As event cleaners, dumpsters and securing the right number of dumpsters are critical to the success of our efforts. They are also expensive and wieldy, and often the thing that event producers consider the least. So let’s dive-in to the world of dumpsters and trash hauling and why they’re critical to proper event cleanup.
Recently we serviced a zero-waste event for the Radwood Auto Show where we were tasked to separate the trash into refuse, recycling, and organics. However, the event venue at the Port of Los Angeles only supplied two dumpsters, one green and one blue, and neither had enough space to support the amount of trash or recycling produced at the event. We were told to put the balance of the trash in the cardboard bins and organize it next to the dumpsters to be picked up. Which, as you can see from exhibit number one below, we did.
Cut to two weeks later and the client sends us the following photo, asking if we could go pick up the trash scattered all across the ground as depicted quite tellingly in exhibit number two.
Anyone who has been in this business long enough understands what happened at the scene of the crime. The trash hauler refused to take anything that wasn’t in the dumpster, left the cardboard boxes filled with trash bags at the location, and over time, weather and vermin and environmental forces exploded the trash across the asphalt.
This is why it’s critical to have the correct number of dumpsters.
During an outdoor night market for over 3500 people, we had a 30 cubic yard roll-off and a 40 cubic yard roll-off, which is just about right for that kind of crowd, particularly when food trucks are involved. However, all the vendors had pallets and wanted to dump the pallets into the dumpsters, causing the trash to overflow to the point where we had to pile the bags on the ground. However, in this instance, we did have hauling, but because the trucks cannot drive around with the roll-off unsecured for both safety and environmental reasons, the driver had to rearrange the trash that was in the rolloff and then make two trips in order to get all of the refuse off the city streets.
This cost more and annoyed the driver. And when you find really good trash haulers who are willing to pick up your trash during vampire hours, the last thing you want to do is alienate that working relationship.
Dumpsters come in various sizes, but for large scale events, you generally want some combination of 20, 30, and/or 40 cubic yard options. Food is denser than paper and plastic products and tends to compress, so knowing what kind of waste your event is going to generate is important in determining the size of the dumpsters that you need.
For any questions on trash hauling, dumpster rental, or trash management during your events, PopUP CleanUP is your go-to event cleaning specialist.
