Writing in Snow

What happened to the garbage trucks yesterday?

Word count: 678

Saturday, June 26, 2010, was trash collection day in my neighborhood; at least, it was supposed to be. The garbage trucks did not pick up the trash on my street. There are still plastic trashcans setting along the curb all along Bracken Avenue. All of those trashcans are still full of last week’s garbage and trash.

This is summer time in Las Vegas and temperatures are in the triple digits. The next scheduled trash pick up is on Wednesday, June 30, by then all of that garbage, which include used cat litter, spoiled food, etc. should be stinking. I am sure I am not the only person living on Bracken Avenue who is not happy with the local trash collection company.

It Las Vegas, it is a private company that picks up the trash. I can assure you they charge for it and they are not cheap. I have no doubt there is a very good explanation as to why the garbage crews did not empty the trashcans on my street yesterday. I have not heard it, but I am sure it was a good reason because it always sounds like a good reason.

This is not the first time trucks missed Bracken Avenue on trash collection day. Bracken Avenue is not the only street missed throughout the year; this occurs periodically to various residential streets over the course of a year. I have not heard of it occurring to businesses; however, business pay more fore trash collection services then residential customer (at least, that is my understanding).

Anyway, my black Rubber Maid rolling trashcan remains parked next to the curb in front of my house. It is full of last week’s garbage and trash. I took a sack of trash out yesterday evening and put it in the can. The trashcan was almost full then, so by the time Wednesday arrives it may be overflowing because I have a house to clean and I cannot wait for the garbage trucks to empty the trashcan before taking more bags out.

Fortunately, I still have the aluminum trashcans I used before I bought the Rubber Maid trashcan. I had intended to get rid of them, but now I think I will store them in my garage for just such an emergency. I do not like lugging the aluminum cans to the curb, which is why I bought the rolling plastic Rubber Maid trashcan. It is easier and safer to roll a full trashcan to the curb then to carry one.

Maybe I can get an interesting story out of this experience. The logical explanation is that the garbage truck broke down before it got to my street. Another logical explanation is that one crew took a vacation and the doubled the route of another crew. The crew had a double route and only a certain amount of time to complete their routes. Both of those explanations are acceptable, but they do not make good story ideas or plots.

The trashcans cans are supposed to be at the curbs by 7:00 AM on Wednesday and Saturday. The garbage trucks begin their runs at 7:00 AM and end them sometime after 4:00 or 5:00 PM. I know this because sometimes they do not empty the trashcans until about 4:00 or 4:30 PM. If a full trashcan is still at the curb at 5:00 PM you know the truck are not going to empty it that night.

I doubt that the trucks will empty any of the trashcans before Wednesday. I now have to decide if I want my full trashcan to remain parked at the curb for the next two days. It will smell just as bad at the curb as it would in my garage. Since I cannot close my garage door, the odds of someone stealing the trashcan at the curb is just as good as someone stealing the can out of the garage; therefore, unless I can think of a good reason to bring the trashcan back up the driveway I will leave it parked on the curb.