# Trash pickup rate increase



## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

Just a vent.....I have been on a reduced rate for my trash pickup for three years, what they called a senior discount.  About every 6 months they forget the discount on my billing so I call and remind, then they reduce my bill.

Happened again with yesterday a bill, increase of just over $30, which comes to $113.41 for three months.  I called just like always to inform them of the error but was informed there has never been a senior discount available in my area so I have actually been under paying.  I complained, got transferred to another agent who said the same thing, there's no senior discount.  Yet my neighbor is the one who told of the discount because she gets it, and her bill didn't go up!

I guess I will call again tomorrow, maybe with luck the mysterious discount will reappear.


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## Ken N Tx (Aug 2, 2022)

C50 said:


> Yet my neighbor is the one who told of the discount because she gets it, and her bill didn't go up!


Cancel your trash pickup and use the neighbor's and split their bill 50/50..


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## debodun (Aug 2, 2022)

Call your city officials or a local politician. Is the company under new management? I wish that was my rate. I'm paying over $90 a month WITH a senior discount.


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## Aunt Bea (Aug 2, 2022)

Good luck, but please don’t bring your neighbor into it and risk her losing the discount.


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## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

Ken N Tx said:


> Cancel your trash pickup and use the neighbor's and split their bill 50/50..


Believe it or not we use to do that, somehow they figured it out and sent us each a letter to stop or they would discontinue service.


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## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

debodun said:


> Call your city officials or a local politician. Is the company under new management? I wish that was my rate. I'm paying over $90 a month WITH a senior discount.


Ouch! $90 is steep!

There are only two companies that service my road, the other company requires you to use these giant recycle bins.  That would be hard for me because I have a long gravel drive and no way to get the bins back and forth except to drag them.  The company I use let's me bag the trash.


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## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

Aunt Bea said:


> Good luck, but please don’t bring your neighbor into it and risk her losing the discount.


Trust me I won't do that,  I know the importance of discretion.


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## Gaer (Aug 2, 2022)

Small town here. went up from $53.00 to $64.00 a month.  No senior discounts.
and, New Mexico is a poor state.


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## bingo (Aug 2, 2022)

Ours is $10/month..unbelievable


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## Geezer Garage (Aug 2, 2022)

If  paid for it where I am it would be around $1k a year. I take my recycle and trash to a friend who has recycle/dumpster, but that will be ending soon due to property sale. In the past I would just take a grocery bag every week or so, and just put it in one of the cans on the street in town, or at the bike path by the library, or gas station. It's my understanding the big trash outfits are all run by organized crime. Seems about right.


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## Remy (Aug 2, 2022)

Ken N Tx said:


> Cancel your trash pickup and use the neighbor's and split their bill 50/50..


This is my thought also. When I had that house, I paid about 90 dollars  for 3 months. It was ridiculous for me. Sometimes I'd have a small bag only in the garbage can and there were a number of times, I didn't even bother taking the trash to the curb that week.

I get gas/diesel or whatever they use is going up but I think consolidating with a neighbor if you have a good relationship with one is a great idea. Maybe use a small can or container for wherever you keep your garbage and then take it over on garbage day or vise versa. Gotta save where you can.


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## Remy (Aug 2, 2022)

Geezer Garage said:


> If  paid for it where I am it would be around $1k a year. I take my recycle and trash to a friend who has recycle/dumpster, but that will be ending soon due to property sale. In the past I would just take a grocery bag every week or so, and just put it in one of the cans on the street in town, or at the bike path by the library, or gas station. It's my understanding the big trash outfits are all run by organized crime. Seems about right.


And why not. I would see an older guy at a former apartment complex drive through, put his bag in the dumpster and drive off. I assume he lived in one of the older houses on that street. I get if everyone did that, the dumpster would overflow but it didn't. Of coarse now people have cameras.

At my last job a co-worker and her husband sold their old mobile in an all ages park and bought a small  house. She started bringing her garbage to work and putting it in the work dumpster which was in the parking lot. I told her 'go girl, just don't get caught.'


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## Bella (Aug 2, 2022)

My trash and recycling pick-up has gone up twice since COVID, just like every other service I have. It's just me and I don't make that much trash. I wish I could get it picked up biweekly, but they won't even consider it. Not to mention they "forget" to pick up the trash half the time and I have to call, which I find annoying. Higher prices and worse service just doesn't add up. I'm looking for a cheaper trash service but am not having much luck. A senior discount? Yeah, right.

My grass cutting service has gone up $16.00 _per cut_ since this nonsense started. I've called them three times in the last few weeks to complain about stuff they "forgot" to do. I have a tractor but it's too much for me to handle. Otherwise, I'd cut the lawn myself!

Snow removal, anybody? They charge by the friggin' inch! I have a good dual gauge snow blower, but I can't even_ move_ it, let alone use it, because it weighs twice as much as I do. 

Bella


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## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

Geezer Garage said:


> If  paid for it where I am it would be around $1k a year. I take my recycle and trash to a friend who has recycle/dumpster, but that will be ending soon due to property sale. In the past I would just take a grocery bag every week or so, and just put it in one of the cans on the street in town, or at the bike path by the library, or gas station. It's my understanding the big trash outfits are all run by organized crime. Seems about right.


One of my neighbors who passed away recently use to take his trash to the gas station and use their cans by the pumps.  That's a good idea but you can't get rid of larger items that way.


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## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

Bella said:


> My trash and recycling pick-up has gone up twice since COVID, just like every other service I have. It's just me and I don't make that much trash. I wish I could get it picked up biweekly, but they won't even consider it. Not to mention they "forget" to pick up the trash half the time and I have to call, which I find annoying. Higher prices and worse service just doesn't add up. I'm looking for a cheaper trash service but am not having much luck. A senior discount? Yeah, right.
> 
> My grass cutting service has gone up $16.00 _per cut_ since this nonsense started. I've called them three times in the last few weeks to complain about stuff they "forgot" to do. I have a tractor but it's too much for me to handle. Otherwise, I'd cut the lawn myself!
> 
> ...


Oh I would love a biweekly pickup, and I have tried but as you said they won't consider it.  And yeah, service with both local companies has deteriated, from missed pickups to inconsistent pickup times.

You need to learn how to use that equipment!  My one neighbor just hit 80 and she's still out there mowing with a big zero turn mower and using her tractor/loader for brush hogging and other projects, including blowing snow from a 1500' drive.   She impresses the hell out of me!


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## dobielvr (Aug 2, 2022)

C50 said:


> Ouch! $90 is steep!
> 
> There are only two companies that service my road, the other company requires you to use these giant recycle bins.  That would be hard for me because I have a long gravel drive and no way to get the bins back and forth except to drag them.  The company I use let's me bag the trash.


What state are you in?
I've asked about a senior discount here in California, but they don't offer it.
I get discount on my water though.


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## C50 (Aug 2, 2022)

dobielvr said:


> What state are you in?
> I've asked about a senior discount here in California, but they don't offer it.
> I get discount on my water though.


I'm in Ohio.  I just don't understand how I have been getting a senior discount but now the company rep says there was never such a thing.


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## Geezer Garage (Aug 2, 2022)

True, but I have a backhoe, and thirty acres of land. What I can't burn, I bury. Nothing toxic of course. Most of the nearby towns have several days a year that will take toxic material, and electronics for free. Not that I generate much of either. I'm going to design, and build a forced air incinerator this winter, which shoud take care of all of the trash, without creating any pollution.  



C50 said:


> One of my neighbors who passed away recently use to take his trash to the gas station and use their cans by the pumps.  That's a good idea but you can't get rid of larger items that way.


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## Bella (Aug 2, 2022)

C50 said:


> Oh I would love a biweekly pickup, and I have tried but as you said they won't consider it.  And yeah, service with both local companies has deteriated, from missed pickups to inconsistent pickup times.
> 
> *You need to learn how to use that equipment!*  My one neighbor just hit 80 and she's still out there mowing with a big zero turn mower and using her tractor/loader for brush hogging and other projects, including blowing snow from a 1500' drive.   She impresses the hell out of me!


@C50 - Good for your neighbor, she's a lumberjack, lol! More power to her.

I know how to use the equipment, that's not the issue. My mower is not a zero turn, wouldn't that be nice. Not to mention, my property is tricky to cut. As I said in my previous post, _the tractor is too much for me to handle._ It's a beast._ I can't even move the snow blower let alone use it because I'm 5"2"and weigh 100 lbs and that sucker is well over 200 lbs._ It's way to heavy for me to use and maneuver. I'm hardly incompetent as I do absolutely _everything_ else myself. I'm simply incapable of operating_ this_ particular equipment. No harm, no foul.

FYI, I have plans to get lighter weight snow removal equipment so I can also do that myself. As far as the lawn goes, I have no intention of buying another tractor. I'll continue to pay to have that done. I do enough as it is. I have nothing to prove. I'm impressive enough, lol! 

Bella


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## dobielvr (Aug 2, 2022)

C50 said:


> I'm in Ohio.  I just don't understand how I have been getting a senior discount but now the company rep says there was never such a thing.


Can't they just look at your past billing statements and see your monthly bills and adjustments made to reflect your discount?

Offer to send them your copies too.


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## MarciKS (Aug 3, 2022)

C50 said:


> Just a vent.....I have been on a reduced rate for my trash pickup for three years, what they called a senior discount.  About every 6 months they forget the discount on my billing so I call and remind, then they reduce my bill.
> 
> Happened again with yesterday a bill, increase of just over $30, which comes to $113.41 for three months.  I called just like always to inform them of the error but was informed there has never been a senior discount available in my area so I have actually been under paying.  I complained, got transferred to another agent who said the same thing, there's no senior discount.  Yet my neighbor is the one who told of the discount because she gets it, and her bill didn't go up!
> 
> I guess I will call again tomorrow, maybe with luck the mysterious discount will reappear.


if they try to bs you i'd ask them why the neighbor gets it and you suddenly can't.


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## OneEyedDiva (Aug 3, 2022)

Hopefully they don't try to make you pay what they'll claim you owe for getting discounts that don't exist.  Geeeze!!


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## PamfromTx (Aug 3, 2022)

Ours is still at the set rate of $29.30 per month.  No discounts.


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## C50 (Aug 3, 2022)

I called again today just to see what would happen, this is Republic Services and they're a multi state company so when you call you're never sure who you will speak with.  So the rep confirmed they have never had a senior discount, she said they try to give discounts when possible and whoever I spoke with in the past gave me a discount and simply let me call it a senior discount.  Of course she claimed the rate increase is due to fuel cost and having to pay extra overtime because of staff shortages.

She went as far as saying if gas prices continue dropping I should call again and maybe they can get me back to my old rate.  I should believe that will happen right? lol


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## debodun (Aug 4, 2022)

Same old, same old....


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## hawkdon (Aug 4, 2022)

Well I'm still waiting on Republic to put that hot blonde on
my route !!! !


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