An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding • Hacker News Board

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#221

Post by Tharkun » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 6:35 AM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #159

Tharkun wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay roughly a 50% income tax, and in spite of that municipal garbage collection is, well, garbage. Regular waste is easy enough: weekly collection is OK. Larger items which can be incinerated are OK-ish: need to make an appointment two weeks in advance, and pay by weight. Anything else and I'm screwed. I'd like to get rid of a metal ladder, but it can't be incinerated. I'm supposed to take it to a municipal recycli…

>>I pay roughly a 50% income tax, and in spite of that municipal garbage collection is, well, garbage. No one pays 50% of their income as tax. That is not how tax brackets work. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of income tax goes to the federal government.

You might not want to make assumptions about taxes without taking location into account.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#222

Post by Pica_soO » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 6:41 AM UTC

A private garbage initiatives: They had those in italy for quite a while. And they are always cheaper.

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/3b7m9n/the-mob-made-south...

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#223

Post by dyeje » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 6:43 AM UTC

I recently had to get rid of a lot of concrete and lumber. Turns out it's a big pain and really expensive. Wouldn't be surprised if something like this took off.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#224

Post by dx034 » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 6:50 AM UTC

foobaw wrote: post #190

twothamendment wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you verify the gas from the stations you stop at now? The most thought I've put into it when I had a VW TDI was to fill up at a stations that were busy and more likely to have fresh fuel. A brand name station isn't a guarantee that the fuel is fresh if it is on the road less traveled.

That's a fair question to ask but I have some close friends working in the Petroleum industry and they insist on only getting gas from Chevron and Shell from the insider information they have. Not sure if it means much at all though.

Probably not. The gas from many other stations will come from the same refineries. And gasoline is not that perishable, I doubt that the car minds if it has been at the station for 1 week.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#225

Post by ingenuous2 » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:26 AM UTC

mjn wrote: post #137

Tharkun wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay roughly a 50% income tax, and in spite of that municipal garbage collection is, well, garbage. Regular waste is easy enough: weekly collection is OK. Larger items which can be incinerated are OK-ish: need to make an appointment two weeks in advance, and pay by weight. Anything else and I'm screwed. I'd like to get rid of a metal ladder, but it can't be incinerated. I'm supposed to take it to a municipal recycli…

Everywhere I've lived in the U.S. has a periodic oversized/miscellaneous waste pickup day where they will pick up almost anything that doesn't go in the normal trash, for free. Well, by free I mean for no existing charge above whatever you might already pay as a waste fee or tax. I'm not sure where you live so it's possible this doesn't exist everywhere though (it might only be a U.S. thing?). The everything-else was…

Small data point, but I've lived all over California and never heard of such a thing.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#226

Post by ingenuous2 » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:33 AM UTC

zo1 wrote: post #211

duncan_bayne wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too late to edit, so posting a follow-up for clarification: I don't mean anarcho-capitalism, I mean a voluntarily-funded State.

As an anarcho-capitalist, I'd be really keen on a "HumbleBundle" type government funding model. E.g. you don't get to pick if you pay taxes, but you do get to pick which parts of the state get what proportion of your taxes. E.g. 30% welfare, 0% military, 70% infrastructure development. You could even argue that such an arrangement is voluntary in a narrow definition of a term. Definitely not one to satisfy most liber…

How does that resolve? If I pay 0% to the military, but the US gets a favorable trade deal b/c theyre worried for invasion, do I get the reward without any skin in the game?

Wouldn't a savvy gamesman just vote for their own self-interest?

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#227

Post by qwepoiru » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:39 AM UTC

> uber for garbage.

> yearly contracts.

ok.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#228

Post by qwepoiru » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:47 AM UTC

xadhominemx wrote: post #136

mtanski wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's lots of reasons that you have beyond the normal amount of garbage or difficult to deal with garbage. It's really hard to get it removed if you need it on a short notice. A lot of municipalities have limits refuse. For example in NYC you can no longer get rid of electronics in the regular trash. You're supposed to take them to a place that can deal with it. Fair enough. The problem is that there aren't many pl…

>There's lots of reasons that you have beyond the normal amount of garbage or difficult to deal with garbage. It's really hard to get it removed if you need it on a short notice. Why not use 1-800-GOT-JUNK or a similar service?

Apps are the "1-800-cheesy-mnemonic" for the new generation.

it is 100% the same formula. Start by hiding your real cost in weird price schemes. Advertise like crazy. ???. Profit.

It is a proven method. And it revamped for every generation. 1-800, app, "as seen on tv", catalogs, etc. And now you have subscription services of tangible goods for the millennials.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#229

Post by whatnotests » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:48 AM UTC

newobj wrote: post #132

"Uber for garbage", aka what my grandfather's job used to be back when Philadelphia used privatized trash haulers. Genius guy that grandpa, as he was also a pig farmer, and the pigs loved to eat garbage...

ORGANIC garbage.

Re: An ‘Uber for garbage’ picks up steam, and $11.7M in Series A funding

#230

Post by qwepoiru » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:50 AM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #153

Tharkun wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay roughly a 50% income tax, and in spite of that municipal garbage collection is, well, garbage. Regular waste is easy enough: weekly collection is OK. Larger items which can be incinerated are OK-ish: need to make an appointment two weeks in advance, and pay by weight. Anything else and I'm screwed. I'd like to get rid of a metal ladder, but it can't be incinerated. I'm supposed to take it to a municipal recycli…

Same here. My municipal trash service is awful, and they increase the price every year without making the service better, probably because f-you. They could seriously use some competition. 1. Motor oil, electronics, toxic waste: They say you can't throw them away with the garbage but your only other alternative is to take time out of your weekday to drive that stuff to some government center somewhere (during busines…

> 1. Motor oil, electronics, toxic waste: They say you can't throw them away with the garbage but your only other alternative is to take time out of your weekday to drive that stuff to some government center somewhere (during business hours--I suppose you're not supposed to have a job).

or you could reduce your use of those items.

I do and I don't like to pay your toxic garbage and used batteries garbage collection for you.