What's YOUR garbage cost?

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

nothing.. so far. It is included in city property tax.
But the new mayor is trying to "fix" the deficit the former mayor ran the city into. So there has been a trash/recycling collection fee proposed. If it goes through I will be getting a metal drum and burning when we are allowed. I already compost and recycle(when the guys decide to actually pick it up that is

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I don't know what we pay. We live in a townhouse community so it's figured into our rent.

My friend lives in the actual city near us (we're in the suburbs). They have to buy special trash bags for lawn waste that are really expensive, plus there is some sort of monthly fee for regular pickup. You also have to have a special trash can that the garbage truck can grip and pick up, but I assume that's provided with a request for service.

It sounds overly complicated to me. I can't wait to move to the country where I can have a little compost heap, a fire pit for nice, big bonfires, and few other rules and regulations about that sort of thing.

I do wish we had some sort of recycling program in this area. I'd pay to do my part to help the earth.

 

[Smoky73]

I am not for sure how big our trash can is, but they pick up every week and I pay about $82 every 3 months

 

[krackerhill]

We drive ours to the dump.......free but really stinky.

 

[JenniferJoIN]

Wow... we normally pay $20.00 a month (once a week pickup, I think the bag limit is like 14 or so) So it's $60.00 every three months, but they added a $10.00 fuel surcharge.

Some of you guys have big money trash-pick up areas!!!

 

[Stumpy]

Whoa! We pay $15.00 per month. It just went up from $12.00. I'd be burning a whole lot of stuff if I lived where you do.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

For those of you who choose to burn your trash, I hope that you are selective about which trash you burn. Plastic and foam should never be burned outdoors.
Here's some info from the EPA :

Most people who burn their waste do not realize how harmful this practice is to their health and to the environment. Current research indicates that backyard burning is far more harmful to our health than previously thought. It can increase the risk of heart disease, aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema, and cause rashes, nausea, or headaches. Backyard burning also produce harmful quantities of dioxins, a group of highly toxic chemicals that settle on crops and in our waterways where they eventually wind up in our food and affect our health. The Human Health page provides more information about the dangers of dioxin.

Currently, however, the largest quantified source of dioxin emissions is the uncontrolled burning of household trash (backyard burning). Studies have shown that only small amounts of chlorinated materials in waste are required to support dioxin formation when burning waste. This means that even when materials containing high levels of chlorine, such as PVC, are removed from household trash, burning the waste still creates dioxins because nearly all household waste contains trace amounts of chlorine.

Much of the dioxins created and released into the air through backyard burning settle on plants. These plants are, in turn, eaten by meat and dairy animals, which store the dioxins in their fatty tissue. People are exposed to dioxins primarily by eating meat, fish, and dairy products, especially those high in fat. Backyard burning occurs most commonly in rural farming areas where dioxin emissions can more easily be deposited on animal feed crops and grazing lands. These dioxins then accumulate in the fats of dairy cows, beef, poultry, and swine, making human consumption of these harmful chemicals difficult to avoid.

Dioxins are classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants (PBTs). PBTs are highly toxic, long-lasting substances that can build up in the food chain to levels that are harmful to human and ecosystem health. Persistent means they remain in the environment for extended periods of time. Bioaccumulative means their concentration levels increase as they move up the food chain. As a consequence, animals at the top of the food chain (such as humans) tend to have the highest dioxin concentrations in their bodies.

Dioxins are potent toxicants with the potential to produce a broad spectrum of adverse effects in humans. Dioxins can alter the fundamental growth and development of cells in ways that have the potential to lead to many kinds of impacts. These include adverse effects upon reproduction and development, suppression of the immune system, disruption of hormonal systems, and cancer.​

 

[speckledhen]

We take ours, no pickup. Costs about .09 per lb, weighed. However, last week their scales were not working and it was $1 for a large bag and .50 for a small bag. Back in civilization, I paid $24/mo for twice weekly pickup.

 

[sunnydee]

I have a dumpster and it cost me $68 per month. They come and dump it twice a month!

We also have road side pick up and can get "stickers" for our bags. The bags cannot be large (only small kichen bags) and not weigh over 20 lbs. Each sticker is $2.50!

Expensive.....I know.

 

[Redfeathers]

We pay $32.50 every other month, but our water bill here is double what we used to pay in our old town. We average $68.00 a month for water here.