> I heard that east-coast mafias had something to do with the over-the-top levels of cronyism involved I'm in a fairly densely-populated part of the east coast

> I heard that east-coast mafias had something to do with the over-the-top levels of cronyism involved I'm in a fairly densely-populated part of the east coast and we have lots of options for trash hauling, and none of them are "official" or provided by the city. ... I do wonder about the wear-n-tear on the neighborhood roads from having like 5+x as many trash truck trips on them per week versus a municipal solution, given how fast road wear scales with axel weight. I bet it's enough to matter, which means we're all paying a hidden cost for being able to choose among trash companies. It also seems like the base costs would have to be significantly higher, given far more trucks required and way fewer pick-ups per mile driven.