T Nation

Where Does All The Trash Come From?

Off Topic
#1

I have a neighbor that generates 6 trashcans worth of trash twice a week. By contrast, I generate 2 trashcans.

They are a family of 4. I am a family of 5.

There’s roughly 1,000 houses in my neighborhood…not one other house has as much trash as this house does.

I know I have some idiosyncracies, but studying my neighbor’s trash habits isn’t one of them. There is just no way you could fail to notice how unusual this one house is.

We live in the suburbs of Washington, DC.

I have been fascinated by this for several years now. She Say wants me to go steal their trash to see what is in it. I don’t really want to do this, but I am dying to know how they can generate so much trash.

It’s not even unusual, big-item type trash either from what I can see when I pass their house. You know how sometimes you’ll clean up the garage and have a huge amount of junk you’re throwing out.

How much trash to you guys generate? Any idea how this family could be generating so much trash?

#2

Almost none. I’d check into people dissappearing in your neighbourhood.

#3

Could it be possible that they are the type of family that is trying to get into ‘better shape’ by drinking a dozen 24’s of diet coke a week instead of regular coke, and then couldn’t be bothered to recycle?

#4

Yeah 12 cans per week is retarded. I still find 4 per week a lot, but I guess for a family of 5 it’s not totally absurd. The house I currently live in (myself, plus the couple who owns the house) produce 1 can per week I think.

#5

My wife, son and I generate one bag per week. We compost so that helps alot. My neighbors can’t figure out how we only have one bag and they have two with the same amount of people…they don’t compost.

In my city, if you have more than two bags per week, per household you pay extra. Problem is that fucktards like your neighbor go out when it’s dark and put their extra bags at the end of YOUR driveway. Don’t get me started on the assholes that root through the bluebox looking for aluminum cans and leave the mess on your lawn when they dump it upside down. If I ever catch the guy it’s gonna get ugly.

#6

I Think there may be some miscommunication. My family of 2 plus my tenant upstaris deliver two of the big garbage cans to the curb which hold between 3-6 actual bags of garbage depending on the week. A bag is one of those force flex tall kitchen bags. Then we also deliver one or two bags each of recycleable papers/Cardboards and metal/plastic containers.

I know in some cities you have actual specific bags or containers they give you so some people might say 6 containers, but in reality it’s only 6 bags which are equivalant to a tall kitchen bag where I say 2 containers but it’s two big garbage cans which can hold up to 3 kitchen bags in each one.

I’d say our average is one of each recycle bag and 4 actual kitchen bags full of garbage per week. I am going to look into composting this coming spring though.

V

#7

Sen

Are they putting items that should be recycled in the trash? We have a neighbor who does that.

Well, that’s assuming DC has a recycling program.

#8

Probably half a city issued trash can a week … so like two to four bags of trash … I really don’t throw away much food and we recycle like there’s global warming or something … I’d say you’re normal Sen … I’d second Sick Rick and look up the missing persons report in your area … but be discreet about it, we don’t want to find you in your neighbors cans :frowning:

#9


+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”

#10

I was thinking about this a few weeks ago while emptying my trash and thinking to myself “Fuck, I have a lot of trash for just one guy.”

But it only looks liek a lot because I have a small trash can, and every week I go through a carton of eggs, a half gallon of milk, a tub of oats, and two plastic tins of roast beef. These empties take up almost half the space in my trash can, so by the end of the week my trash can looks filled to the brim.

I read somwhere that the average person generates 4 lbs. of trash per day. That sounds like quite a lot to me, I guess if you eat a lot of take out that would be about right.

#11

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”
[/quote]

The Burbs?

#12

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”
[/quote]

The Burbs?[/quote]

+10 for IH. What a fucking great movie, I’m going to watch that again this weekend.

#13

Damnit, I was just going to say The Burbs! Oh well, too slow

#14

Thats an odd thing. The people that used to live next door to me would generate a huge amount of garbage And they wouldn’t even can it. They would put out the kitchen bags and small bathroom sized bags throughout the course of the week. It would end up piling up and getting knocked around and into my yard.

The nice thing was that it would attract raccoons and my dog would eat them. She loves raccoons.

#15

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Thats an odd thing. The people that used to live next door to me would generate a huge amount of garbage And they wouldn’t even can it. They would put out the kitchen bags and small bathroom sized bags throughout the course of the week. [/quote]

This is kinda what the people do…they have all kinds of shit just falling out of their cans…it’s looking more and more like I’m going to have to steal this trash…dammit.

For the record, the Say family only generates like 3-4 bags per week, but I typed cans because it seemd to put the difference in perspective…I also compost a bunch of stuff and recycle. The house I’m curious about also puts our their recycling bin, so their huge amount of trash is not cans and bottles and recyclables.

#16

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”
[/quote]

The Burbs?[/quote]

+10 for IH. What a fucking great movie, I’m going to watch that again this weekend.[/quote]

Love that movie! It’s also the first thing I thought of when I read this thread.

#17

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”
[/quote]

The Burbs?[/quote]

+10 for IH. What a fucking great movie, I’m going to watch that again this weekend.[/quote]

I’m a fan, myself.

Is Bruce Dern alive?

#18

Well, Sen, my parents only get one can, the one the waste company provides. They won’t take anything else, like boxes or whatever, unless you call and warn them first. Our garbage men don’t even touch the cans, we have to have them a certain way so the machine on the truck can lift it right.

#19

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”
[/quote]

The Burbs?[/quote]

+10 for IH. What a fucking great movie, I’m going to watch that again this weekend.[/quote]

I’m a fan, myself.

Is Bruce Dern alive?[/quote]

I have to say, The Burbs was the first thing that popped into my head when I read Sen’s post. Great (sort of?) minds think alike!

#20

[quote]Grneyes wrote:

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]imhungry wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
+10 to anyone who can tell me what this thread reminds me of.

“I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.”
[/quote]

The Burbs?[/quote]

+10 for IH. What a fucking great movie, I’m going to watch that again this weekend.[/quote]

I’m a fan, myself.

Is Bruce Dern alive?[/quote]

I have to say, The Burbs was the first thing that popped into my head when I read Sen’s post. Great (sort of?) minds think alike![/quote]

Yeah, sort of. Nerd.