Tag: Republic

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CITY BYPASSED WINDBLOWN SENIOR TRASH CANS

In case you haven’t heard,  we’ve been getting some pretty scary weather here in the Midwest.  Like, tornados in Kentucky.  And high velocity winds barreling through towns .  Last night, the wind was so strong that it blew down the trash cans I had set out along the street. Remember, we’re seniors who finally persuaded the city to give us two smaller cans instead of one big one.  That was a fight we finally won.  However, the waste management company isn’t happy with us.  They showed us their ire by refusing to pick up our trash this morning. The  city bypassed windblown senior trash cans.

City bypassed windblown senior trash cans
City bypassed windblown senior trash cans. They didn’t care that two seniors would be left in the lurch.

There are usually two, strong, able bodied men in the trash collector’s truck.  However, they rely totally on automation to pick up the cans.  A big old vise that reaches out its claws, picks up the cans, then dumps the contents.  Often , they then throw back the empty cans, leaving them on the ground.  At any rate, when the  truck passed our driveway early this morning, they could easily see that the strong wind had blown over our skinny  trash cans, leaving bags lying in puddles of water.  Did they care in the least?  Hardly They turned up their noses and drove right on by, knowing full well they were leaving two seniors in the lurch.  What were they expecting us to do?  And why couldn’t they have stepped out of their comfort zone, got out of the truck, and set the cans upright?

I took a few deep breaths to control my anger, got dressed, walked out in the rain and set the cans upright, closing the lids.  Then I called Republic at some out of state number.  The person answering the phone thought I was calling from Indianapolis.  I guess that’s what my address in Indiana made her think.  Anyway, I told her what had happened, and she was kind enough to get in touch with the local office, She said she would take care of it, and she did.  A few minutes later, I looked out the window and saw the cans had been emptied.  Thank you, ma’am.

What if I hadn’t been awake early this morning while the trucks were still in the vicinity.?  What would we have done about our trash for the coming week?  It’s  disgusting that the city would bypass windblown senior trash cans.

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CITY BASHES SENIOR TRASH CANS

Managing trash can be difficult for seniors who want to stay in their own homes.  Those big, ugly  heavy trash containers must be hidden from the street except on trash collection days. When it got too hard to drag the big cans along our driveway,  we prevailed upon the city garbage collectors to give us two smaller cans, which made the entire task doable. They grudgingly agreed to bring us two of the smaller containers.  That went on for a few years. But then, last week, the city bashed our senior trash cans.

dRAGGING LARGE TRASH CAN MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR SENIORS TO STAY IN THEIR OWN HOMESS IT
DRAGGING HEAVY TRASH CANS IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR ELDERLY

Here how it happened.: When I went to get the morning newspaper, I saw that the cans hadn’t yet been emptied.  While I walked upstairs, my husband heard the rumble of the garbage truck.   By the time we had our coffee and read the newspaper,  we saw that the blue cans had disappeared!

Our city has a contract with a  waste management company, and believe me, there are big bucks involved.  Once upon a time, they provided the handicapped and elderly with smaller, lightweight containers. Then, they decided it was too much bother picking them up with their automated trucks.  They made it clear they weren’t happy when we demanded the smaller cans.  Grudgingly, they went along with the deal, but finally, they put an end to it all this week by throwing our cans into their shredder.

When I called to complain, I was informed by both the company and the mayor’s office that they couldn’t locate any more of the little containers. They could only provide us with another, large container. It had to be done their way, or no way.

Many seniors have children living nearby who can help out.  Unfortunately, our children are scattered across the country. These are the kinds of problems that force seniors into retirement homes before they really want to give up their independence.

After I voiced my unhappiness with their blatant  disregard for the needs of  the elderly/ handicapped ,  the mayor’s office called  my husband. They  said that if we would leave our trash  can out where it was in plain view from the street, a trash collector would perform the difficult??? task of walking a few feet to manually pick up the can and  feed the contents into the truck.  It remains to be seen how long they are willing to do this.  Or, will they pull another vanishing act?

We have paid our taxes in this community for over 50 years.  Is it too much to ask for a little consideration for citizens over the age of 80?  Maybe so.

 

Follow Up:  Trash can was not picked up when promised and as of today, May 19, it is still full, despite repeated e mails from mayor’s office saying that Republic will pick it up.

May 24:  A miracle just happened.  This afternoon, Republic brought us two of the smaller cans for handicapped people.  They are exactly like the ones they shredded last week.  I guess they decided that would be easier than putting up with our constant complaints.  As my husband said, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”