“Absolute Chaos”: City’s Money-Saving Policy Backfires, Turns It Into A Post-Apocalyptic Dump

Cities work long and hard to develop waste management strategies that keep their streets clean and residents healthy.

One key aspect of these systems is an efficient schedule, which optimizes collection routes and, in turn, minimizes the amount of time and other resources required to transport the waste.

However, as Reddit user Shieldtown95 recently pointed out, municipalities might get the idea that they can save on these crucial services. They still remember a holiday season from a few decades ago when their local authorities cut the garbage collectors’ overtime pay and turned the neighborhood itself into a mini dump.

A well-functioning waste management system is something many of us take for granted

Woman placing garbage in a bin outside, highlighting garbage collection issues.

Image credits: Toa Heftiba/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

As this story illustrates, it’s actually fairly easy to mess up

Text about greedy managers refusing garbage collectors overtime pay in the 90s, leading to increased workload.

Text discussing managers refusing overtime for garbage collectors, leading to limited trash pickup per household.

Text discussing unlimited garbage bag disposal by residents.

Text highlighting garbage collection issues during Christmas due to lack of communication.

Garbage truck at night with a collector loading bags, illustrating issues with unpaid overtime for waste workers.

Image credits: Ewoud Van den Branden/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Text describing garbage collectors taking limited bags, leading to street chaos with piled trash bags on sidewalks.

Text describing chaos due to garbage collectors not paid overtime; houses with over 10 bags waiting for disposal.

Text describing the chaos caused by greedy managers not paying garbage collectors overtime.

Image credits: shieldtown95

Current research advises governments to do the opposite—to include and inform communities about waste management to the best of their abilities rather than keeping them in the dark

Solid waste management makes up approximately 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s important for us to keep improving it as much as we can.

One of the reasons why the process can be so difficult to manage is that it involves many stakeholders, including businesses, governments, households, community organizations, etc.

These stakeholders influence where and how waste is generated, sorted, recycled, and disposed of, and how waste services are paid for.

In a recently published report “Behavior change in solid waste management: A compendium of cases,” the World Bank Group assessed 30 case studies from different countries with a mix of income levels and geographies, and discovered that successful waste management depends on stakeholder participation, social support, and a strong social contract with citizens.

Image credits: Kenny Eliason/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

The organization discovered many barriers hinder communities from adopting sustainable waste-related practices, including ingrained habits, lack of knowledge, inconvenience, time burdens, and structural limitations —such as inadequate infrastructure or prohibitive costs — but by excluding our Redditor and their neighbors from the decision-making and enacting huge changes on its own whim, the local government was already on a direct path to failure.

“The governance framework for the sector should clearly articulate institutional responsibilities; include adequate policies and financing; and proactively include community, public, and private stakeholders,” the report said.

Nowadays, research suggests the opposite: municipal authorities should help residents obtain as much information on waste management as possible. When the public can track the process across different parameters, they gain a better understanding of what their own contribution should look like—which may include reducing consumption (during the holidays).

The person behind the story reiterated how hectic the whole situation was

Online discussion about recycling and waste management practices in the 90s.

Text screenshot discussing garbage collection regulations and extra charges for bags.

And people have had plenty of reactions to it

Incompetent managers comment with 1.3k points, discussing management issues.

Comment mocking greedy managers for poor management skills with humor.

Comment on greedy managers not paying garbage collectors overtime, discussing budget issues.

User comment criticizing greedy managers in a discussion about garbage collectors' overtime pay.

Comment about budget issues in response to managers refusing garbage collectors' overtime.

Comment criticizing city leaders' management related to garbage collectors' overtime pay issue.

Reddit comment about saving money, potentially linked to greedy managers and garbage collectors issue.

Reddit comment criticizing greedy managers with the phrase "A penny wise, but a pound foolish.

Text discussing garbage collectors' workload during holidays, questioning reduction in work intensity.

Comment on community wastefulness amid garbage chaos and unpaid overtime.

Some even shared their own similar experiences

Text describing a snowplow schedule causing chaos; workers demand overtime pay.

Text discussing NYC garbage collectors' strikes and their impact since the 1960s, referencing the London Blitz.

Text detailing garbage collection changes causing chaos; mentions city charging for pickup based on can size.

Reddit comment about garbage collectors' work and overtime pay in 2003.

Text about family garbage routines and collection challenges related to managers not paying overtime.

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