Sunday, October 7, 2007

Toter, Toter, Trash and Trouble

I got home yesterday after a 3 week trip. We rolled into the driveway and I shrieked, "The new Toter bin!!!"
"The what?" my husband said.
"Toter bin, you know, the one everyone is enraged about!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Does he not read my damn blog? I have been breathlessly reporting on the controversy surrounding the new, city-mandated Toter-brand trash cans. Angry residents have been writing the Advocate for weeks, complaining that the bins are way too big. The new bin is- well, huge. It makes one wonder what the definition of "bin" is. My old, normal-sized bin is on the left; the Toter, obviously, is on the right. You must see the humor in this photo. Know what else? Our other old can is actually in the Toter, although my husband won't tell me how it got there.

Me: "Where's our other old trash can?"
Husband: "Uh, it's actually IN the new bin."
"What?"
"Ah... it's a long story. Just- don't worry about it."

The new can arrived with directions attached in a plastic bag. My husband left the pamphlet out to rot, but I recovered it and am now letting it dry on the back steps. The Toter directions aren't necessary, as the letters to the editor give enough specific complaints to let you know how to use it. Scroll down the Advocate Letters to the Editor site, which they should really reorganize by topic so I can find the trash can complaints more easily.
Next Thursday AM, I'm going to spy on the trash men and watch what they do with the Toter bins.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You will be very pleased with those cans. I bought mine at Loews 3 years ago. No more chasing after the lids, they're permanantly attached. The can itself is indestructible. It too heavy to blow away, the wheels are tough. They're made by Toter, you can see them at toterinc.com.

Stamford Talk said...

Good point about the attached lid. I recently ran over the lid of the old can my husband thought we should keep. So, I put the old lid in my Toter... and next may stealthily put my old can IN the Toter, which is what we did with our OTHER Old can.
I am pretty happy with my Toter. It does get heavy, so I can't walk the dog while taking the trash out. I have to use both arms and my bodyweight to drag it up my sloping driveway. It's worth being able to fit all my trash (and other random large items) in one can!