STR clamps down on types of garbage cans
By Kathryn Reed
Garbage removal on the South Shore isn’t like a lot of other places. Depending on the customer this is a good or bad thing.
This fall South Tahoe Refuse sent postcards to people saying, “Do not purchase totes.” These are the receptacles that have handles that attach to a garbage truck and are then mechanically lifted and emptied.
STR doesn’t have these types of trucks. Instead, human power is used to lift the can into the truck.
A South Tahoe Refuse customer is miffed about the company’s policy on tote cans and even more perturbed his can is knocked over after being emptied. Photo/Provided
“They are high strength molded plastic designed specifically to be used with hydraulic systems,” John Marchini with South Tahoe Refuse told Lake Tahoe News of the totes. “Our biggest concern is that we do not want to subject our coworkers to lift these totes.”
The totes are usually larger because jurisdictions that allow them don’t have workers lifting them, plus customers are often limited to one can, though usually there are separate recycling and yard waste cans.
“Lifting sometimes heavy trash containers is a job description, not a basis for a campaign to downgrade the town’s trash containers,” one customer told Lake Tahoe News.
“What sticks in my craw is that this thing is a monopoly, that trash pick up is mandatory and that I’d like to see the town cleaned up and standardized trash containers with attached lids would go a long way. So it is especially annoying when I do more than my part and buy a nice wheeled container, like every other civilized town, and they actually try to forbid me from doing something so simple,” a 24-year resident told Lake Tahoe News. He is feeling put upon by STR, his tote trash can knocked over after it’s emptied and denied blue recycling bags, so he doesn’t want his name used for fear of serious retribution.
STR says it has come up with a compromise for people who want to use the tote cans. If garbage is in bags that can be lifted out and thrown into the truck, the garbagemen will service that container.
Totes, though, are not the typical 32- or 45-gallon can. Like other cans, some are designed to be animal resistant.
In general, cans should not be more than 50 pounds, and bags no more than 30 pounds.
The South Lake Tahoe-base company has no intention of changing its vehicles to accommodate the totes that are so widely used every place else. One reason is more jurisdictions are requiring bear boxes. Totes don’t fit in bear boxes.
El Dorado County requires anyone building a new home or doing a remodel to put in a bear box.
If STR were to go to hydraulic trucks that could lift totes, the bear box issue would require some sort of hybrid system. And company officials say one day that is possible.
The thinking behind sending the postcard was also to let commercial customers know totes are not acceptable.
Lived here 24 years but doesn’t know what trash containers are required. Brilliant!
I’m thrilled the garbage company is run the way it is. I moved here from the Bay Area were you had to use the totes and when they were full, that’s it. You paid for another. Our cost for garbage is minimal, our service is exellent. The garbage men work every holiday and snow storm. Twice a week you can take hazardous waste for free. Unlike other places that charge an arm and a leg. All the garbage is separated, so recycling is done. The sad truth is most people wont do it. To the whiner that was interviewed for this article. You would have to pay mandatory garbage in any city, you wouldn’t get near the service and you pay far more. Thank you STR
I agree with you Frank. I hate the totes. Our garbage guys are lazy, they don’t want you to bungee the lid down to keep out animals so they get knocked over all the time and there is always garbage on the street. People overstuff them which also invites the raccoons. They also started charging three times as much when we went to the new system and we get much worse service. Tahoe service has always been great. Don’t agree with them making you pay for service when you don’t need it, though. Quite the monopoly.
Simple solution: STR wants to mandate what type of trash containers their customers use? Provide customers with said container(s).
Our trash guys are awesome. Rolling around the corner at 5am in a blizzard while everywhere else is in bed or on snow day. Give these guys the credit they deserve. Get a smaller can they can lift. We don’t have the trucks for the lazy big city garbage guy so why buy one that blows up our trash guys back. The facilities here are state of the art and the service great. Someone’s complaining cause they bought the wrong high end trash can.? Come on…. He deserves his can kicked…
Go down Tahoe Keys Blvd. any Friday before 5:30 and see what our garbage guys have to put up with. Garbage strewn all over from the critters. The garbage guys have to pick up all of the garbage which they do. Personly I would put the strewn garbage at their front door.
it’s one thing to rag on STR policy, but to diss the men that actually pick up the garbage is pretty poor – those guys work their butts off in all sorts of weather at ungodly hours – and yes if I was them, I would leave the garbage on the ground caused by non animal proof cans on the ground – they dont! And to the guy that thought a bungie cord would stop a bear – well no comment! clever pun from talking trash!
I always thought the wind blew the cans over or they were sitting on uneven ground. Now I know it’s those pesky garbage men personally making sure my cans end up laying down. Or maybe I just have lazy garbage cans
The STR Sanitation Workers are awesome! They pick my garbage up every week in a timely manner and walk my trash cans up the driveway. If an animal knocks over a garbage can in my neighborhood they pick up the trash. When I lived in New Orleans the sanitation workers would live my garbage cans and half the trash in the street. I have only praise for South Tahoe Refuse.
I don’t understand the ‘trashing’ of the trash guys. They do a job that many would not do and they do it very well. I have seen them pick up every piece of trash that the critters tossed all over the road. They place the cans in the driveway when they have emptied them.
I have a few neighbors who have no fewer than 5 cans of trash each week (I shudder to think of where it all comes from) and the trash guys just heave it all into the truck.
These are the same guys who pick up hundreds of bags of yard trash each spring.
Really, the type of tote does not bother me in the least in comparison to the mandatory nature of garbage service. I own a vacation home and because I take the little I generate in a few days with me when I leave so the cans do not stay out, I have to pay for service that I use quite literaly 2 weeks a year for yard cleanup. Fair? Not hardly but such is the nature of business in bed with government.
I have to say, those garbage guys are wonderful! And they don’t nearly get paid enough, contrary to popular belief. I have put out 50+ bags of pine needles every year plus my regular trash and guess what, every single bag was picked up along with my trash can which was put up by my garage door. I have written letters to STR commending them on the great service that they provide. I’ve lived in Tahoe for 25+ years and I knew that I couldn’t get a tote, just a good ol’ fashioned garbage can with a tight fitting lid. And as for animals getting into my trash, if you put it out in the morning (like you are supposed to) then you may not have as many problems if you put it out the night before. Hey STR keep up the great work and thank you for your WONDERFUL service!!!
I appreciate the work our garbage men do for our city.
However, I can’t believe you are complaining about residents garbage cans and workers injuries when you don’t supply the community with appropriate trash cans.
Heck, I will pay the extra annual fee just so my neighbors will have a freaking lid on their cans and your employees won’t hurt their darn backs. Solve the problem!
Glad to read so many compliments for STR and their hard working crew! I dumped plenty of cans and bags over the years , slid that big orange truck down plenty of snowy and icy roads(backwards, sideways, you name it!). Ah yes, fond memories. STR has been run by the same family as the number of years I’ve lived here, 51!
Don’t forget the STR food drive will be here soon. All food collected will be handed out to local food pantry’s. Take care, Old Long Skiis ( retired garbage man )