Bulk Item Disposal

[ShallowsNole]

It's not that far to the landfill. Most of my coworkers drive it daily. My spouse often has to drive it several times in a day. 30 minutes to DFS plus another 10 or so north.

 

[NotDeadYet]

It's not that far to the landfill. Most of my coworkers drive it daily. My spouse often has to drive it several times in a day. 30 minutes to DFS plus another 10 or so north.

It's a 75 mile roundtrip for me. Takes most of the morning, uses a few gallons of gas. Fortunately, I have access to a truck. Without that I would have to pay someone for a half day's work.
I guess your spouse has spare time, spare gas $ and flexible work hours?
We cannot have a transfer station here in SoWal because??
We cannot get curbside pickup for a fee because??
We can only safely dispose of hazardous waste twice a year because??
Did we ever get an accounting of the sales tax revenue that we were told would pay for our trash pickup?

 

[Gidget]

Mostly it will get dumped or left in someone's yard if they don't have the means to transport it or only transport it so far.

Even on my dirt road in rural LA we had days for old appliances and mattresses w/no fee.

I am sure that the service will be offered at some near point in the future.

Thanks so much for discussing this w/me and giving me info.

G

 

[ShallowsNole]

It's a 75 mile roundtrip for me. Takes most of the morning, uses a few gallons of gas. Fortunately, I have access to a truck. Without that I would have to pay someone for a half day's work.
I guess your spouse has spare time, spare gas $ and flexible work hours?
We cannot have a transfer station here in SoWal because??
We cannot get curbside pickup for a fee because??
We can only safely dispose of hazardous waste twice a year because??
Did we ever get an accounting of the sales tax revenue that we were told would pay for our trash pickup?

My spouse has very little spare time, thank you, and often he does not know exactly when his spare time will be.
Many of the trips he makes are for work, because the administration building happens to be very close to the landfill. And of course, that is not on our dime. But I cannot count the times that he parks the WCSO vehicle after work and then heads BACK up there to tend to his grandmother, as all of his family lives north of the landfill. And I have been north four times this week - once to landfill and back, once to do grandma's grocery shopping and twice to Walton High for a basketball tournament.

I am sorry that I do not share your angst. Obviously all the things that you stated above that we need, I would like as it would be convenient for me too. But I still consider SoWal fortunate to get household garbage pickup twice a week. Remember, NoWal residents only get it once a week.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I don't think angst is quite the right word. What I really would like to see is a rethinking of the entire trash disposal problem, and my questions were a few of the ones that might point us in that direction, which could ultimately result in resource conservation of all sorts. In previous discussions on this forum, quite a few people in SoWal were willing to swap one of the twice-weekly pickups of household trash for a pickup of recyclables. I have to say, I am quite bothered by the fact that I often end up with any stuff other than recyclables and compostable material, but as long as that remains the case for many of us, I'm in favor of efficiency.
While "suck it up and deal with it, be grateful for what you have" has some validity as an attitude towards life's problems, it also creates an inertia that needs to be overcome before things can change. It isn't just convenience that I'm thinking about.

 

[beachmouse]

Next time the county contract with Waste Management is up, it shouldn't be that big of a deal or extra expense to have scheduled quarterly bulk trash days.

We (unincorporated southern Okaloosa in a WM franchise area) have bulk trash once a week as well as 2x week trash, one weekly recycling, and a bonus weekly yard waste pick-up. I've never lived in a place that was so scarily comprehensive about trash collection.

 

[scooterbug44]

Isn't it pretty typical that if you have a hazardous item or large item (appliance etc.) you have to take it to a designated place like a dump or pay $50-100 for waste management to get it?

An hour to drop off a fridge every so often isn't extreme IMO and you can get a ton picked up or into a construction dumpster w/ minimal effort.

P.S. people put crap in their yard/dump it somewhere because they are lazy slobs, not because of lack of facilities

 

[ShallowsNole]

I don't think angst is quite the right word. What I really would like to see is a rethinking of the entire trash disposal problem, and my questions were a few of the ones that might point us in that direction, which could ultimately result in resource conservation of all sorts. In previous discussions on this forum, quite a few people in SoWal were willing to swap one of the twice-weekly pickups of household trash for a pickup of recyclables. I have to say, I am quite bothered by the fact that I often end up with any stuff other than recyclables and compostable material, but as long as that remains the case for many of us, I'm in favor of efficiency.
While "suck it up and deal with it, be grateful for what you have" has some validity as an attitude towards life's problems, it also creates an inertia that needs to be overcome before things can change. It isn't just convenience that I'm thinking about.

I can be on board with all of those things, as well as what Beachmouse said. We go north frequently; we also haul cans to Freeport, paper and plastic to the recycle bin at PWUMC, and are starting a compost pile. And I am definitely in favor of anything to keep people from dumping in the woods, which IS something I deal with nearly every time I walk my dog and for which there is NO excuse. People who have the means to drive their old appliances, mattresses, et al and dump them on the trails near my home also have the means to go to the landfill.

I'm sorry I crawled you earlier; I just have issues with the thinking that NoWal is another planet, which is the point that I felt was being made. I apparently only see what I want to see when I SoWal early in the morning and late at night. :roll:

 

[Gidget]

Isn't it pretty typical that if you have a hazardous item or large item (appliance etc.) you have to take it to a designated place like a dump or pay $50-100 for waste management to get it?

An hour to drop off a fridge every so often isn't extreme IMO and you can get a ton picked up or into a construction dumpster w/ minimal effort.

P.S. people put crap in their yard/dump it somewhere because they are lazy slobs, not because of lack of facilities

I agree because even when we did have bulk pickup people still dumped on our road!!

But of course, it would be nice to have a day set aside.

OR neighborhood folk could each throw in a couple of bucks and get a dumpster and have spring/fall clean up day. It wouldn't cost much at all, and the spirit of the communal task would be wonderful - imo.

Thanks everyone for such great info and opinions.

G