If you live in an apartment or condo, chances are good that your building is serviced by a centralized Residential Waste Service (RWS). Instead of having individual dumpsters for different types of waste, RWS collects everything from large kitchen appliances to drywall and cardboard in one location. Each residential unit typically has its own container for disposing of smaller items like bottles, cans, plastic containers and other recyclables.
These systems are often called “centralized” because all the different kinds of waste are collected from multiple buildings into a single area known as a transfer station or central disposal facility. Within this central location, there are individual compartments for each type of waste. If this sounds a little confusing, don’t worry. We’ll go over what you need to know about RWS so you can make informed decisions about how it affects you and your home.
Why do we have Residential Waste Services?
As cities have grown, the amount of waste created has increased dramatically. At the same time, our ability to find new places to put that waste has stagnated. Landfills are expensive to build and maintain, and the environmental impact of filling them up and having to deal with their byproducts is significant. Residential Waste Service are designed to solve these issues by putting all the waste from an area into one central location.
When all the waste from all the different buildings in a city is put into a single central location, there are significant cost savings. It’s cheaper to drop off a trailer of waste at one central location than it is to drive it to each individual building. There are also cost benefits when it comes to disposal. When all the waste from one area is put into one central location, the city doesn’t have to spend as much on finding a new place to put it.
What is included in an RWS?
Each building that participates in an RWS has its own compartments or bins for different types of waste. These are emptied by workers who travel between the buildings collecting the waste and transferring it to compartments in the central location. The compartments can be either indoor or outdoor depending on the type of building.
With an RWS, you’re typically expected to put the following types of waste into your compartments:
Residential Kitchen Waste: This includes items like food scraps, food-soiled paper products and yard waste. In some areas, it may be possible to compost some of this waste to create fertilizer that can be used in gardens.
Trash: This is the typical household waste like paper products, plastic containers, glass bottles and aluminum cans.
Drywall: In areas where there have been significant construction projects, drywall can be a significant source of waste. While it can be recycled, it’s often easier for contractors to drop it off at one central location.
Cardboard: Cardboard is the most recycled product in the country, but only if it is clean and dry. It can be recycled into a number of different materials, including boxes and paper.
The Pros of RWS
The biggest advantage of an RWS is ease of use. You don’t have to worry about sorting your trash, cleaning out your recyclables or finding a place to dump large items. You simply put everything in the right compartment. An RWS also allows you to compost your food scraps and yard waste, which you can’t do if you’re collecting them in individual containers.
The RWS makes it easier for municipalities to manage waste. When all the waste from one area goes to one central location, it’s much easier to track and find ways to reuse or recycle it. That not only helps the environment, but it also saves the city money.
The Cons of RWS
The biggest disadvantage of an RWS is the smell. Many cities have centralized waste disposal facilities that collect all the waste from a wide area. When it comes time to empty the compartments, the smell can be overpowering. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about it. You can keep your windows closed and try to stay inside during the worst parts of the day, but that can be challenging.
You also don’t have much control over how your waste is handled. When you take it to a centralized location, it’s likely that multiple buildings are putting their waste into the same compartments. You don’t know what it is or how it is being treated or disposed of. There are environmental benefits to this centralized system, but it also means you’re not in control of your waste.
How to Deal with the Smell
Thankfully, there are ways to deal with the smell. You can try spraying air freshener or scented oils near the compartments. Putting baking soda in a mesh bag in your compartments can help absorb odors. And you can talk to other people in your building about bringing in air purifiers.
You can also contact your city representatives to ask if there is anything they can do to reduce the smell. This can include changing the type of compartments used or reducing the amount of waste being dumped. If the problem is widespread, it might be useful to file a complaint with the city. Complaints can help the city track and respond to issues that might not have been reported otherwise. They can also help you get the assistance you need.
Conclusion
An RWS can be a great way to deal with waste in a large area like a city. But it’s important to understand what it includes and what is expected of you when you live in an RWS area. If you have questions about your RWS or want to report an issue, you can contact your municipality. They can help you figure out the best way to get in touch with the correct people and can often collect complaints online.
References:
1-Predicting the selection of industrial waste disposal service in cement kiln using a random parameters approach with heterogeneity in means and variances
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2022.05.075
2-Smart Dumpster Monitoring System Using Efficient Route Finding Algorithm
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSCAN.2019.8878809
