Garbage collection vehicles make regular stops in each neighborhood, indicating their readiness by sounding a horn or ringing a bell. Residents then bring their waste to the car. Some collectors accept tips. Workers are employed by private garbage companies like https://www.perthrubbishremoval.com.au/ that contract with the city for trash and recycling services. They receive steady, regular raises and benefits like holidays, health insurance, and a pension.
How it works
Garbage collection (or rubbish collection as it is called in the UK) sees household waste collected from bins by local authority workers and taken away for recycling or disposal. This happens weekly or fortnightly depending on your area. Your local authority will send out emails or leave leaflets through your door telling you when your trash day is. It is important to check this timetable during holidays as garbage and recycling collections may vary.
Typically, waste is taken to a central rubbish transfer station where it is loaded into a larger vehicle for transport to a regional processing or disposal site. This may be an open-top trailer designed to hold several rubbish vehicles or a compactor-type station where waste is loaded into smaller closed containers. The emptied rubbish containers are then stacked in a truck and transported to the disposal site.
Garbage is picked up by the Department of Sanitation (DSNY). It is one of the few large cities that funds its trash collection entirely out of general tax revenues rather than charging a per-trash fee. This is not without controversy because it does not connect the amount of garbage that a resident produces to the cost they pay for rubbish removal and disposal.
In July, DSNY announced that it would be changing the times that residents can place their trash out for pickup. The goal is to drastically reduce the number of hours that refuse sits around, which will help prevent rodents from breeding in it. Residents will now be able to put out their trash two hours later than before. Bundled cardboard, which does not attract rats, can be put out an hour earlier if it stays in a secure container with a lid.
What you can put in your bin
There are a number of things you can and cannot put in your rubbish, recycling or garden waste bins. Please make sure your bin is only filled up to the level where the lid can still close. Overfilled bins can cause a mess and the crew will not collect them. It’s also important not to put any items that aren’t allowed in the bins or boxes into them as this can cause problems when we recycle or compost them. For example, you can’t put hard plastics that scrunch easily into a ball, such as chip packets and plastic bags into your recycling bin. These go in your garbage bin instead.
We have developed a handy guide to help you know what goes in each bin. You can find it here and use it to help you reduce the amount of waste you produce.
If you have a shared bin or individual bins and caddies, you must keep the lid closed at all times (except when placing rubbish inside) to prevent the spread of any germs or unwanted insects that may be found within it. Leaving bins open can result in waste and smells impacting on the community and may lead to fines for residents who do not follow their duty of care.
If you are doing some DIY at home and require a large quantity of building materials for disposal, then you can discard up to one cubic yard (two full construction wheelbarrows or (2) 96 gallon toters) of building waste weekly on household garbage collection day. The waste must be contained in a sturdy, weatherproof container that is clearly marked as your own.
When it should be put out
Garbage should be placed out on the curb by 7pm the night before collection, but can be put out two hours earlier if it is contained in a container that keeps it closed. Any bags of rubbish that are left out before this time may be considered fly-tipping and could result in a fine.
New York City is taking steps to drastically reduce the number of hours trash is sitting on its streets after being collected. The city’s Department of Sanitation says it will push back the time garbage, recycling and organics can be placed out at the curb. Currently, buildings and residents are allowed to place their refuse out for collection starting at 4 pm the day before a scheduled pickup, which is the earliest set-out time of any major American city. The new rule, which will take effect on April 1, would move the start time to 8 pm. The move comes as the city struggles with a growing rat problem caused by trash bags that invite rodents.
The change will affect nearly a million households and businesses. In addition to reducing the amount of time rubbish is on the street, it will also help save money by reducing the cost of waste disposal. Currently, the city spends about $2 million annually to haul away garbage from its streets. The city hopes the shift will cut that number by about half.
A similar shift will be implemented in the city’s recycling programs, which will see collection days pushed back as well. This will give the city more opportunities to sort and process recyclable materials. It will also mean more recycling will be taken out of the city’s landfills.
For residents who are unable to fit all of their rubbish into their grey bin or refuse sacks, the council offers a fortnightly collection service using sacks. This can be arranged for free by calling the council or visiting its website. The council also has a dedicated page where it updates people about disruptions to rubbish collections due to bad weather.
How much it costs
The cost of rubbish collection varies a lot, depending on the service and where you live. In general, you’ll pay more if your rubbish is bigger or more frequent. Some services also charge extra for certain items, such as fridges or mattresses. Others will include a set volume allowance in their quotes and charge more if you go over that.
Most councils have a website where you can see their charges. You can also ask your local authority for more information. Private rubbish removal companies are often cheaper than councils and will charge based on how much waste you have. However, it’s important to remember that you should always compare quotes and read the fine print before choosing a company.
Generally, household rubbish is collected once a week. However, you can hire a skip for larger amounts of waste, or use a recycling centre. Recycling centres often have small entry fees, while landfill sites can have large ones.
In New York City, residents pay a fee that covers the cost of collecting and disposing of municipal trash. This fee, known as the residential garbage rate, is included in water and sewage bills. In addition, residents are encouraged to recycle and reuse whenever possible.
The city spent $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2013 to collect and dispose of trash and public garbage. The majority of that expense was financed from general city revenue.
While it is a big expense, New York City is unique among the largest cities in the U.S. and five largest cities in developed countries in that it does not charge a variable garbage fee to its residents.
In other cities, variable garbage fees are used to encourage recycling, provide a stable source of funding for new solid waste infrastructure and to offset the cost of a fixed rate.
The Bloomberg Administration proposed a variation on the fee model in 2012, which would have charged large non-profits variable rates based on their waste generation. But opposition from the City Council blocked implementation.
