There are places known as eco-villages that address this very thing. Their goal is zero waste. They don't achieve it, but they reach for it like no other community I know of. They have compost toilets and use the resulting compost for their produce gardens, and they are mostly self-sustaining. They have very little plastic, from any source at all, other than the piping for their running water. They have solar showers, solar heaters, and some use wind turbines. They're completely off-grid but fully powered.

It's amazing how much waste you discover you have, if you were shown an example of an entire community that reaches for zero waste.

Things you don't even think about - like laundry detergent containers. Dryer sheet boxes. Empty butter containers. Empty juice bottles, empty cans, empty dog food bags, paper tissues (as opposed to cloth hankies), empty plastic bags and used saran wrap, pizza boxes, take-out containers, used tin foil, the list goes on and on. And after all that, you BUY plastic bags, for the express purpose of filling them with trash and throwing them away. If that's not the very model of waste, I don't know what is.

I'm not saying that I don't waste. I absolutely do, and I own that. But ever since a friend of mine moved to an eco-village and showed me the website where I could actually read about the concept and see photos of the community and learn about the mechanics of the whole thing, I'm much more aware, and try to be a bit more responsible about the consumption.

Forgot to add a very significant type of waste that no one gives a second thought to in the Villages: the vegetable peels and discarded produce that you all stuff down the garbage disposal. No, it doesn't go into the trash. But that is organic material that could be turned into fertile, gorgeous, nourishing compost for flower gardens. Instead, you stuff it into your sewer system.

But I'm not sure I agree with your #2. If a truck is picking up 1/4 lb of trash as opposed to 4 lbs of trash, it would be making fewer trips to the landfill. Thus savings in gas and time. This assumes the trucks now make more than one trip, though--a point of which I have no knowledge.


As for the public dumpsters, I agree with everyone else that they would be an eyesore, smelly, and rat-infested. The public dumpsters where we live in the summer are in two spots, both on the outskirts of town and hidden from view by tall live hedges.



I can't imagine every postal station in TV having dumpsters.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask people to NOT put their unwanted mail of any sort into the barrels at the PO station. Filling that barrel ADDS to everyone's trash costs by requiring that barrel to be emptied. You already pay for pickup at you home. Throw your trash away there, please. "Waste" paper should be put out with your recyclables. But even if you trash it, why are you adding to my amenity fee costs by dumping trash at the PO station. Is it too heavy to bring home? Reduce your junk mail by signing up with the Direct Marketing Association and by cancelling catalogs etc that you no longer wish to receive by contacting the company (yes, sometimes you have to call them twice). As to the dumpster idea, the various thoughts as to its impracticability mentioned above seem well reasoned.

Terrible idea. First off there is the odor, especially in the summer, secondly it looks terrible, thirdly, pickup is done by large trucks which would block people from coming in to get their mail, fourthly pickup makes a lot of noise which isn't fair to the people who live by a postal station and most important, dumpsters attract rats and mice.

Trash Pick Up
 

I personally do not want to bring my trash to a dumpster first of all it will be a mess with all these people here and especially at the postal station maybe you would not care but when you live across the street I don't think you would want it either.

Bad Idea if you live in the villages and are worried about cost maybe this is not the right place for those people.

I say we don’t need dumpsters at the postal stations.

Q: Would they pass those savings on to the residents? A: No!

Terrible idea
 

Terrible idea! We had this for a few years in the small village we lived in on Long Island. It was a mess! And most people did not bring their recyclables down there Just inconvenience.
Our postal stations are also our swimming pools let’s keep it clean and beautiful

I like that idea. When leaving town for a few days I can dispose of my trash and hit the road.

I think this is the worst idea ever, and I hope it was made in jest. Dumpsters at the mail stations? Even if emptied daily they would stink in the Florida heat and they would be major eye soars. Reduce trash pickup to one day a week if you want to reduce costs. I don't think many people really need two trash pick up days.

I lived in an apartment complex that did that exact thing. Do you realize how many homes share some Postal stations? Those dumpsters would fill up very quickly and we could have trash overflowing and on the ground every day. I am for recycling more. Educating folks to do that would be easy. I hated dragging a sticky leaking bag to the dumpster as well.

Plane and simple NO for sooo many reasons.

Not attractive, and would attract unwanted animals.

dumpsters at the postal stations
 

Maybe I do not understand the suggestion but it seems like a transfer of free labor of the home owner to a paid employee which would increase cost. Who would empty the dumpsters? Also most mail stuff (e.g. ads) is recyclable, not trash.

Trash opinion
 

Not a good idea. They are ugly, smelly, and would attract rodents.
I suggest one pick up a week instead of 2 to cut cost. Do we really need 2 pick ups a week.