How To Save Money On Your Trash Bill

One of the many items that contribute to a household maintenance budget is the trash bill. It may cost you between $200 and $300 to pay your garbage collector every year, depending on the volume of trash produced in your household.

While this amount may not seem costly, you may want to cut these costs if you are on a limited budget.

As a disclaimer, depending on your municipalities or home owner’s associations not all of these will work. We live in a city that requires us to use a company they picked. Although we cannot negotiate our rates, it’s still good practice to reduce waste.

However, deciding whether to ditch your garbage collector while trying to cut costs may be challenging. Luckily, with the following techniques, you can save money on garbage and contribute to a greener planet.

Carry Out a Trash Audit

Make a habit of auditing the contents of your garbage bin periodically. You can do this by eyeing the volume of trash collected in one week. The goal here is to figure out where you are over-consuming.

A trash audit can also help you determine if you are wasting food or disposing of many plastics. It can also help you decide whether you need to shop for household necessities with biodegradable or recyclable packaging.

Consume Less

Use the results of the trash audit to figure out where you are consuming more. If you have been throwing away a lot, it’s time to cut on consumption. Would you probably not want your hard-earned money to go to waste?

If you used to buy food in bulk and it goes wrong fast, start shopping less. It would help if you also began reducing the amount of dish-washing or laundry detergent used. 

Opt for Reusable Over Disposable

Consider buying durable goods over disposable ones to save money on your monthly garbage bill. Reusable items can reduce the number of waste that ends up in landfills every year. They also cost less per use and are mainly convenient.

Reusables include plastic bottles, egg cartons, wine corks, berry boxes, and cereal bags. You can use them to replace items like disposable tablecloths, aluminum foil, disposable dishware, and plastic shopping bags.

Recycle

It’s shocking how many tons of glassware are in landfills yearly. But this can change if you recycle household trash like glass to conserve natural resources. In turn, fewer greenhouse gasses will be emitted in manufacturing these items.

Find a recycler in your area and inquire about their recycling policies. You may be surprised to find a recycler that offers money back for recyclables.

Negotiate a Better Deal with Your Garbage Collector

If your city allows it choose a new garbage collector if your current one isn’t open to lowering the garbage removal costs. Approach many trash haulers in your area and ask for price quotes to get a picture of what they charge for their services.

You should review their terms and negotiate a better deal once you have favorable terms and rates to compare. Also, find out if they have discounts or price reduction incentives for loyal customers.

Turn to Composting

Start composting items such as kitchen and yard waste, dirty cardboard food containers, and newsprints. Fabrics made out of natural fibers are also compostable.

Composting is a cheap and environmentally friendly method for disposing of biodegradable waste. It can also help fertilize your home garden, keep tons of trash out of landfills and reduce greenhouse gasses.

We own this composter in our backyard, and this mini composter is on our countertop.

The Bottom Line

With the practical tips discussed in this guide, you can reduce your household trash and cut back on the trash removal costs. Have fun implementing them and share the outcomes with others. As you can see, saving money on your garbage bill is possible while keeping the environment cleaner and greener.