5 ms·

Garbage collection should not be private enterprise. It is a public service. If you've ever lived in Cambridge MA you can see just how bad it is when it's run b

Garbage collection should not be private enterprise. It is a public service. If you've ever lived in Cambridge MA you can see just how bad it is when it's run by private companies competing with each other - garbage trucks of multiple companies everywhere blocking the streets, stinking up neighborhoods with their exhaust, constant noise...

d357r0y3r 12y ago
Garbage collection is not a public service everywhere, especially in towns that don't collect utility taxes for it or in locations not within city limits.
icebraining 12y ago
That's a problem with a particular model, not with privatization in general (e.g. you could simply contract with a single company per city division, instead of having overlapping service, and if they're noisier or dirtier than public trucks, that's just incompetence of whoever drafted the contract).
- prawn 12y ago
  I agree, and I'm someone who usually favours a non-privatised approach for utilities. In my council area, the refuse collection is contracted out (to one supplier for the region) and it seems reasonably efficient. Truck goes past at the same time each week, never have a problem. This covers bins for general waste, green waste and recycling. There is also an annual on-demand service for heavy waste (e.g., whitegoods, furniture) handled by a contractor. Council points me to the contractor, I make the request and get a date to put out my two cubic metres of junk. Works well enough.
r00fus 12y ago
Local governments outsource. There might be good money in being the most efficient outsourced waste management provider.
mig39 12y ago
I agree with you for household garbage. Should be just like any other city utility. Not for commercial and industrial garbage, though. Which is what this is about?
onezeno 12y ago
Shouldn't the market sort this out in the long run? That is, I would expect to see company buyouts and mergers that would reduce the levels of overhead and redundancy.
- pkaye 12y ago
  Yes, kind of like in the cable and cellphone industry.
bluthru 12y ago
Yep, residential garbage collection and recycling is an essential service, and it makes sense to maximize efficiency by not having overlapping routes.

d357r0y3r 12y ago

Garbage collection is not a public service everywhere, especially in towns that don't collect utility taxes for it or in locations not within city limits.

icebraining 12y ago

That's a problem with a particular model, not with privatization in general (e.g. you could simply contract with a single company per city division, instead of having overlapping service, and if they're noisier or dirtier than public trucks, that's just incompetence of whoever drafted the contract).

prawn 12y ago
I agree, and I'm someone who usually favours a non-privatised approach for utilities. In my council area, the refuse collection is contracted out (to one supplier for the region) and it seems reasonably efficient. Truck goes past at the same time each week, never have a problem. This covers bins for general waste, green waste and recycling. There is also an annual on-demand service for heavy waste (e.g., whitegoods, furniture) handled by a contractor. Council points me to the contractor, I make the request and get a date to put out my two cubic metres of junk. Works well enough.

r00fus 12y ago

Local governments outsource. There might be good money in being the most efficient outsourced waste management provider.

mig39 12y ago

I agree with you for household garbage. Should be just like any other city utility. Not for commercial and industrial garbage, though. Which is what this is about?

onezeno 12y ago

Shouldn't the market sort this out in the long run? That is, I would expect to see company buyouts and mergers that would reduce the levels of overhead and redundancy.

pkaye 12y ago
Yes, kind of like in the cable and cellphone industry.

bluthru 12y ago

Yep, residential garbage collection and recycling is an essential service, and it makes sense to maximize efficiency by not having overlapping routes.