With the warm months quickly approaching, many Americans are taking the opportunity to work on their yards by trimming overgrown shrubs and trees and redesigning the landscape of their gardens. Yard work can generate approximately 216.4 pounds of organic waste per person per year, and this waste needs to be composted. If you'll be doing a lot of yard work, you'll want to rent a dumpster specifically for yard waste; however, if you won't be using up the entire dumpster, you'll save a lot of money by sharing with a neighbor. To avoid conflicts, here are three terms and conditions you and your neighbors should agree on before deciding to share.
Responsibilities for Keeping the Lid and Lock On
When renting a dumpster for yard work, the more yard waste you dump, the more you'll have to pay. In short, you'll want to make sure that nobody else is taking advantage of your rental by dumping their yard waste inside your dumpster as well. The best way to prevent this from happening is to keep a locked lid on the dumpster at all times. Both you and your neighbor should have a key to the dumpster.
To prevent conflicts, you'll have to both agree to keep a locked lid on the dumpster at all times. You should also consider coming to an agreement as to who is responsible for checking that the lid and lock are on. If a party fails to keep the lid locked, that party may be responsible for any additional charges and fees that may come from strangers dumping their waste into the dumpster.
Agreements on the Type of Waste to Place Inside the Dumpster
Some dumpster rental services are quite strict on the type of yard waste that you can toss into the dumpster. For example, some dumpster rental companies are unwilling to handle large logs and tree trunks that exceed a certain diameter unless an additional fee is paid. You and your neighbor will want to discuss the type of yard work that you will both be doing in order to determine which service is most suitable for both of your needs.
For example, if the yard waste removal company charges extra to remove logs or stumps, you'll need to discuss with your neighbor whether you are both willing to pay for the extra surcharge. If your neighbor plans on only using the dumpster to remove leaves and grass clippings, they may not be willing to pay extra for log or stump removal. You'll have to agree on the type of waste that can be tossed into the dumpster.
Dividing Dumpster Space Proportionately with Amount Paid for Dumpster Service
In addition to deciding the type of waste that can be tossed into the dumpster, you'll also want to discuss how the dumpster space will be divided. If you know that your yard work will generate larger amounts of yard waste than your neighbor's, you might want to consider paying a little more than your neighbor for the dumpster rental service.
You and any neighbors sharing the rental dumpster will need to discuss the amount of yard waste that you'll need removed and come to an agreement as to how much each person should pay. It may take some time to determine what is fair.
Conclusion
Sharing a dumpster for yard waste with your neighbors can help all parties save money. However, it's important to sit down and discuss how the dumpster should be shared and used in order to avoid future conflicts. Disrupting the peace within the neighborhood over dumpster rental service is simply not worth it.
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