Staged Garbage

I recommend a metal can, and some velcro straps and/or bungee cords. It keeps our raccoons out.

When we were in SO I went with a bungee over the top of the can. The raccoons never did figure it out but I had to replace the bungee once or twice a year when they got through the outer covering and started to chew the actual elastics inside.

I just called Public Works. As far as they know, it is backyard pickup. The town doesn't want garbage curbside because it looks unsightly. All these years and I just followed what my predecessors and neighbors did. Learn something new all the time.

rowerg said:

ctrzaska- from time to time I drag my can out to the end of my driveway. Usually because I feel guilty about the volume or quality of garbage. We have a family of raccoons that essentially and often perforate the bags. Its a pain for the guys to navigate that mess to the truck, but when the can is at the end I feel a little better about adding to their unpleasant job.

That I can understand.

tjohn said:

I can't leave my house on Monday mornings. The offense to my eyes brought about by the multitudes of recycling containers is more than I can bear. Some people don't even use real recycling containers - they just use any plastic tub that pleases them. Honestly, for the taxes we pay, we can do better.

In all fairness, and I am the first one to lament dopey Townwide rules, recycling bins should be made mandatory. On my block, we're taking up a collection for the one guy who builds the leaning tower of recyclables instead of buying a $30 recycling container.

Got home from running errands today to find a single loose large kitchen size bag left in the street in front of the same tree where I spotted a large pile of such bags on the last pick-up date. I assume the bags were staged again but cannot say for sure since I was away from the house all morning. A call to WM with an explanation that we were due for heavy rain later in the day and the bag was positioned just uphill of the storm drain (all true) resulted in immediate pick up. It started raining heavily a very short time after the lone bag was picked up. Customer service proved excellent but they are still in violation of their contract.

They aren't supposed to stage the garbage, period.

I know. They have been doing it all month on my street. Nancy Adams was supposed to bring this matter up at the Committee meeting today which deals with public works issues among others. I am waiting to see if that accomplishes anything. As stated in my OP I have followed up with public works through e-mails, service requests, and telephone conversations/messages. I would rather not see a repeat of the situation a few years back when this took a few years to finally correct. As someone stated above, this is a problem even for WI customers since garbage can be staged in any convenient location, not just in front of the residences of WM customers.

Perseverance said:

ellenlynn said:

I always assumed Maplewood garbage pick up was from the front curb side. Interesting. Most of the residents on my street put it curbside. All my life (a long life here in Maplewood) the garbage has always been curbside. I have to check this out especially if we are breaking the law.

Same here! Granted I just moved here but everyone on my street seems to put their garbage cans out front.

Are you sure you're not referencing (i) the weekly recycling pickup on Mondays, (ii) the regularly-scheduled garden waste pickups that you can opt into with your service provider for extra fee, or (iii) the monthly bulk pickup option? Those are all leave-at-curbside deals. However, regular bi-weekly garbage pick-up is not, and I've never observed putting that out curbside in Maplewood.

I timed them this AM. They staged at about 7:20 AM, and the truck was on our street to pick up abt 8:10 AM.

After a few weeks of not staging, they are at it again. This morning they staged at 7:30, and the truck arrived at 8:15-8:20.

Sometimes you have to bring your garbage to the street. We had a lot of work done at our house and the driveway torn up. No where else to put it but in front for a couple of pickups .

tomcat said:

After a few weeks of not staging, they are at it again. This morning they staged at 7:30, and the truck arrived at 8:15-8:20.

I was not home most of Monday so can't determine whether this was true on my street. If you did witness a return to staging, you might want to report it to the town officials who are most closely monitoring the situation: Nancy Adams is the point person for this on the TC; Robert Roe is the lead person in the town administration.

I'm reviving this thread because I've noticed staging going on in front of my house with Waste Management recently.  I called to complain to Waste Management.  Was there any followup from the TC on this issue?  

Yes.  At the time, the TC instructed the town attorney to send a letter to Waste Management.  The practice has since stopped in my neighborhood.  Try getting the town Health Department involved.  This is a public health issue.

Edited to add:  see my above comment for TC and Health Department contacts who were helpful when I raised the issue.

Thanks for your prompt update Joan and I'm glad it's no longer a problem for you!  I just emailed Robert Roe and Nancy Adams about this issue and I'm hoping for some follow up from them.  It's extremely disappointing that Waste Management would continue this practice after the town attorney has contacted them.  I hope the call to WM will suffice but I feel that the TC and Health Dept. should be made aware that this continues despite their efforts. 

ETA:  Bob Roe was great and responded within hours!  Is no one else having this issue?