Recycling bins fill up faster than trash

Robert Latchford, Henderson

Saturday, March 2, 2013 | 2 a.m.

I just finished reading a letter to the editor saying trash pickup should remain twice a week and recycle collection on a weekly basis. This was right after I placed plastic bags of food and pet waste in my garbage can, still half full after missing the last pickup, and odorless. However, my four recycle bins (one donated by a nonrecycling neighbor) can hardly accommodate an empty two-liter bottle and weekend newspapers, and the next pickup is eight days away.

Southern Nevada in the first area I have seen twice-a-week garbage pickup. Growing up in a large eastern city, when large families and extended families were common, and “luxury” items like garbage disposals and trash compactors were unknown, the norm was one pickup and two cans if needed per home. Special scheduled pickups were made seasonally for discarded items, garden waste and trimmings, holiday items, furniture, etc.

If a person fills his garbage can with a few large plastic containers, pizza boxes or Styrofoam packing, the cans will fill up in no time. But with a little effort, with the trash company making it easy, the only excuses for failing to recycle are laziness or lack of respect for our environment.