I Better Watch for The Can Guy on Recycle Day.

[Pferox]

Living in the city is different than rural life, even though this is a small city and we are kind of the buffer town between the coast, rural life, and Houston.  But here, like other places Waste Management has a strangle hold on trash, including recyclables.  Because of this I'm pretty sure most people are familiar with the Green Recycle can.



And like most neighborhoods, we have the can guy.  Ya know the very old guy who has either a three wheeled bike or shopping cart modified to haul away any aluminum or money making recyclable available on recycle day.  I think our guy either worked for the C.I.A. or is on witness protection because he wouldn't let me take his picture a few weeks ago.  His cart is quite decked out with a large American flag on one side, and an equally large Texas flag on the other.  I'm sure that those are there so he gets seen and not run over on his weekly treks.

Our recycle day is on Thursday and because of the Holiday, we got skipped.  Yesterday they emptied our can and I refilled it with all our recyclables.  Keep in mind that we are still cutting up boxes from moving and purchasing more than our share of home owner's stuff right now, so the recyclables is pretty high.  I also make sure that the cans in the can (ha ha) are easy for our can guy to get them all out, here is what it looks like this week.



Poor guy is going to poop, thinking he will have to make multiple trips.  But after a layer or two he will should be relieved to find there actually is a bottom to it.



Sorry, had to share because it caught me as a dirty practical joke that was actually done unintentionally.

[Lee Smith]

Your just a mean ole' fart   

[analfisherman]

Here's a crazy thing:

In my town it's illegal for anyone other than the homeowner or the trash man (actually like most places the trash man never leaves the truck because of the side lift) to handle or empty the trash containers and they actually have prosecuted a couple of guys who were running around on trash night and taking (stealing is the words the police dept. used) the cans out to cash them in.

I had to buy the plastic container and trash pick up cost went up to pay the cost of the new trucks.
So shouldn't it be my choice who empties it?

Just think, if the guy emptied one container and then crossed the street in the middle of the block he would probably get jail for jaywalking! 

My costs go up, they now have ONE guy in the truck instead of three like before (so they added a half a dozen guys to the unemployed rolls) and now folks who would rather earn their money instead of getting welfare are fined and told second offense is jail time.

CRAZIEST thing I ever heard of!!!

[Pferox]

I agree, AND the interesting thing is that we pay for the recycled stuff to be picked up, THEN (around here anyways) Waste Management sells that stuff off to somebody who does something with it.  So from the way I see it, Waste Management is making money of this stuff twice.  I wonder who got the kickback on that deal.

This guy is a nice guy, he talks like he is a VietNam Vet, but not exactly sure.  If I didn't fish and chew wood, I would do it just to keep busy, although I am sure he is trying to supplement his income, and in my own little way I want to help him, not compete with him.

[Oldfart9999]

Your just a mean ole' fart   

And the problem with that is? Us Oldfarts need to amuse ourselves some how.
We pay a .05 cent "fee" on "returnables", it's supposed to keep folks from littering the highways, now if they could find a way to nail them on the rest of the trash they leave on the streets and highways.......
Many times you see somebody walking the streets with a shopping cart loaded with bottles and cans, they hit every trash can they can and many have "routes" they do daily, can make 40-50 dollars a day. for 3 or 4 hours work.
Rodney

[Pferox]

I forgot about the deposit thing, we don't have that here in Texas.  Instead we spend money on "rehabilitating" criminals by having them stand on the side of the road looking like they are picking up trash. 

Usually there are two trash trucks that run, one is for normal garbage, then they make another run to pick up recycled stuff.  This Thursday I saw where they were putting both cans into the same truck, what's up with that one?