• KevonLooney
    82 months ago
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    Yeah, NYC is the only place in the US that didn’t have these. I believe it was a union or mafia thing. Basically the trucks that pick up bags of trash require 3 workers and the ones that pick up the trash cans only require 2. That’s why they didn’t exist. It’s stupid.

    • Pleb
      42 months ago
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      Huh?!?

      I mean technically you can get away with just a driver and someone picking up the trash cans.
      But over here they usually are still three people with those trucks. One driver and two people picking up the trash cans, one bringing a fresh one while the other puts it back.

      • vortic
        52 months ago
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        The ones where I am only have one person. The truck has an arm to pick up the bins and dump them into the top of the truck.

        • nillocEnglish
          32 months ago
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          This works in single family housing, but in the city there are waaaaay more bins at each stop.

          Also the garbage bag companies Glad I think, paid it make the old metal cans like Oscar’s go away so they could sell more plastic.

          I think it was after a strike by the garbage men over the condition of the metal cans. I listened to a podcast about it a while ago but can’t remember which one.

          • vortic
            12 months ago
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            Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. The trucks with the arms would be unpractical in a city where bins are more closely spaced.

          • vortic
            22 months ago
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            Ah, we have a separate plastic bin for mixed recycling so no issues there for us. Like someone else said, these probably are slower than an additional person when you have tons of bins like you would in a city.

    • n0m4n
      22 months ago
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      Our little burg has one person pick up the trash. Trash bins are passed out by the city. The bins are specially built for mechanical pick-up. The driver stops, the arms come out, grab and dump the bin. Then the bin is set down, and the truck continues its route.

      One set of trucks are for recycle, one set are for organics to grind and compost, and a third is for trash. Our family’s weekly trash usually fits in one grocery bag.