How Not to Use a Trash Compactor

As reported earlier, my apartment complex has a large trash compactor at the entrance to the parking lot. Here is where everyone is supposed to dispose of their household garbage. Since the last time I wrote about this subject, the management has finally gotten the compactor working. Thus no more need for a dumpster parked right next to the compactor. Unfortunately, I think people are using the compactor incorrectly.

What you are supposed to do, is walk (or drive) your trash to the front of the complex, open the compactor’s door, toss in your trash, and close the door. But apparently, no one follows this logic. Instead, people just leave their garbage on the ground right in front of the compactor. And once one person does this, everyone else follows suit. Then after a while, there will be so much trash on the ground in front of the compactor, that I can’t even access the compactor door to throw my own trash into it. Thus, I must join in the trash free-for-all by leaving my garbage on the ground as well.

I just don’t understand what can cause a person to just leave their garbage on the ground when they can easily access the door to properly dispose of it. That’s like loading the dishwasher, filling up the soap container, and saying, “I think I’ll just go play hackey sack instead.” Just finish the job! You’ve taken the garbage this far, just open the door, and throw it in! There aren’t any buttons to press, no dials to turn, no levers to pull. Just a door and chute. You don’t even have to push it into the compactor. Since the chute is vertical in design, gravity will do the rest!

Damn I wish I had a digital camera so I could share in the chaos.

Technorati: trash compactor, garbage, apartment