A few weeks ago, PopUP CleanUP serviced the Radwood Auto Show at the Port of Los Angeles near Long Beach. Hagerty sponsors the show which celebrates the automotive lifestyle of the 1980s and 1990s. So if you want to go Back to the Future or Thelma and Louise it across country (hopefully without the *spoiler alert* rape-murder-drive-off-the-cliff-suicide), then this is the nostalgia for you.
PopUP CleanUP was engaged in trash management for this event including emptying and relining trash containers, picking up litter and discarded food and beverage containers, and separating the trash at the dumpster site into refuse, recycling, and organics.
We staffed four cleaners and were assigned one student volunteer. Two cleaners sorted the garbage while the others managed the event site. The one glitch we ran into is not uncommon, which is the trash liners did not fit into the trash cans. Normally we supply the trash cans or the trash cans are standard 30-55 gallon size and a 55 gallon trash liner will fit fine. However, these cardboard trash bins were enormous and the organizer asked us at the last minute to bring trash cans for an 18×18″ opening and a 35″ height.
We brought our entire arsenal—black, white, and blue bags—and none of them fit well. Like the Grinch’s heart, each was a few sizes too small. The white ones were the most promising, and, like the Who’s down in Whoville without their trees and their gifts, we made do and the event was a success.
That said, trash cans come in a wide variety of sizes. You have your mini wastebaskets that go under a desk or a bathroom sink. You have your kitchen cans, your Slim Jims, and your outdoor barrels. You have the barrels that roll, that are round, and some that are square. Some trash cans have swinging lids. Some are exclusively for organics or recycling and call for compostable liners. It’s important to know the type and size of the bags needed before the event so that we can come prepared. Having trash bags that are too small is a much larger recipe for disaster than too big, but neither is optimal, for too large is creating more waste to manage the waste that you have.
If you have an outdoor event that needs management, PopUP CleanUP provides live, and post event cleaning, trash can, recycling bin, and dumpster rentals, and trash sorting services.