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Wow that is really unfortunate that you need recycling just 1x a month. Our bin is full every 2 weeks and we are contemplating getting an extra one....

Kris:

* Recycling once a month? You need to work on that. Our can is overflowing every two weeks as it is. Like MC, we may get a second.
* Garbage pick up only twice a month? You're talking a major health hazard here.
* Yard and bulk just quarterly? Where are you going to PUT this stuff until it's time for pickup?

If your plan went into effect, I can see your neighborhood as being a stinky, junky mess that you'd probably be eventually complaining about in a LTE.

Before y'all burn Kris at the stake, have you considered that she might have a small family that produces very little trash? Maybe they buy in bulk from a co-op and don't have fifty chipboard containers to throw away every day? I don't think you should conclude that everybody produces mass quantities of trash every single week.

Also, before bragging about how full your recycling bin is, consider that it would be even better to reduce and to reuse. If Kris produces little waste, you should be commending her, not acting holier than thou because you fill your recycling container faster than she does.

What's next? You gonna send the trash Gestapo to check all our containers?

Mama, the city already has a trash Gestapo that checks cans. My neighbor's had a handful of weeds thrown on top of the trash and received a bright orange sticker on the can identifying them as violators and their can wasn't emptied that week.

Just for the record, it is just my husband and myself (no kids so a small family!) and every other week pick up is too infrequent for us.

Y'all are missing the point. I'd rather pay a lower tax rate and make do with fewer pickups. Gas is at an all time high - the city is wasting gas with all those trucks.

And just to clarify, we are a family of 2 (3 for the summer while my daughter is home from college). Two weeks of garbage easily fit into our 96 gallon container. (the top was closed - I see no "health hazard" in that) Two weeks of recycling almost filled it but if I compacted it, another two weeks would fit. We compost our yard waste. We don't usually dispose of bulk items - we re-purpose, donate or sell things we no longer need.

But like I said, my family's amount of trash is not really the point. The point is the city's waste of gas. Do there really need to be four separate trucks on my street (or yours) every week?

Mama,

Kris' suggestions may work for Kris, but what about the family with 3 kids next door? Or the family with 6 kids two houses down? The city can't customize pickup according to each individual household need.

For the record, like MC, it's just my husband and myself, and in spite of buying in bulk as much as two people can, we STILL fill our recycling container during the 2-week period.

Lastly, I stand by my statement that allowing garbage to sit around for long periods of time is a health hazard.

Aaaah... "The Cardinal".
Isn't that the same neighborhood where people bought properties close to the airport and then complain because airplanes are flying nearby?

Have you heard of FreeCycle? It's series of local groups that provides a structured system for giving stuff that you don't need or use anymore to someone who does...for free.

It's pretty nifty actually.

http://www.freecycle.org/