I recently moved with my wife to the suburbs, after living in the city for nearly four years. It's the first time I've ever lived outside a borough or a city. And while the manicured lawns and general quiet have taken some getting used to, the total lack of trash has been the biggest surprise for me.
And not the lack of litter blowing around. I mean what people put out on trash day.
In the city, everyone seemed to put out the maximum amount of trash allowed and then some. With generally higher incomes in the suburbs -- which I thought would mean a higher level of consumption -- I expected it to be even worse around my new house.
Turns out, what would be three or four trash bags, two of which had spilled open, a box filled with tangles of wires and pipes, and maybe a television or box spring for each dwelling in the city, is often only a neatly tied grocery bag per house around my new suburban abode.
And after a month or two of racking my brain for an answer, I don't have an answer. Can anyone help me out with this one?
Since Fairview Township now recycles almost everything and it's picked up the same day as the trash is picked up many are finding they have little trash to put out any more. Kudos to the Township! This is one difference from city folks. Another one--many homes in the burbs are much newer so us country folks aren't constantly tearing out old plumbing and heating parts, nor do we have multiple households in one dwelling.
I think people out in the 'burbs tend to move to new homes less often. Moving out tends to bring on a big purge of items for most people.
Also, if you have 2-3 families living in a home converted to apartments it would be my guess that they would generate more garbage than one family living in that same house.