I would say then, rather than not raise the price, or charge nothing for the months that snowbirders aren't there..something like this:

A minimum required monthly fee for every household, for once-weekly pickup. It would cover the trash contractor's minimum costs of doing business plus minimal profit margin required to continue servicing the Villages.

The second day's pickup would be billed to those who want that second day's pickup. It would not be a minimal charge, and it would be a subscription service, with a minimum 3 consecutive month charge.

The second day would also include the recycling and yard waste, and you'd pay for it even if you don't have any yard waste or recycling to do that week. Your second-day fee would include these services, and you can use or not use them however you see fit.

Sort of like - I pay amenity fees every month, whether I'm living down there to use those amenities or not. I can't tell them "Oh I'm not there 6 months out of the year, I don't have to pay for them til I get back."

In other words, everyone pays a minimum, for minimal service whether they use it or not. If you want more than the minimal service, you have to pay extra.

That way the contractor gets what he needs to keep his people paid, his machines in good condition, all HIS fees paid, and the only time you pay extra is if you choose to opt in to the extra fee for extra services.

What problem with the trash pickup are you trying to solve? Are you suggesting that the trash pickup cost too much money? We pay about $200 per year for twice a week trash pickup and once a week yard waste pickup. In my opinion, this is a bargain.

Not poohpoohing your ideas but I can see issues real quick. There is a lot of administration work being added here, think of any other place you have lived do they let you drop and pickup services when you are gone? I can not understand why people come to The Villages and want things from government here that they can not and never would get from any other government entity.

Next would be one person getting the service on the street and 20 households putting out trash on their driveway. It would happen real quickly. The issue here is not the cost of picking up the trash or recycling, it is the cost of disposing of it after pickup. That price has gone up significantly and is not going to go down. No one wants it and no one is willing to build a dump close or pony up for a waste to energy plant. This is a bigger issue than just how many times waste is pickup.

Agree with Midnight Cowgirl- we only put trash out once a week (on the same day as recyclables) and notice most of our neighbors do the same. Very few 2 person households generate enough trash for twice a week pickup.

Agree we don't need the trucks 3 times a week. Question is IF thae collections went to 1 for trash/recycle and 1 for yard waste would the price drop or stay the same ? The workers still need to get paid or are they also going to get cut back? I for one don't see a problem with things the way they are. Last I read was the problem was with the recycled material as VERY few places want to recycle as the demand is dropping big time and the cost is going up. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

:agree::agree::agree::agree:

Price is right for the convenience of twice a week pick up. A dumpster at the postal station cracks me up. I can only imagine the scene during the summer heat.

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It would be quite the pile, probably completely hiding the dumpster in one of the villages with over a thousand houses.

:bigbow: You hit the nail directly on the head. If a firehouse only goes on 1 call a month rather than 100, does the cost go down and taxes get reduced? Went to the workshop and the cost for recycled waste is going up from approximately $21 per ton to $78 per ton. You can pick up once a month and your cost is not going to go down.

:agree:

Unless you have experience in the waste management industry, it is best to avoid speculating on costs. For example, unless you know the breakdown of expenses you have no idea what the savings will be. If you have such experience then great, otherwise speculation is pointless. I do agree that once a week pickup would be fine. However, we don’t know the reason for twice a week pickup. Our current cost is already very low so I personally don’t see a problem.

Worst idea ever. Besides the stench, the rats, the coyotes, the cockroaches and other vermin, who would want to buy a house anywhere near these localized dumps? Add many vacant houses to this situation and look what we've got just to possibly save a few dollars.

You really think people are going to drive to TV just to dump their trash?

This is not reasonable because you cannot expect the guys doing the trash pickup to keep track of which houses they accept trash from. Besides, it would quickly be gamed. I believe the only way a true “pay for service system” could be implemented is if they only picked up “approved garbage bags” that you would need to buy. I don’t see that happening here for a variety of reasons. That system did work in our previous community - trash pickup was at your discretion and the vendor only picked up their containers (pretty much the same thing as “approved garbage bags”). The cost was higher than here. The current system works well because the trash pickup guys sweep through very quickly picking up everything in sight and the vendor knows exactly what their revenues and costs will be. Besides, for what we get the price is a bargain.

I've thought about how to decrease trash volume. I'm at a loss. I have no idea what I could possibly eliminate from the trash we put out for collection.