Get your compostable bags or your yard clippings won't get picked up (Houston: for sale, live)

[travelguy_73]

When I lived in Binghamton, NY, during college, residents were required to put their regular trash in clear, town-emblem bags for collection. That way, they could see if you were throwing away something that could be recycled (there was no automated collection). I think they would refuse to take your trash if they saw recycled materials in the trash bags, though I'm not sure in practice the trash guys cared all that much. And this was back in the mid-90's!

So with that memory haunting me, having to buy these special city-emblem bags just for lawn debris really isn't a big deal. Considering half of my neighbors don't even bother with recycle bins at all, the city really needs to do most everything it can to help us keep our landfills in good shape for our kids.

[houston-nomad]

Hey, I remember those Binghamton bags! I was there in the 90's, too. I figured that by charging you so much for the trash bags, they were incentivizing recycling. The less you throw away, the less it cost you.

So far we have never had to bag yard waste. We either mulch it, compost it, or leave it in a big pile on the day they pick up yard waste unbagged. Plus, can't you just put it loose in your city trash can?

[Oskar_Z28]

I have alot of tropical plants in my backyard that grow like crazy, and have to trim them back quite a bit during spring / summer. I've been bagging all that so I don't have to wait a month for heavy garbage / tree waste pick up. I really do not want to have a pile of rotting vegitation sitting in my back yard, so I guess I'll have to suck it up and pay for those new bags. Or kill all my plants and just put grass back there (like 90% of homes in Houston).

I guess it's good for the environment, but surely these bags could cost less - paying $1 per bag is little high, but I have no chioce.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Hey, I remember those Binghamton bags! I was there in the 90's, too. I figured that by charging you so much for the trash bags, they were incentivizing recycling. The less you throw away, the less it cost you.

Small world! Found this on the Binghamton site:
From residents new to the area.... Why do we have to use official City Bags for our garbage?

When recycling started in 1991, the City eliminated the tipping fee tax included on everyone's property tax bill that was based solely on assessment. Instead, the City went to the bag (user fee) system, which charges residents for the amount of garbage they actually generate.

Is recycling really necessary and effective?

Most definitely. Since the inception of the recycling program in 1990, over 130,000 tons of material has been diverted from the County Landfill, from the City of Binghamton alone. This has saved the City over $5,000,000 in tipping fees.

Originally Posted by Oskar_Z28

I have alot of tropical plants in my backyard that grow like crazy, and have to trim them back quite a bit during spring / summer. I've been bagging all that so I don't have to wait a month for heavy garbage / tree waste pick up. I really do not want to have a pile of rotting vegitation sitting in my back yard, so I guess I'll have to suck it up and pay for those new bags. Or kill all my plants and just put grass back there (like 90% of homes in Houston).

I guess it's good for the environment, but surely these bags could cost less - paying $1 per bag is little high, but I have no chioce.

I keep the tropical plant clippings behind the detached garage between heavy trash pickup. It's not ideal, but that space is pretty unusable anyways. I think most everyone has a hidden part of their yard that is good for hiding things .

[dmlph]

I bought the compostable bags, filled them, place them at the curb. The garbage collectors ignore them.

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by Oskar_Z28

I read Chronicle this morning and then looked at the link on City of Houston website.

City of Houston eGovernment Center

I guess I can't use the trashbags I just bought at Costco to bag my yard trimmings, and have to go to Wal Mart to get new "green" bags. I hate Wal Mart!

Quit bagging all together. Every lawn and garden show in Texas will tell you that you need a mulching lawn mower and let the clippings mulch the grass.

Just sayin'...

Ronnie

[crone]

Most northern towns stopped picking up grass clippings 15-20 years ago. We never bagged our grass in St.Louis In Dallas we purchased bags to put stuff that could be composted at the grocery or at city parks. They were cheaper at the parks. When one considers the amount of grass that goes into landfills, it has got to be ginormous. Governments can save bundles by not picking up stuff that we can compost. Our leaf blower will shred things so as not to take up much space. In one town we lived in, the whole block got together and purchased a small shredder. We just set it up one weekend a month and everybody trimmed their bushes and smallish tree limbs, took it home and composted it. If anybody had a big job to do, they just checked it out like a library book. The block also bought a roto rooter thing. Everybody used it once a year. Never a drain problem.

[Chh2]

Originally Posted by SteveArmy

does it mean grass clippings get dumped somewhere else?

The likely have for a long time, where I used to live in Florida its been that way since '95 where most all yard waste pickups go to a mulching center, and it's always been a separate pickup day. Like Tues/Thur - Yard/Reg Trash. It just sounds like a way the city is now trying to remove the bags from the equation on mulching and composting yard waste as well as increasing overall awareness. Good move imo.

And those with an issue with the added fee can choose to mulch or compost it themselves, further reducing the burden to provide the services.

[Chh2]

EDIT: Accidental dbl post.

[Oskar_Z28]

The bags are not that expensive - $0.50 each, and they smell like soy sauce.