Garbage Day

It's garbage day. This should not be a blog worthy event, except that it's made me consider writing a letter to the editor for the first time in my life.

You see, the garbage service in the suburbs is a product of free market capitalism. On any given Thursday, you could be run over in the street by a Waste Management, Allied Waste, BFI, Burts, Randys, Reds...or probably some other independently owned and operated garbage service truck. Since all of us can decide which company has the honor of hauling away our trash, these trucks literally pass each other on our residential streets, sometimes multiple times per day in order to pick up the regular trash, the recycling, and the yard waste. On our block alone, we contract with 3 different garbage haulers, which requires 9 different trucks.

This is all more than my environmentally sensitive, efficient nature can handle. I know why the city won't mandate this...because it goes in the face of good 'ole capitalism. After all, having multiple garbage haulers should, in theory, keep prices low and it promotes small business...BUT, at the expense of what? Instead of efficiently moving gas guzzling garbage trucks around the city, we have garbage truck gridlock.

There are obvious solutions to this issue...the first being, let the city review RFPs for this service, contracting with the lowest bidder who is able to handle the volume. Or, redistrict the city into garbage zones closest to these independent facilities, in proportion to their current market share.

Just do something to get the 9 trucks off my street every Thursday, so I don't have to worry about my kids chasing a ball into the street.

Sound socialist...I guess that is OK with me.