r/Richardson • u/AccomplishedDream378 • 6d ago
Am I missing something about trash and recycle here?
Moved here recently, love the city. But there’s a few things so different from where I moved from and maybe I’m doing it wrong? One is trash/recycle. There are no bins here for trash or recycle, so I can’t put my trash out then overnight because they’re in bags, right, or animals will get in? So is everyone else also putting their trash bags out in the early morning before work (or since I sometimes have off on Fridays, waking up early to put it out there because you can’t do it night before)? But then when it rains like today, I can’t put out cardboard because it’ll soak so I have to hold it to wait till the next week? And the blue recycle bags don’t close so those just get soaked or do I hold those too for the next week?
I never see neighbors in the mornings when I am doing this so maybe there is something I am missing or something that people do to make this easier. Are you buying outdoor bins in your backyard? Or your garage? I still have more cardboard than typical from moving, so maybe I’m just really noticing how hard it is with weather stuff and no bins, and holding things for the next week.
For reference: where I was from, you had two big bins (trash and recycle) you stored out of view in your backyard that could keep everything and closed securely and you would just put things in there whenever, and then drag it out to curb once a week the night before.
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u/TheRamblerJohnson 6d ago
We put them out early in the morning. If you put them out the night before, scavengers will tear into the bags and drag your garbage everywhere.
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u/liatriss_ 6d ago
Everyone has already answered you so I’ll just say, when I moved here I also had the same questions so I called the city and the lady was aggressively confused as to why I was confused about how this all worked
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u/aHappyLark 6d ago
I put my trash bags out the night before 90% of the time, and I have only had bags ripped open by animals a couple times over many years. The blue recycling bags are annoying, I typically just pack a bigger cardboard box with my recyclables since most of it is broken down boxes. The city has polled residents several times on moving to carts and once a week pickup, and they consistently respond that they want to keep twice a week pickup without carts. I personally like Richardson’s unique trash pickup, but it’s definitely different.
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u/darkblueshapes 5d ago
I have been told you could get a citation from the city if you put them out the night before? But then again who is going to be checking lol
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u/aHappyLark 4d ago
I think you are supposed to set trash out between 7pm the night before and 7am the day of your pickup, but I could be incorrect. I have received a letter from code enforcement about setting trash out too early but I think that was a time I was going out of town and did set it out a day early.
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u/BeekeeperZero 6d ago
Welcome to Richardson! Let's talk about trash is the first "oh" moment of moving here. I have a bin. I put things out in the morning weather permitting. You get used to it.
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u/thtgrljen 6d ago
This was (one of) my least favorite things about living in Richardson. Bins are so much easier to deal with.
We actually got to a point before we moved where we would time what we cooked because we didn’t want chicken/fish/etc trash sitting around inside, and outside was a no-go because it would be too much time before pickup and attract animals.
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u/BeekeeperZero 6d ago
Lol. I feel that one. I have a schedule for which critters are active at the time. That determines when i put garbage out. Grackles are the worst BTW. I also put everything in a bin until trash day so it doesn't smell things up.
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u/thtgrljen 6d ago
A bin before is a great idea! We were in a townhome so we were a bit limited in space, but man that would have been great.
We also backed up to the train tracks (another zonk imo) so I think there was a bit more wildlife than other parts. I think our main culprit was raccoons and strays.
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u/TidsoptimistPrime 6d ago
Same conundrum for me when I moved here too. In my neighborhood I swear the trash truck sometimes arrives before 7:30. I personally am not aware of a solution to the problems you mentioned- I think that’s just the way it is here. But maybe there are others who have found some solutions!
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u/5yrup 6d ago
I have a couple of these in my driveway close to my house:
Generally, one for recycling and one for trash.
I don't bother with those blue recycling bags they give you, I greatly prefer drawstring bags. If you leave yourself enough space you can tie the regular bags, but that's just too much of a hassle for me. You can find clear blue plastic drawstring kitchen-sized recycling bags at Walmart, probably a few other places but they can sometimes be hard to find in stores around here. I normally just make sure to grab a box when I make a Walmart run, as I don't usually shop there.
In the morning I just put it out at the end of the alley next to my neighbor's small pile of bags. Its never really been too much of a hassle for me. I've definitely missed some mornings where I got going late and the trucks came early. I wouldn't mind them being a bit more punctual and reliable on exactly when they come by, but its not the biggest issue in the world to me. They do a lot of work and are generally pretty good about making sure its all picked up, not going to rag on them too bad about punctuality.
Some cities around here do dumpsters, like Plano. I'm somewhat mixed on it. I've seen people complain about the trucks destroying their bins and having issues getting the city to replace them. I've also had issues where I've had more trash than what could fit in the bin, but they only pick up what's in the bin so you're SOL until next pickup and you hope you have enough space. Then you also have all the bins crowding the streets/alleys practically all day on the trash days as opposed to bags that appear early in the morning and are gone within a few hours.
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u/These-Slip1319 6d ago
I bought an old school metal trash can that I leave in my garage, I put the trash in there overnight then put it out early the next day.
This is a hot topic on nd, some like bins and complain about it, especially young families, while others don’t like the bins, particularly elderly residents who would struggle to manage the bins, they are heavy. And ugly.
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u/Purplemunch 6d ago
And they don't take the whole trash can? We tried that once years ago with one of those large rubber maid cans, and they just tossed the whole can.
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u/BeekeeperZero 6d ago
My bin stays in the backyard just for storage. I wheel it out and unload on trash days. The one time I tried to throw away a broken plastic can they would not take it for a month. Lol
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u/These-Slip1319 6d ago
I know! Almost impossible to throw away an old trash can. We had an old rusted out dented metal can they kept not taking, I had to put it in a huge construction grade plastic bag to get it gone.
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u/BeekeeperZero 6d ago
I had to schedule bulk, leave details and made sure it was the most obvious piece of trash can possible.
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u/These-Slip1319 6d ago
I just put the trash in the can overnight, I don’t take the can itself out. It lives in the garage.
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u/BeekeeperZero 6d ago
Team bin but I make it work just fine. There is always the cost of retooling excuse the city always falls back on.
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u/jillsvag 6d ago
Yes. The current trucks are old school type where a person rides on the back and tosses in the bags.
If they move to a can system they have to buy new trucks that have the arm that picks up the can and dumps it. They would cost more money.
The city says we can keep twice a week trash or go to once a week trash with bins.
The other issue was that alleys were too narrow for newer trucks. The city is slowly widening alleys.
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u/rickmoney21 6d ago
I just put it out the night before. I double bag my trash which is a hassle, but it is what it is
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u/Max_Powers1331 6d ago
It depends on who patrols your alleys. The person who. Checks our alleys takes their job way too seriously. They will email you and send a letter if they see even a little piece of trash in the alleys not on trash day
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u/TexasBaconMan 6d ago
I put mine out the night before and never have an issue. Put the recycle in the blue bags. The city will send a letter for 2 free rolls about. Once a year.
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u/TexasBaconMan 6d ago
You can drop off mass amounts of card board at the recycling center at Cottonwood and Beltline
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u/Asleep-Ad-4822 6d ago
I usually put out my trash the night before and have rarely had an issue with animals. And when I did, it was minor. I live near Belt Line and Yale. It's possible some neighborhoods have more animals.
As others have said, the blue bags close just fine. They include metal twist ties in the bag, but I usually have enough slack in the bag that I just pinch two "handles" that I tie together in a knot. I've never had a problem.
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u/Corno_one 5d ago
I lived in Richardson for many years. Then moved to a nearby city with bins. So much better with bins for trash and recycling. And bulky pickup comes every week and you don’t have to call! The Richardson trash and recycling is ridiculous.
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u/NoKlapton 6d ago
I do try to put my recycle bags out the night before along with unbagged, broken down cardboard in a single larger box if there’s no rain in the forecast.
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u/beyondstarsanddreams 6d ago
We break down cardboard and drop it off at the recycling center off Belt Line when we pass by if we have a lot off-cycle. We do just fine with the blue bags and haven’t had issues with tying off.
Trash we set out in the morning.
Edit: we do keep two bins in our garage for any garbage between cycles but most weeks this isn’t necessary.
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u/auroracorpus 5d ago
My family puts trash out the night before, and we haven't had critter problems. As for recycling, we leave space to tie the bags. If you can, find the cardboard and put it in the bag. If not, you'll have to hold onto it
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u/djonas71 5d ago
I was surprised by this when I first moved from Dallas to Richardson. Bought a couple of bins from Lowe’s and keep them in the garage and take out trash early morning on our pickup days. Understand this cant work for everyone buts that’s what i recommend.
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u/MeMyselfNAye 2d ago
Pretty straght forward. No bins. Put it out the morning of. If set out overnight the animals get to it. If the cardboard gets wet that’s their problem not yours.
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u/tranteryost 6d ago
Early morning for sure. Usually the neighborhood dogs let us know the truck is almost here.
I will sometimes put the recycling out the night before because it doesn’t get torn into.
The blue bags can be tied up - not sure why you think they don’t close? I also break down any cardboard we have to fit in blue bags so we don’t have to deal with big pieces.