Waste Disposal Monopoly/Scam (transporting, buy, construction)

[Kage72]

Aren't our taxes supposed to go to pay for most the the public services? We pay city taxes in our paychecks and when we purchase anything. Yet, the city deems to charge over $8 for each trash pickup to every single household. And, it is not like you have any options with this. It's a monopoly!! You pay us $9 a pickup no matter what? No trash this week? You still pay.

Yet, they have the audacity to ask us to separate and semi-clean our recyclables and put them in a separate container for them. We used to be able to put out as many bags of trash as we had for the week. NOW, you are given 1 container to limit the amount of trash one can throw away. And, coincidentally enough, the trash container is SMALLER than the recycle and yardwork bins. So, they expect you to have more recyclables than trash?

My mother has been a devote recycler since the process started. Taking the time to sort out any recyclables and even rinse off when needed. But, is there ANY incentive for this? No!

Although recently, upon discussions over the disposal monopoly, my mother has decided to STOP recycling altogether. She has decided to refuse to help a system that both offers no incentives and overcharges for a monopolized service. She used to pull stuff out of the trash to recycle. But, I think I have finally convinced her that she should not be helping those that are screwing her. So, we will no longer be recycling ANYTHING anymore.

I implore other people to stop helping an overpriced monopolized system.

[Full-Blooded American]

Excellent post. Indeed, from Villar on down it's one big scam, and with all the low IQ types coming here these days it's all the easier to get away with these injustices just as it is in the typical third world nation.

[edelweiss]

Have you ever been to the dump?? Or to a landfill? Would you like to go there once a week and haul your own rubbish all the time or pay someone a few bucks to take it once a week for you? I'm not saying there aren't flaws in the system, but is it really that hard to stick your cardboard box in the blue can instead of the black one? Geesh!

[LoneStarJerry]

Why should the trash company be responsible to separate the recycled materials?

They are picking them up and transporting them for you, I think that's good enough.

[Kage72]

Originally Posted by edelweiss

Have you ever been to the dump?? Or to a landfill? Would you like to go there once a week and haul your own rubbish all the time or pay someone a few bucks to take it once a week for you? I'm not saying there aren't flaws in the system, but is it really that hard to stick your cardboard box in the blue can instead of the black one? Geesh!

Yes, I've been to the dump many times when my father worked construction. Not sure what it has to do with this. I have a choice if i goto the dump, the dump doesn't charge me every week whether i use it or not. The city does. You go outta town for 3 month, they will still charge for for waste disposal service you don't use.

But, one of main aspects to this is forced monopoly they have. You don't have a choice whether you want to use the service. You can't pool with a neighbor for efficiency.

The fact that the trash bin is smaller than the other 2 bins just adds insult to injury. Why? Why not make them all the same size? Wouldn't it make more sense to use a uniform size container? But, it seems like they deliberately make the black bin(trash) smaller to FORCE the use of the other 2 bins. It's all trash to me. Why should I divide it up? If THEY wanna recycle something, they can divide it. Or at least provide SOME incentive for people to do it besides insulting them with this system.

So, it's not that it's a big deal to divide out obvious recyclables. Like i said, we have been doing it forever. But, I see no reason at all to HELP a system that is ripping me off. My rates keep going up as my waste disposal limits get smaller.

[Kage72]

Originally Posted by j760

Why should the trash company be responsible to separate the recycled materials?

They are picking them up and transporting them for you, I think that's good enough.

Why should I? Typically IF i recycle something it has a recycle value. Is the city giving ANY incentive to help them make recycle money? Like i said above, it's all trash to me. If the city wants to separate out recyclable to make money on, then yes, they should do it themselves. If i put my empty water bottles in the bin is the city gonna pay the 5 cent CRV i paid?

And yes, they are picking up and transporting for you.... Whether you want them to or not... and charging you.

[MisterDuke]

I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is about. You have a piece of trash and you decide which bin to put it in. Is it really that difficult?

How can you not have any garbage in the course of a week? Are you one of those people who piles up all their garbage in their house?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by MisterDuke

I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is about. You have a piece of trash and you decide which bin to put it in. Is it really that difficult?

How can you not have any garbage in the course of a week? Are you one of those people who piles up all their garbage in their house?

I think some people like to complain. Seriously, its a government service that's probably inefficient as hell but what are you going to do, dig a hole and bury it in the back yard? Oh, and the city charges you the same amount for sewer service whether you do your business once a week or 5 times a day. What's up with that?

[Kage72]

The main thing that irritates me is that it IS a monopoly. You have zero options. Which, i could tolerate if i felt they were only charging enough to sustain the operation. But, they have to be making a HUGE profit at the rates they are charging. So, to have a city run monopoly that overcharges is what drives me crazy.

It used to be, just put as much trash as you have. Now, they have spent millions of dollars to upgrade their trucks(or buy new ones) and buy millions of new containers to limit the amount you can throw away. And, who pays for this? We do. So, they have spent all this money, passed on the expense to us, to both impose new restrictions and encourages us to help them sort. I love paying more to get less.

The added insult of a smaller trash bin is just a slap in the face. They expect you to have more recyclables/yard rubbish than actual trash ea week? And i realize they. If they make your trash bin small, you will be somewhat forced to use the other bins in order to have enough room for your trash. So, we are now spending more money to pay for a system that is much more inconvenient.

Just gotta love how small government works. In some room some guys decided on this great expense to pass on to the people that would inconvenience them more. But, they could now make some recycling money back!! Just funny how they truly could care less about the consumers. They ONLY think about themselves and ways to boost their budget. Screw the people. Which is why this monopoly is wrong.

Monopolies in general are against the law. You can't control every aspect of an industry and overcharge for it. Shoot, the government forced Microsoft and AT&T to break up because they were deemed monopolies, even though there are alternatives to their services. You have no options/alternatives here. They own the industry and you are forced to pay whatever they want.

[edelweiss]

Aside from your whole platform of the alleged monopoly, don't you feel you have a certain level of responsibility to recycle? I'm no environmentalist, but recycling is so easy, you just do it until it becomes second nature.

Maybe instead of whining about not having an incentive for your pocketbook, you can think of the preservation of landfill space for future generations as a means of motivation for you to use your blue and green bins?