I have no answer for you. Can only say that it is not excluded in my area. They pick up everything - garbage weekly and recycling and yard waste on alternating weeks.

Could be the workforce is reduced through sickness or workers are redeployed on more important jobs. Our green waste pickup has also been stopped. I'm truly grateful that my garbage is still being collected by people risking their health for my sake. Since recycling can also be contaminated with food waste that too is a health issue. Yard waste collection is a luxury and it won't kill you to store it for a bit. Do you have a compost heap?

Sorry, but recycling NOT a health/sanitation issue -- it's all supposed to cleared of food waste and rinsed before going into the bin; that can all wait just like the yard waste. Plus, recycling where I am is voluntary, not mandatory -- it can all go in the regular trash (and no that doesn't mean I'm advocating that, just trying to make a point).

Tied in with all the assanine-ness, there are no bottle refunds allowed right now. Really? I get small stores not taking them if someone has to directly handle them, but in large grocery chains, they go through a MACHINE into a gigantic BIN that is emptied. So, now on top of all the empty collectibles people now have in their garages, sheds, basements, wherever we're going to have yard waste piling up. The bottle refunds irritate me way more than the yard waste, frankly. If I have to go to the grocery to pick up groceries anyway, what difference does it make if I drop off some bottles at the machines?

We should start a game on the forum --> what's the most ludicrous example of over-reacting in YOUR state?

I am not sure I understand how garbage pick-up guys (sanitation workers) are "risking their health" by doing so. They come into NO physical contact with anyone other than their co-workers and even that seems to be limited. One drives the truck while his partner hangs off the back and then dumps the bins. And then they switch.

It's not like the bins themselves are contaminated or highly infectious. And they wear gloves.

They don't touch anything here. Garbage is a big green can that is emptied by an automated arm. One guy drives and one guy on the back in case of problems or sometimes picks up a small bag of yard trash. Runs once a week. Recycle, which has to be cleaned like mx3 said in is the same size big blue can and runs once a month. It is emptied with the same type arm. Yard waste truck is even bigger and picks up the stuff with an even bigger claw arm. It also picks up old mattresses, furniture, appliances, and anything else but roofing. Runs once a week. One guy driving. The drivers of of all the trucks never get out.

What was their posted reason for stopping pickup? They are going to have a rat explosion if that lasts too long.

It was a company decision; they didn't state a reason, just that it was due to COVID-19. It's a large carrier that serves most of the communities in my area, and yep -- there's probably going to be a rat explosion with all the yard waste piling up. Not so much in my area, there's lots of wildlife to keep populations of varmit in check, but in the land of surburbia it's going to end up a different story. People are out cleaning up their yards, they don't have much else to do. Hey sure -- let's trade a miniscule possibility of exposure to COVID for the risk of disease exposure due to an explosion of rats, fleas, and mosquitos from all the cr*p that's piling up around town.

I hate to be a pessimist, but I do often believe that many things boil down to financials. It could be simply that city revenues are down. Depends on how the city is financed--driving violations (no money there), sales tax (that's a joke now), etc. Less income means less money for payroll. Does that sound realistic in your area?

That makes sense. But even if its cut-backs -- why the yard waste and not the recycling?

They sell the recycle stuff.

Why would they not stop recycling pick up? If they did that people would just throw out their recyclables; they want people to keep recycling, so they will continue to pick up the recycling.

Spring lawn and leaf pick up was cancelled for our town, as well. We were sad that we can't just put the stuff in bags by the street, but our dump is still open, so we just have to drive the debris there and put it in the correct heaps (leaf/grass or branch/stump).

We have pay as you throw for trash, so most people just put out a bag or two ... maybe in a barrel if the crows are being obnoxious. In terms of contamination for the sanitation workers, I would think handling trash in general would already require enough precautions that this coronavirus wouldn't change much in their procedures ... Their continuation of going out to do their job is certainly appreciated, though, as there is the increased risk of exposure in going anywhere and interacting with coworkers.

floral, right now the "in your area" is probably the key statement. If you look at a map of US coronavirus cases by county, it is overwhelmingly clustered in the cities. Those of us in rural areas are practically unaffected. In my entire county (nearly 2000 km2 and 40K people) there are only nine cases, and none of them were contracted within our county, but when people were traveling somewhere else. We are also in total lockdown, but it is very realistic that nobody in my town actually has it. I'm not justifying any attitudes or actions, just noting that while people in places like NYC are living in complete fear, and justifiably so, and probably everybody in NYC knows at least one person who has contracted it, we are in the opposite situation where we probably don't know anybody who even knows anybody else who has it. We still have one huge county in our state with zero cases. Nationally, many rural counties have no reported cases. I feel for those living in high population areas where the threat is far more real than in our area. I am grateful to have "small" problems at this time in history, and don't mind if some venting is needed.

We are now having issues with local people trying to stop seasonal residents from coming back, which saddens me. They are just as much members of our community, and I believe the huge majority of them will come here and quarantine appropriately, and then will be safer here than in their urban communities.

On a different note, if I lived near you all I could probably have used some of that yard waste as the free mulch I very desperately need this summer!

floral, yours works totally different than ours does. No one is ever together. There is one man in one truck and they don't touch anything. All of our is totally automated. If they get this virus, they are getting it from somewhere else.

ETA: If you have lots of workers walking down the streets and picking up cans and bags by hand, we haven't had that since the early '70's. That is why saying "There is only one right way" is wrong.

Maybe mxks yard waste collection is different from mine and that is why they stopped it. However, you get less frustration, if things are explained. Saying it is due to Covid19, and nothing else, is not an explanation.

"Saying it is due to Covid19, and nothing else, is not an explanation."

Agreed. And I still don't get the bottle return thing.

My guess would be that the service collects returned bottles isn't working right now. It's not an essential service. If the service that empties the machine isn't operating, it would make sense to not be accepting bottle returns ... I suppose they could let the machines become full and let that be the reason, but then they'd probably have people either leaving bottles behind randomly or trying to jam bottles in when the machine is full. It's simpler to just close off the bottle return area until pick up resumes.

Until that time, either keep your bottles and cans in a bag or laundry basket somewhere out of the way, or just forfeit the deposit and recycle them.

My trash collection service has been reduced. The crews have had some illnesses: I doubt they were infected while hauling trash but it's going around. Also, the contractor owns a finite number of trucks. Many people are doing spring cleaning putting out excess trash and the amount that the guys can haul away is less than the amount of stuff being piled at curbside. When someone boasts about going all Marie Kondo and cleaning the attic or the garage for the first time in years, all that junk's gotta be hauled away. Thus my area is now limited to two trash cans and one recycle bin. People with excess trash can take it to the dump themselves.

when i heard, yesterday, that the Gov closed all MI nurseries ... i think i felt your head explode all the way out here ...

ken

"when i heard, yesterday, that the Gov closed all MI nurseries ... i think i felt your head explode all the way out here …"

No, not really. Nurseries have been closed for a couple weeks now, that's nothing new. What is new is that nurseries attached to grocery/hardware stores and the ilk have to be closed (roped off). I grow so much from seed anyway, so I should be pretty well set on annuals -- if I can't get the things I grow from seed oh well I've got plenty of other flowers to use instead. I grow most of my own vegetables, too -- only thing I need there is a cell pack of green onion starts and a couple herb plants. It's the perennials I've been planning to get that I'll be most disappointed about -- this shutdown won't last forever, so maybe I'll just get them in the summer rather than when I'm on vacation in May. Or, maybe things will open up May 1 like everyone is hoping. My bigger concern is DH being out of work, that's what's going to put the kabash on pretty much all discretionary spending if he doesn't get called back when this is all over.

Half of my head did explode over the yard waste, though -- as you can probably tell from my post. The other half exploded when I heard the news about the bottle returns a couple weeks ago.

I can halfway understand the bottle returns, since it's one less place for people to gather as they feed in bottles (assuming it's done that way, and not just handed to someone), but the yard waste must have something else going on, or just people not willing to think it through. My parents live outside of NYC and even there, yard waste pickup continues. My parents heard the truck and were rushing to get it out to the street, and the guys yelled to relax, they would swing around later to get it, so business as usual.

I always grow my green onions from seed. I like "Evergreen White Bunching".

you will always be.. in my minds eye.. the woman walking down the street with a tree on a tree cart ... lol ......

ken

"you will always be.. in my minds eye.. the woman walking down the street with a tree on a tree cart ... lol ...... "

LOL!!! Hey, at least I'll be remembered!

floral_uk wrote:

I wonder if you'll be recounting examples of 'overreacting' when the deaths start mounting up in your area. We are under total lockdown. Anyone outside their home is risking their health.

Exactly, exactly

Rouge, not here, not here!

Yes, I think it depends a lot on your location. Here, we are being encouraged to get outside and walk a bit. Exercise, fresh air and some vitamin D is good for one's mental health :-) The only conditions are to follow social distancing and avoid any gatherings, so parks, playgrounds and even the beach are off limits but there is nothing to stop you from strolling the neighborhood or other local hiking trails.

I agree with floral and rouge. I also think there are many types of trash pick up. Our guys don’t even have gloves to wear. They do have an automated truck but sometimes things get stuck and have to be manually removed. Covid19 is a nasty virus, my hat’s off to all the essential workers who are doing their jobs for us.

The time to prepare for the silent/invisible "invasion" is before one says "(its) not here, not here" when at the same time it is so obviously "here" in so many areas. I don't ever foresee me holding my govt (local/provincial/federal) accountable, after this is all over for "over reacting". (I guess I can say this as even looking back, before this is over, none of them reacted soon enough).

rouge, wtf????????? Your post does not make any sense what so ever.

Our company has also temporarily stopped picking up yard waste. The truck has a giant arm that grabs and empties the trash/recycling bins. Workers will no longer get out to personally pick up/toss anything else.

"wtf"... ridiculous. Instead of resorting to using such language you could have elaborated on your cryptic remark "not here not here". So instead I went ahead and tried to decipher it myself.

I still do not understand your comment. You do not make sense. A silent invasion, sorry, WTF are you talking about?

I can understand why bottle return services have been suspended- it's a dirty and gross scene in the best of times, and worse right now.

Frequently, return machines are spaced too close for social distancing. They are not sanitized, pretty much ever. Also, many returns areas in stores are unsupervised unless called on for
a cleanup, and many stores don't want to risk people congregating to
do/wait on returns.

Spills happen with frequency from the customers, and that can be a hazard- someones backwash sticky to walk on till an employee can go mop it up, ew. If people don't/can't do a return, they are often slobs about disposal or not in the open areas. Leaving containers behind, boxes, bags. Kind of as gross as the folks leaving their masks and gloves laying around in parking lots and shopping baskets for the employees to clean up after. A lot of customer areas are nicely kept, but many are left lower on the list of things to do compared to other tasks for the employee to complete.

Inside the bottle room inside big stores is just as icky. Always the stench of rotted beer and soda, floors need regular mopping for the sticky oozes. And when those bins get filled, they need to be pallet-jacked off, sometimes across customer spaces to where ever on the back dock the storage truck is. Pallet crates are stored on the truck till it's full, then it gets picked up by the recycling company.

Typically, the employees that clean up after our bottle returns are also the ones that are stocking our shelves, and sometimes doing cashier or bagging duties depending on the store. And while handwashing is still an option, a lot of stores don't have the PPE's like gloves to handle items that have had our spit on them then mixed in with other containers to be dropped in non-sanitized machines.

Many stores don't have good handwashing stations for the customers either, and many rely on hand sanitizer stations- which are out of sanitizer right now. And a lot of customers don't bother washing or sanitizing after a bottle drop off, then go on to do shopping- ew. I've never seen a customer sanitize between finishing the return and taking their return reciept, which they then stuff into the wallet/purse/pocket- then if they clean up before shopping, pull that receipt back out and hand it to the cashier or desk attendant.

If you think having a few cases or bags are icky in your garage... imagine that much more of pallet cases on a truck, which usually isn't completely secure from rodents- because dock seals are imperfect. Sitting for a while attached to the back of your store, because the recycling pickups have been suspended. Because bottle returns are a nicety, not a necessity.

I bet some garbage recycling services are still running because even if you live in a clean your recycling area, enough people don't that it could still become a potential food garbage hazard. In a lot of ways, recycling is a nicety too- the stuff could go into the regular garbage, but many of us like to recycle. And some companies can profit a bit.

Regular garbage service is being a bit more strained at this time too- a lot of people being home a lot more all of a sudden fills up the bin to go out to the curb more quickly. Sometimes people get careless, and leave out an overstuffed bin, or leaving out that extra bag or two for pickup that the garbage person then has to handle instead of letting the truck keep the distance... or perhaps their household has been sick and now their usual garbage is now a bit more bio hazardous than usual.

Some garbage services serve residential and municipality garbage- and a lot of people are being icky about public trash disposal or not. This is a particular problem in places like parks and other more usually more attended public places. As in people run out of personal garbage disposal, and choose to dump it elsewhere instead of hauling it properly or keeping it for a bit. Some places are needing to start their spring services of parks and open lands too... All of that is stacking up to garbage companies having a lot to do while also having employees not able to come in, or now having to figure out how to safely have 2 people in a truck at this time. A lot of places still do that.

And out of curiosity... what kind of yard waste do some folks have that rats didn't bother it all winter, but now there's a possibility of a rat explosion if it isn't removed now? Usually rats are attracted to human food garbage rather than things like old leaves and spring pulled weeds.

^^ Well, at least that's an explanation I can understand and makes sense.

That's a really helpful post, beesneeds. Gives me good info on how I can be a more courteous shopper! (Stale beer is the worst.)

I am actually surprised bottle returns and deposits still exist!! I thought those had been phased out yeas ago but apparently 10 states still follow that practice. In my state recycling is a BIG deal and fast food restaurants, Starbucks, most public events and sometimes even gas stations and parks will have separate bins for landfill garbage, compostable garbage and recyclable garbage. And it is a requirement for homeowners as well. Collection of any of these is considered an essential service/business here and there has been no interruption. Local recycling centers or transfer stations/dump sites are also still fully operational.

Around here the garbage must be bagged in the can. They are not taking anything sitting outside the can. Most people here are burning it. Fires to burn brush is illegal but fires to cook is legal. All you have to do is have a hot dog on a stick and they can't do anything. We put our yard waste in the woods, but our neighbors were burning theirs last weekend. I have a feeling before this mess is over they are going to find tons of garbage thrown over hillsides and laying on sides of roads breading mosquitos and rodents.
Last night on the news they showed all the broken furniture and stuff piled up outside a goodwill store. The garbage men aren't picking up the stuff so they are dumping it off at the closed stores. Yep, probably just another case of overreacting.

All areas aren't one size fits all.