Duluth Garbage Bins

emilymoesewco Aug 20, 2011 26 Comments

OK, so what’s the deal? There are no garbage bins anywhere! I want to pick up after my dog, but I end up walking blocks and blocks carrying a bag of … you know.

I’ve just come from Chicago, where garbage is a city service (never mind the pay for play aspect of this city service). And garbage bins are everywhere. One every block on the major streets. And no one worries about throwing garbage into someone else’s bin, because it’s all covered.

As an aside, I used to live two doors down from Blagojevich. I took extra happy pride in throwing those nasty little bags into his bins.

Are there no curbing laws in Duluth?

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26 Comments

mike molitor

about 13 years ago 

I'm from Ravenswood Manor too.  Small world.

Rachel

about 13 years ago 

As a former Duluthian and current Chicago resident, I think you are overreacting on this. Duluth is one of the most dog-friendly cities I know - just crawling with Mutt Mitt dispensers. Simply drop in the next trash can, wherever and whoever's it may be. Even Dear Abby says so:

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/?uc_full_date=20090921

emilymoesewco

about 13 years ago 

Well, there aren't any around here. I see them in the parks and on the lakewalk, but few and far between downtown, and not even a bin at the farmer's market.

emilymoesewco

about 13 years ago 

What part? I was on Sacramento and Sunnyside!

mike molitor

about 13 years ago 

2649 west Sunnyside, close to the river.

mike molitor

about 13 years ago 

The big house across from Buffalo Park.

Sam

about 13 years ago 

I have to disagree big time with Dear Abby on this one.  

Last year I had a neighbor who used my bin on trash day, but AFTER pickup (which is very early in the morning).  This was during last summer's heat wave, and I noticed that my garage (and my car) smelled like warmed-over dog poo.  I did not appreciate it at all.  I had to give the trash can a thorough clean before the smell really went away.

People should use their own garbage containers or a public one, but not a private family's trash can.  Even in a bag, the poo smell gets out.    You can always double bad it and put it in your pocket, or just carry it in your hand for a few more minutes (anything but in my garage or my can).

Just my 2 cents.

TimK

about 13 years ago 

I think the point Emily brought up is that in Chicago, there are no "private" garbage cans. The municipality provides the cans and the service- it doesn't matter who's garbage goes in what can. I don't see the City being interested in this and unfortunately, I don't see the City putting out additional "public" garbage cans in a time of economic uncertainty. We need a dog poop raygun that will instantly vaporize dog waste like a Ferengi Phasor!

emilymoesewco

about 13 years ago 

Mike--- did you know the Luby's? I think they were over there, but on Mozart. I was the Ravenswood Manor Piano Teacher, and had just about every child in the neighborhood at one point or the other. 

I can't see it changing either. It's an observation. I just think people would more likely "curb" if there were more bins. Is there a curbing law?

I've always wanted a flushable bag, personally. It does seem like the best place to put the item in question, instead of mummifying it in plastic bags.

TimK

about 13 years ago 

Yes, you must pick up after your dog in Duluth.

Kerc

about 13 years ago 

But yes, it's not just dog pop that's a problem. 

How about a band aid you pull off your kid? Or the wrapper to your granola bar?  There are places in Duluth where trash cans are far and few in between. There are trash bins at Brighton Beach for instance, but WAY way fewer than should be given by how overflowing they are by Saturday afternoon.

I think budget cuts are an issue. 

On dog poop: should you be walking a route with no can, tie it to the leash (closer to the dog) and untie when you get home. Pop it into your own can and you're done.

Sun Dog

about 13 years ago 

Because of budget cuts the garbage cans were removed from the parks. There used to be trash cans in Portland Square Park and at Chester Creek near  4th Street and 14th Avenue E. Everyone screams about taxes. So this was one of the things that got cut.

I once put some dog poo in a dumpster behind an apartment complex and a resident yelled at me for putting garbage in "their" dumpster.

She did chill out when she realized it was just dog poo and that I wasn't being a cheapsake by not paying for garbage service by dumping my garbage in someone Else's dumpster.

emilymoesewco

about 13 years ago 

Doesn't it strike you as weird that people are so possessive of their garbage? Shouldn't we be encouraging people to pick up after themselves?

LMR

about 13 years ago 

Here's one perspective on why people are possessive of their garbage cans: Where I used to live (Santa Cruz, CA), we had municipal garbage but the city was hardcore about limiting the garbage into the landfill.  So if you filled your bin, they wouldn't take any extra bags unless you paid extra for special tags to put on it.  So often folks would only pay for the smallest can possible and then try to dump their extra trash in a neighbor's can.  This used to happen to us quite a bit so as a result I rarely left my trash can out where others could access it.  Since moving to Duluth, I've done the same -- I guess old habits die hard -- but I've noticed that the local trash companies aren't nearly as stringent about taking an extra bag when the can is full so maybe I needn't be so careful.

Sam

about 13 years ago 

Being possessive of garbage is one thing, and preferring one's garage not smell like someone else's poo-poo is quite another.  Poo-poo in other people's property is its own issue.

emilymoesewco

about 13 years ago 

If you knot the bag properly, there's no odor. The whole point of curbing is actually that dog poo attracts rats, so you need to be very careful that there is no smell, regardless of what bin you place it in.

The Big E

about 13 years ago 

The whole point of picking up your dog's crap is that leaving it around the city for everyone else to deal with is evil, sociopathic behavior and people who do it should be fed to eels.  Carry it home if there isn't a public receptacle available--it's the price we pay for having a society.

Zeito

about 13 years ago 

Seriously, I don't care what Dr. Abby thinks is appropriate.  A lot of us around here take our trash cans indoors into our garage, shed, alcove or whatever it takes to keep the racoons\crows\squirrels and other rodents out.  Please don't put your dogs shit in there.

Sam

about 13 years ago 

I'm curious what other people's experiences are.  Does knotting the dog poo bag really eliminate all odor?  This has not been my experience at all.  

The dog poo bag in my trash was 100% knotted and it still stunk.  Plastic bags actually have a lot of microscopic holes in them that are too small to see but large enough to allow a lot of the smell-chemical gasses out.

On this forum, dog owners even doubled bagged their dog poo and their trash cans still smelled like poo poo.

Makoons

about 13 years ago 

It was always my understanding that disposing of your dog's crap in strangers' garbage bins was rude. I would walk my dog for a good couple of miles holding a bag of stinky poop, even while pregnant when all smells are those of hell. And regardless of what bag I used, her large-breed poops always stunk.

adam

about 13 years ago 

Why don't you just let your dog shit on the lawn across the street from the Hacienda like all the Sheraton condo owners?

And for future reference: original gangsters do not steal garbage cans.

Rachel

about 13 years ago 

For those who don't agree with Dear Abby, maybe Larry David could sway you?

Sam

about 13 years ago 

Larry David threw garbage in the can, not poop.  

I don't mind others' garbage in my can, since it won't smell up my garage with poop smell.

emmadogs

about 13 years ago 

Rachel, I was just thinking of that Larry David episode!

meghan

about 13 years ago 

Va-poo-rize!

Sam

about 13 years ago 

Yes. Va-poo-rize!

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