RE: Rubbish, Bins, Trash, and Does increasing population density actually make sense in the eyes of local town planning?
Part of the problem are the trucks with the hydraulic arm, operated by the driver. At first glance they seem to be a great idea, reducing the number of workers required for the job. But in reality, they make a lot of mess and damage, and have such strict demands on positioning the bins as you described. Which is not realistic at all in some places.
Here in my town they have come back to the old system, with a driver and 2 guys putting the bins on a loading gear by hand. That allows bins to be placed close together or even several lines deep. And they dont throw bins on parked cars, or disperse rubbish all over the street.
The big problem today is, that decisions are made by academics, who have no clue about the work processes they plan. They think if they can save a few bucks they have done a good job.
Not to mention all the additional wear and tear on the roads themselves by having large, heavy vehicles (often heavier than the prescribed road mass) - driving over small suburban streets meaning that they need to be repaved sooner than they would otherwise!
With smaller vehicles, and more nimble collection teams, the saving over a longer term is greater.
Well, the size of the truck is not such a issue around here. Streets are build quiet solid, especially in urban areas. And if the truck is small, it would mean wasting a lot of time going back and forth to the incineration plant or land fill. Especially with 3 guys on the truck, that is rather unproductive.