As of April 1st of this year, the city government of Redwood City decided to increase residential regular solid waste collection fees. Homeowners and other residents will now be paying $2 more for 20-gallon bins for a total of $18.87 per month, and $1 more for 32-gallon bins for a total of $32.86 per month. Rates for unscheduled solid waste collection will also be increased by just under 1.95 percent. 

Though this may seem like a rather insignificant price increase, the extremely high cost of living in the Bay area means that many families may feel the stress with this modest price hike. Furthermore, area residents should expect that trash collection prices will continue to rise in the coming months and years. In fact, a recent news article stated that: “anticipating operating costs will continue to grow, the (city) council will hold a study session in the fall to discuss a tentative plan for ensuring the city gathers adequate funding to support future expenses in partnership with an outside consultant.” 

One way to reduce keep your garbage collection bill low is to find ways to reduce your waste footprint. A waste footprint is defined as “the environmental, economic, and social impacts that result from waste that humans create.” Below, we briefly outline three simple strategies that every homeowners, business owner, and other residents of Redwood City can implement to reduce the amount of waste they produce. 

Strategy #1: Compost, Compost, Compost 

One of the easiest ways to quickly reduce the total amount of waste that ends up in landfill is through composting all sources of organic waste. Types of common organic waste include yard trimmings, fallen leaves, food waste, leftover meals, and kitchen scraps. These types of waste, when sent to the landfill, produce enormous amounts of methane emissions, which is one of the most potent greenhouse gasses. For homeowners with a little bit of space in their backyard, creating a simple compost pile will allow you to deal with your organic waste responsibly. Furthermore, your organic waste, when composted, will also give you a fertile soil amendment that you can add to your garden or lawn. 

In fact, new legislation (SB 1383) actually requires all businesses and residents to divert organic materials (including food waste, yard waste, and soiled paper products) from the landfill. In some cases, organic waste can be upwards of 30 percent of the total amount of waste that the average homeowner or business owner throws away. In the case of some businesses in the food and restaurant industry, that amount could be substantially higher. By finding a way to compost, either at home or through active participation in a community-wide composting and organic waste pickup program, one can drastically reduce the amount of waste we send to the landfill. 

Strategy #2: Go Paperless 

Nobody enjoy receiving huge amounts of junk mail, and the vast majority of these items get thrown directly into the trash. According to one study, junk mail adds 1 billion pounds of waste to landfills each year. When you factor in bills, notices, and other common mail, this amount most likely increases substantially. Furthermore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that the material most frequently encountered in MSW landfills is plain paper, which can account for more than 40 percent of a landfill’s contents. Newspapers alone can take up as much as 13 percent of the space in US landfills.

Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to reduce the vast amount of junk mail that get sent to you. For your bills and other notices from banks, employers, and others, you can generally choose a paperless option for those notifications. If you find yourself getting an enormous amount of unsolicited offers for credit cards, loans, and insurance options, you can opt out of these services by calling toll-free 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). Alternatively, you can visit http://www.optoutprescreen.com and you can choose not to receive unsolicited offers for new credit cards and insurance.

For the junk mail that still continues to get delivered to your home or business, the U.S. Postal Service has installed over 4,000 postal recycling stations around the country to combat paper waste. 

Strategy #3: Hire Junk King of Peninsula for all your Bulky Junk Hauling Needs 

No matter how many steps you take to reduce the amount of waste you create, there are most likely always going to be times when your home or business gets cluttered with excess junk items. Might there be an easy and environmentally friendly way to get rid of your bulky junk items without having them simply send to the nearest landfill? 

For residents, homeowners, and business owners of Redwood City, Junk King Peninsula is the leading junk removal service for individuals and business owners in the Bay area. Besides Redwood City, we provide junk removal services to both residential and commercial customers in Atherton, Belmont, La Honda, Loma Mar, Los Altos, Menlo Park Mountain View, Palo Alto, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Gregorio, and Stanford. Our junk removal team has years of experience in helping people free up space in their home and business. We do all the heavy lifting and hauling so that you only have to let us know what items you want removed. If you need more time to go through the stuff that is clogging up your home, you can also rent one of our dumpsters that will give you a large, convenient space to store your junk while going through the cleaning and de-cluttering process. Simply give us a call when the dumpster is full, and we´ll come and pick it up. 

Unlike other junk removal companies out there, we are proud to have an environmental ethic at the foundation of our business model. After years of having been the leading junk removal company in the Bay area, we have developed several relationships with thrift stores, donation centers, recycling businesses, and others. Instead of simply hauling your trash to the nearest landfill, we go the extra mile to sort through the items to see what can be donated or recycled. We know that the majority of our customers in Redwood City care about the environment and are always looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint. By hiring Junk King of Peninsula, you can rest assured that we´ll do everything possible to keep your junk circulating through the economy, instead sending it straight to the dump. 

How to Hire Junk King of Peninsula? 

Our company is also proud to say that we offer superior customer service. We have dedicated staff waiting to answer your call and help you find an effective solution for junk removal needs. For online and text price estimates, we also make every effort to give you a response in 10 minutes or less. Fair pricing, quality customer service, and a sincere commitment to recycling or reusing at least 60 percent of the junk we pick up are just a few of the reasons that Junk King is the Bay area’s number one preferred junk removal service. 

Simply call us at 1-888-5865(JUNK) or consider booking us online here. Again, we offer up-front pricing and efficient junk removal services that will help you reclaim that space in your home or business. Call us today to help free up space in your home or business without so much as lifting a finger.