Thursday, May 11, 2006

A Testament to Inefficiency

Okay, so Oklahoma City is not a place I want to live again, but I must admit they did one thing really well. That one thing was BIG TRASH DAY. Once a month you could put out big trash (less chemicals, compressors, tires, the usual). This was great for home renovation projects. They had one guy in a BIG truck with a huge, claw machine type claw, and seat on the back. He would pull up to the curb, get out and climb to the other seat and pick up your stuff, climb back in the truck and drive on. It was quick and efficient. Also, if you had anything someone else wanted your stuff usually walked off (including filthy carpet).

Where we live know they haven’t done a large trash pick up since 2003 (even then it was 1-2 times a year). I found out why today. The city workers blocked the street with a city truck, they had 4 dump trucks, a front loader and a backhoe, plus 6 guys (who mainly stood there to pick up loose twigs and small debris). I can understand why the cost of “Spring Spruce Up” is so high. Granted the landfill costs are not anything to sneeze at, but the man-hours have to be big. I wonder if the city knows about the big trash trucks with the claws. Renting one for a couple of weeks would probably be cheaper.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have complained about this FOREVER! Sara, please call the city and tell them what you have written here. What they don't seem to understand is they do wind up picking it up even if they don't do "big trash day"....only it's along the bar ditches on the county roads. Another example of government in action....backwards that is! Pam

Anonymous said...

Out here I don't think they do anything like that at all. They do have a center, one county over where people can take big stuff and even some of the stuff normal trash pickup will not take.
I am thinking about making the move to blogspot. My xanga is annoying me. I will post a comment if I make the switch.
Hope your move went ok.