That is, the kind you leave on your curb once a week.

Gas prices go up, the cost of living rises, it seems obvious that taxes shall inevitably follow course. And local or county taxes, while the least of our “obligations,” provide most of the quality of life services we enjoy: libraries, schools, road repair, garbage pick up.

In town halls across America this year budgets will be negotiated and the cost of picking up waste and recycling will increase. Or will it? Here are a few ideas to present to your local council member or representative to keep the cost and impact of garbage pick up down:

* Pick up recycling every other week or once a month rather than weekly.

* Reduce garbage collection to every other week.

* Encourage and educate citizens to use less, reuse more and recycle more to lessen the burden on garbage trucks and landfills.

* Provide recycling incentives.

* To alleviate the wear and tear on garbage trucks that constantly break and accelerate, reduce pick up points. Have garbage picked up on only one side of a street or require that garbage is placed on every other driveway or between shared driveways. This will also save money on fuel.

* Use standard-size dumpsters on rollers to make garbage pick up automatic, faster and easier.

* Set aside a few dates a year for dumpster “overflow” pick up.  This forces people to think about their garbage volume.

* Eliminate yard waste pick up — require composting grass clippings and leaves.

* Or, as a less extreme measure, only collect large branches and brush and eliminate leaf and grass collection.

Enviro-Girl loves the men who collect her garbage each week. They are troopers, working in all kinds of weather from stifling heat (she would hate to collect garbage in hot, humid weather) to blizzards. They are devoted workers who toss her garbage can into the ditch on windy days so it doesn’t blow into the road. To show her appreciation, she always puts her recycling next to her neighbors’ and her garbage can next to her neighbors’ at the end of their shared driveway. This way they only make one stop and get on their way. She has reduced her waste and recycling so there is less to pick up. Shy of baking them cookies every week, she can’t think of any other way to make their job easier.

Any suggestions, readers? How would you make garbage pick up a more efficient process?  How does your municipality handle garbage and recyling?