Bloomington uses alternative trash system

Moving to off-campus housing oftentimes allows additional freedom for students, but it can also create unexpected expenditures beyond rent and electricity. For many students in Bloomington, this includes a fee to remove junk they don’t want — their garbage.

Most communities throughout the state, including Indianapolis, charge residents for trash removal through a service fee factored into their property taxes. However, the Bloomington Sanitation Department operates under the ‘Pay as you Throw’ system. Under this structure, residents who receive trash services from the Bloomington Sanitation Department pay for what they throw away rather than a flat rate.

“It’s one of the fairer systems that there is,” Bloomington Sanitation Department’s Director  Shelby Walker said. “Let’s say that myself and you are neighbors, and it’s just you in your place putting out one bag. Why should you pay as much for that one bag as I do when I’ve got — let’s say I’ve got 10 children in my household. The level of trash is different.”

With this system, residents must purchase yellow tags — either from local merchants, City Hall,the Utilities Service center or by mail order. Each tag costs $2 and a new tag is required for each service request.

“You wrap it around the handle of the trash can or you wrap it around the top of the bag,” Walker said, “and that proves you paid for that service.”

If a tag isn’t present, the waste will not be hauled away. Instead, the garbage will be left with a non-collection notice. This notice explains to the resident why they did not receive the service.

Although Walker didn’t work for the Bloomington Sanitation Department when the system was first initiated, he said he assumes the idea was adopted with students in mind.

“If I were a student I would like it,” Walker said. “Where I live, we use user fees and the guy down the street from me puts out quite a bit of trash. I’m a single person living by myself, and I’m paying the same amount that he is.”

Walker said he pays about $90 annually for trash removal. It’s a different story for apartment residents, however. Walker said his department is forbidden from servicing any apartments with more than four units. Instead, he said, trash removal services are provided by private entities.

However, not all students are as optimistic about the operation. IU student Sean Martin, who lives in a house off campus and uses between four and six tags a month, said it’s an inconvenience.

“I would rather just have trash collected and not have to worry about buying the tags,” Martin said.

Student Zach Wright said he has developed a money-saving scheme to dodge trash removal fees altogether. Although he said he recycles a majority of his waste, he places the remainder of his trash in various dumpsters around town.

“Why finance something you don’t need to? I don’t think I’m cheating anybody out of anything,” Wright said. “Instead of spending a dollar or whatever on the little tag, I’m spending two dollars to take it somewhere and dropping it off. It just kind of works itself out.”