garbage cans in the basement.. 2 big recycle garbage cans, 1 little green food can, and a regular pure garbage can. I've been trying to get used to this new recycle/separate everything, cause aside from bottles and common recyclables, i'm not used to it.

So moving in Sept 1st, there was garbage already in my garage, like the garbage cans were already filled, didn't think anything of it. The following monday was labor day, and we didn't put garbage out thinking they weren't coming, so when they did, we put out a few things, for instance we had the food garbage in a plastic bag and the garbage man said he couldn't take it because it was in plastic. ok.

Next week we're ready, and have tons of broken down cardboard boxes, everything separated, things were kinda overflowing, some stuff fell out and the garbage men didn't take it all, not a problem. then the following weel I put out no garbage...

The week after that I put out the food garbage can, and the plain garbage can.

Yesterday I received a bill from the city of Seattle, normal utilities, but they want 67 bux for garbage collection from Sept 1st to December 1st, and then there are $38 dollar excess charges from the Labor day when we barely put anything out. Then another $38 dollar charge from the following week when we put everything we had out, all the cardboard. Then a $7.50 excess garbage charge, and a $10.00 set up fee. grand total $142 bux for garbage.

What is going on? Tomorrow is garbage day and I'm almost afraid to put anything out. What are the rules? What is excessive? where can i read about the big business that is Seattle garbage???

Ira500 · 10-18-2009, 01:03 PM

This might explain a little:

Seattle Public Utilities -- Garbage Can Rates (http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Garbage/GarbageatYourHouse/GarbageCanRates/index.htm - broken link)

LucaBella · 10-18-2009, 01:29 PM

Ira to the rescue again!

Thanks so much, I just wish I'd been told this, damn.

jessicazi · 10-18-2009, 02:26 PM

Could you ask the landlord to at least reimburse you for some of the extra charges?

LucaBella · 10-18-2009, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessicazi

Could you ask the landlord to at least reimburse you for some of the extra charges?

I plan to.... although I'm not so hopeful, heh.

I am trying to figure out what's going on though, ok.. I am being charged 67 for garbage for 3 months. What does that include? I don't understand how to minimize my costs, all it says is the more you recycle, the less you pay.

Does that mean if I put out only recycle bins on trash day I won't be charged? Do they weigh the garbage cans? I am at a loss.

right now I have 1 green food tote, 2 large recycle cans, & a 32 gallon garbage can. I don't understand what I was charged for. I don't understand what I will be charged for.

it looks like the 67 dollars breaks down to 22 bux a month for the 32 gallon trash can. So that means per week, I can only put out the one trash can... Do they weigh it? I guess the goal is to put as much as possible in the recycle cans, which are free? and then to have as little as possible in the 32 gallon garbage can.... correct?

jenlion · 10-18-2009, 07:47 PM

They don't weigh the trash can. If it fits and the lid shuts, you're good. Sometimes you get a really picky garbage collector who will ding you for "excess" if the lid doesn't shut all the way; sometimes you get a really lax one that doesn't mark it at all even if you have another can out. It's a little bit random.

But what you're paying for is all the recycling, one can of garbage, and one of food waste every week, with the lids shut. Recycling you can put out extra boxes for, within limits, without charge.

Since you have extra trash from moving, it might make sense to get a bigger trash can for a month so you can throw away the packing materials, then swap out for the smaller can if you have less trash after unpacking. They'll pro-rate to the day for when you have which can. They're very good at that.

Also, you can check your neighbors' cans for free space in the morning before the truck comes. That's risky, though, because if you cause the lid to stick up, they might get dinged! Once when the food/yard waste truck inexplicably didn't pick up my can when they drove by, I figured OK, no problem, I dragged it across the street in front of my neighbor's house and they picked it up when they went down the other side of the street. I didn't know then about the ding for extra cans out then -- oops! I still haven't mentioned it! We also have neighbors next door with 4 kids and they always have a TON of extra trash. We've had to ask them to be more careful to keep it in front of THEIR house; we got billed for it once. Ugh. Strange system here, but once you get it, it does make sense.

LucaBella · 10-18-2009, 08:40 PM

Really appreciate the info, Jen. Thanks so much.

I was paranoid for a little while, lol, I was like "I'm paying for stuff when I buy it, AND when I'm throwing it away? sheesh" i was eying some plastic takeout containers with anger, lol "don't know they it costs me!?!?!?"

I got it =]

Ira500 · 10-18-2009, 08:52 PM

Even better would be to recycle, food waste, etc to only have to put out a mini can.

LucaBella · 10-19-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ira500

Even better would be to recycle, food waste, etc to only have to put out a mini can.

yeah, you're right, well now that I know the deal, I will be more aggressive in my recycling... I'm just not used to it at all, it's hard to even think that separating banana peels from the plastic baggies could make a difference...

jenlion · 10-19-2009, 08:41 PM

I don't really get the impact of food composting, really. For starters, it's difficult in a split-level when I'm half a house and twelve stairs away from the outdoor compost bin. I have a two-year-old so I can't place a small can on the deck. And honestly, a few banana peels a week, random carrot peelings, the leftover chicken we didn't eat before it started to go bad... aren't those things going to decompose just fine in the landfill? The amount of crap I'd be doing to separate them, the smell, my husband f*ing it up, my kid or my dog getting into it... or trekking some teensy nasty pail outside to an outdoor bin through the months of cold, dark, wet weather to keep the above from making a mess? I just don't see the point.

Even the recycling is getting impossible. You're supposed to put clean stuff in the recycle bins, without bags. Well, nobody else that I live with will rinse ANYTHING before they put it in the pan. I know there are people out there with penises that will bother, but I don't happen to know any of them, so my recycling can is constantly sticky and nasty. I've tried putting recycling in a bag and dumping that bag into the outdoor bin, and then putting just the bag in the trash, but I've been dumped with a surprise diet dp one too many times now to do that anymore. It's impossible in the cold, wet dark to hold the lid open and shake a sticky bag into the bin without making a mess, usually all over me, so I just dump the indoor garbage pail now. I hose it out every so often, but in a week or two I find my son's papers glued to the button with diet doctor pepper.

In theory, this stuff is all great, but when you have a typical husband, it's just impossible. I'm not using one of my nag-points to increase recyling or composting by .00000000000023%. But if anybody has an actual tested, working solution that doesn't involve me getting dumped in sticky crap every few days, or the dog or the kid getting into compost or stinky chicken rotting in my kitchen or dragging a bucket outside every damn night, I'm all ears.