Start a Trash-Bin Curb Concierge Route for Busy and Older Homeowners

  1. Map two candidate streets
    1 hour 30 min

    Step deliverable — the canvass list: at least 40 households spread over two streets, each row carrying the household’s collection day and time and a mark for homes whose bins stay at the curb all day. This list is the only material the next steps work from, so it is worth a slow, deliberate walk. What makes it tricky: collection schedules are address-specific, so the day and time come from the city’s published lookup — not from what a neighbor tells you.

    1. Pick two streets in your own neighborhood with single-family homes, curbside bins and no alley pickup. Density is the point — aim for 20 or more households per street.
    2. Find the official schedule: search “{city name} trash collection schedule” on the city’s sanitation or public works page. Note the day and time for each street — many cities vary them by zone or by odd/even address.
    3. Walk both streets on collection morning and again the evening before. For every home record: address, collection day and time, bin type, and whether the bin sits at the curb all day.
    4. If a street comes up short of the 20-household mark, swap it for a denser one rather than spreading the list thin.
    5. Confirm the street really skews older using the Census Bureau lookup below before you invest the walk.