Could You Get By Without Garbage Pickup?

Could you make it if your city stopped picking up your garbage every week?

Many people would be appalled at the thought of going to bi-monthly trash pickup. But this is a question the city of Seattle is considering, at least theoretically.

According to MSN, the city, which is will known to be progressive when it comes to the environment, is striving to reduce the amount of garbage it collects from residents each week. There are already comprehensive recycling guidelines, and residents can even save their food scraps for compost, which is picked up weekly. The city has banned plastic foam takeout containers and plastic bags, and residents are required to recycle cardboard.

However, the city states that if they went to bi-monthly trash pickup, it would save $6 million per year. And, it could potentially keep 1,400 tons of trash out of the landfill each year.

City officials are hoping that every-other-week pickup would force residents to recycle even more than they do now. It would also force them to be more thoughtful about purchases. Seattle’s goal is to reach a 60% recycle rate, and officials are hoping this would help them reach this goal soon. Already the city diverts 125,000 tons of food waste out of landfills with their compost collection, and their recycle rate is currently at 53%.

Portland, a few hours south of Seattle, adopted a bi-monthly trash pick up years ago. And officials state that garbage collection has dropped by 30% since then.

Personally, I wish my town would move to a bi-monthly pick up. I think that’s a smart way to force people to think about what could be recycled, instead of easily tossing it into the trash. One or two months of overflowing garbage cans would be enough to get them to change their habits!

What about you? Could you get by with bi-monthly garbage pick up? Do you think it’s a good idea?