Trash Handling (Sample Newsletter Article)

Good sanitation makes pest control work. Trash can give a pest everything it needs— food, water and a place to hide. In this post I’ll cover garbage management. Trash handling procedures and problems can often predict the success of a property’s IPM program. If the property staff and residents can’t find a way to manage trash in a way that keeps it away from pests, the pest management professional (PMP) will be fighting an up hill battle.

The common trash handling procedures are chutes and a compactor, dumpsters, and/or individual wheelie bins (often called “toters”). Properties must also manage large item removal and recycling. Below you’ll find a IPM recommendations for each.

General recommendations (also in the sample newsletter below)

• Wrap wet food waste in paper or something that will soak up drips.
• Always use a bag for trash.
• Don’t stuff the trash bag or make it too heavy—the plastic will rip.
• Squeeze air out of the trash bag, then tie it off or use a twist tie.
• Carry the trash bag and place it in the receptacle—don’t drag, throw, or toss it.
• Inspect the receptacles monthly and clean and maintain them as-needed (chutes, dumpsters, and wheelie bins all need cleaning and maintenance).

Trash Chutes and Compactors

With trash chutes and compactors, we are keeping refuse inside the building envelope—a pest control red flag. If units adjacent to trash chutes report pest problems, include the chute when you look for the source of the problem. If your building has trash chutes and a compactor room, you must be vigilant.

On each floor:

• Make sure walls adjacent to the chute are free of gaps or holes. 
• Maintain the chute lining so that bags don’t tear. 
• Wash chutes regularly. 
• Make sure chute doors close tightly.

In the compactor room:

• Seal up all holes and gaps—pay particular attention to pipes and under the door.
• Ventilate if possible, but make sure any windows are screened.
• Avoid storing items in the compactor room—limit pest hiding spots as much as possible.
• Have monitors set to detect pest problems before they grow and spread.

If you’re lucky enough to have renovation funding, consider putting in trash chute doors large enough to fit a tall kitchen trash bag. Make proper trash handling easy for residents to do right.

Dumpsters

Dumpsters should be free of holes, covered, and placed on a cement pad about 50 yards from the building. The closer it is, the greater the chance that pests like yellowjackets that attracted to the dumpster will find their way into your building. Screen drain holes to prevent rodent entry and empty dumpsters regularly—they should never overflow.

Common problems with dumpsters include

• people taking garbage back out; and
• people not getting their garbage bags into the dumpster.

The latter may happen when dumpsters are in a fenced area and people throw the bags over the fence or when kids are responsible for taking out the trash, but can’t get the bag up and over the side of the dumpster. Each community will be different, but some dumpster detective work can get control of the problem. Find identifying information in the trash bag and address the problem with the resident. Pest management often comes down to people management.

Note: many property managers I talk to are not sure what their refuse management contract says. Your contractor may be responsible for pressure washing or replacing dumpsters.

Individual Wheelie Bins

Especially at family sites with duplexes and townhouses, we often see trash wheelie bins for each unit. The PHA or local municipality provides these—and puts their logo on the side to discourage theft. Pick up is usually contracted out. The design is pretty standard and its usability results in residents using them properly—they’re big enough to fit lots of trash, have locking lids that won’t blow open, and are on wheels so they’re easy to roll out to the road.

Residents should know to rinse them out to prevent flies and yellowjackets and get a new wheelie bin if theirs gets a hole (which would allow rodents to get in). Keeping the lids closed is crucial—if it’s open trash will blow out and attract birds, rodents and other wildlife. Ideally, residents would store wheelie bins on a cement pad a few feet away from their building in between pickups.

Large Item Removal

The goal is to prevent other residents from bringing items home from the curb. I love free stuff as much as anyone and come from a long line of proud dumpster-divers. But people throw stuff out for a reason—nowadays it’s often bed bugs. I inspect everything I bring home very carefully for bed bugs before taking it home…and I’ve gotten pretty picky when it comes to furniture. PHA residents usually don’t pay for pest control and may have some tolerance for living with bed bugs. The PHA may have more to lose from bed bugs being spread throughout a community on used furniture than the residents.

Some common approaches:

• Let residents request help moving large items from their home. Maintenance staff should inspect items for bed bugs and take precautions—wrap item in plastic so bed bugs don’t fall off in transport, make the item unusable after getting it out of the building, transport it off property ASAP, and wear personal protection equipment (PPE) for bed bugs if there is concern. PPE for bed bugs may include boot covers, disposable suits and gloves. Be careful about starting gossip: make it known community wide that bed bugs are not related to filth, PPE is simply worn to prevent spreading them between units on staff clothing.
• Have a truck and staff member dedicated to driving around and picking stuff up off the curb. Drive these large items to a fenced-off dumpster area where residents can’t “dumpster dive.” On-site staff should carry utility knives and make items on the curb unusable before calling the truck driver—this will help prevent residents from grabbing the stuff before the truck arrives.

Recycling

Recycling can be curbside, run by the PHA with wheelie bins available for everyone to use, or done at a center where the resident must bring the items. Kids seem to learn good recycling habits at school and if residents take time to sort out recyclables, they usually do a good job of making sure the items get recycled. The same recommendations for wheelie bins and dumpsters apply: keep the recycling containers clean and prevent overflow by providing appropriately sized containers or increasing the frequency of collection. Many pests are transported on cardboard or paper bags, so you want these moved off-site as soon as possible.

A recycling program breaks down in terms of pest management when recyclable containers are not rinsed out. The residue in cans and bottles will attract pests—flies, ants, rodents and cockroaches, to name a few. Low income residents often collect bottles and cans to get money—either find a way to get these recyclables rinsed out/returned immediately or you will find pests.

One property manager told me that to kick off her property’s recycling program in a high-rise building, they had a competition. The floor with the most recycling put in the wheelie bins on their floor got a pizza party. This highlighted the new procedures, captured residents attention so that proper recycling procedures (including rinsing) could be communicated, and got everyone jazzed up about recycling. Earth Day is April 22, 2012—there’s plenty of time to plan an event! 

Thanks to Dr. Bobby Corrigan of RMC Pest Management Consulting and Gil Blum of Standard Pest Management for their guidance.

------------------------Sample Newsletter Article---------------------------

Pests like wasps, mice and roaches are attracted to trash. Help us keep these pests away.

• Wrap wet food waste in paper or something that will soak up drips.
• Always use a bag for your trash.
• Don’t stuff the trash bag or make it too heavy—the plastic will rip.
• Squeeze air out of the trash bag, then tie it off or use a twist tie.
• Carry the trash bag and place it in the receptacle—don’t drag, throw, or toss it.
• Rinse recyclable bottles and cans and cash them in as soon as possible.

 Proper trash handling is part of your responsibility as a resident in this community. 

Comments

[Fire Alarm]

Thank you for this informative post. I found it really interesting and will look forward to reading more from you in the future.

[Grace Young]

In our street, we have a very strict about garbage segregation. We have been a victim of such tardiness before when all the children living along the street were admitted to the hospital because of some bacteria found in the garbage.