You Know You Are Old When

[masscity]

I have two Auto Mechanic Shops in the nearby village that burn used oil for heat. They will take anything I have.

 

[WinterDeere]

People are willing to spend $5-10 on gas to drive here to save the cost of a tag.

If run anything like our local government, it might be more about ease and user-friendliness, than cost. When you have to drive to the township building to buy a tag, and they're only open from 10:00am to 10:15am the third Thursday of each month... they don't always make it easy to follow the law.

Every time I need to renew my auto or boat tags, which we now do online, I'm reminded at just how bad government sucks at just about everything that Amazon or eBay does with ease.

 

[Sigarms]

In our region the governance that be decided you could only put out one bag of garbage every 2 weeks but put out recycling every week.

We have "transfer stations" where we take the trash locally in our county.

They have a trash compactor you put the bagged waste in, they they have large bins for cardboard, cans/bottles and plastics.

One Saturday all the recyclable bins we're completely full. I got to know the guy working at the place pretty well just talking to him all the times I stopped in. He saw me looking at all the filled recyclable bins and told me with a smile "I'll let you in on a little secret, when the trash company comes by to pick everything up, it ALL goes into the same place". We don't recycle anymore at the house LOL

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
Yours is a common story. Recycling costs towns too much, even if they do have markets for the goods.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I spent yesterday pressure-washing our wrap-around porch, so I speak from very recent memory when I say pressure washers have an unacceptable level of blow-back onto the operator, for your particular application.

I forgot to mention, and I still do this for garage (sink & floor spills...no not poop!) I used a spray bottle with mix laundry & dish detergent+bleach. So I'd remove towels & tp...spray everything then pressure wash. I'd use low pressure so no blow-back.
Maybe people weren't as nasty back then also?
Another funny...the station owner was a hoot. He had two stations, other was about 8 miles away. Friday night I'd deliver moonshine to his girlfriend ). The funny was he sold tires then re-sold the "good" old ones storing them in a shed out back. His trash barrel was close to it and one busy night I was burning oil cans & trash when the shed caught fire. He was spraying water from a window as he fussed at me until I said "you have insurance...right?".
He stopped spraying water and said "Monkey! Bring lighter fluid!" which he sprayed out the window.

 

[masseyrider]

If run anything like our local government, it might be more about ease and user-friendliness, than cost. When you have to drive to the township building to buy a tag, and they're only open from 10:00am to 10:15am the third Thursday of each month... they don't always make it easy to follow the law.

Every time I need to renew my auto or boat tags, which we now do online, I'm reminded at just how bad government sucks at just about everything that Amazon or eBay does with ease.

You can buy the garbage bag tags at almost all the local convenience stores. Some open 24hrs.
They just see the money coming out of their pockets more directly than driving out and littering in my yard.

 

[masseyrider]

We have "transfer stations" where we take the trash locally in our county.

They have a trash compactor you put the bagged waste in, they they have large bins for cardboard, cans/bottles and plastics.

One Saturday all the recyclable bins we're completely full. I got to know the guy working at the place pretty well just talking to him all the times I stopped in. He saw me looking at all the filled recyclable bins and told me with a smile "I'll let you in on a little secret, when the trash company comes by to pick everything up, it ALL goes into the same place". We don't recycle anymore at the house LOL

I got yelled at by some lady at the local Tim Horton's for putting garbage in the recycle bin.
The kid working there told her not to worry, it all goes in the garbage dumpster.
I already knew that.

 

[Alan46]

Our garbage pickup takes our trash in cans, used oil in gl. milk cartons, cardboard & paper, cans & plastic, & glass, batteries all in separate bins every week, we live in the boondocks and it’s ONLY $43.a month!

 

[orezok]

I got a notice from our local waste hauler (Burrtec) that they have hired a company to go through your trash cans at the street and determine if you are properly sorting your trash, recyclables and compostable into the correct bins. What a waste as everyone knows that it all goes to the same place.

I place my cans about 500’ down my drive, not at the street. If I see them at my cans they will be met with the appropriate persuasion to leave as they are inside my no trespassing signs.

At the street most people put the cans just behind the curb and being city property you cannot stop them.

 

[WinterDeere]

...they have hired a company to go through your trash cans at the street and determine if you are properly sorting your trash, recyclables and compostable into the correct bins.

That's crazy! I was almost going to call BS on this bit of paranoia, then I saw you lived in California, and it all made sense. I can't imagine anything like that ever happening around here, you'd end up with a lot of well-aerated contractors.

At the street most people put the cans just behind the curb and being city property you cannot stop them.

We have no law here specifically prohibiting one from going thru trash, but we do have "movable property" laws and privacy laws that prohibit one from opening any closed trash bag or can, and many have been cited for doing so. Basically, if an item is left in the open on the curb, the right to privacy is forfeited, and the item is up for grabs. But as soon as it's in a closed bag or a can with a lid, privacy laws apply. This can vary, state to state.

I believe the intent is to allow one to set a window air conditioner, or old end table they're no longer using, out at the curb for anyone to take, but still protect the privacy of those putting trash out in closed bags or cans.