Exorbitant amounts of trash created by my airbnb

[Robbi1]

My municipality has a limit to the number and weight (3 bags, 40lbs. each) of trash bags a household may put at the curb weekly. We must purchase bag tags also. My airbnb is advertised for a maximum of 8 persons though lately I have had trouble with unregistered day guests and otherwise. Last week I had a group of 10 leaving 12 large bags of trash for 2 days! Another family had 3 toddlers in diapers. We had to get really creative to get rid of those heavy bags. I am looking for suggestions and am sharing something here as well.

Just today I added this to my "other things to note" in my listing.

"WE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT LEFT BY OURSELVES AND OTHERS. Lately I have been haunted by the amount of trash my airbnb produces. Here is some information you may find helpful.

*The tap water is municipal and highly drinkable, especially from the filtered dispenser on the fridge. No bottled water required!
*Any returnable cans and bottles left behind, I like to donate them to our local hospital fundraiser. So keep them out of the trash if you can.
*There are cupboards full of dishes and cups - and a dishwasher! So disposables should not be necessary.
*There are plenty of washable cloths and towels so the need for paper towel is minimal.

*Kindly separate your clean recyclables. We have a great program here and handy bins.

*The fully equipped kitchen is perfect for cooking up a storm so minimal prepackaged meals could be an option.
*There is also the argument that being on holidays, one does not want to bother. My feeling is that you either do this as a matter of course in your life or you do not. I will not judge you"! :-}

[Alexandra316]

@Robbi1  with 10 people making 12 bags of garbage in 2 days, are you sure you don't have guests who are throwing parties? That just seems absolutely obscene. 

I agree with others' feedback regarding leaving off the wording around food choices, but I would definitely include the note about water. I hate it when guests use disposable water bottles, and I put up a note about it myself. I would consider leaving a specific recycling box for beer store returns to encourage the guests to set them aside. I bet if you noted that the money was being directed to a hospice on the side of the box, you would get lots of people using it. 

I've noticed an uptick in the amount of garbage and beer store returns this year as well. I think it's because more people are staying in. I'm 100% sure the staff at the beer store think I'm either a garbage picker or massive alcoholic. 

[Robbi1]

@Alexandra316  You are correct! It was a massive illicit party but that and unexpected guests are topics unto their own! I like your suggestion of labeled bins . . . . . 

[Mark116]

@Robbi1  Get a camera if you don't have one already.  I would consider reducing the number of guests you allow and/or making it a point to remind guests that no one who isn't on the reservation is allowed on the property, and put that in your rules if you don't have it there already.

I totally judge anyone who comes to my house and doesn't recycle despite that it is part of the rules, the greet, the written house binder notes and there is a note on the refrigerator.  If after all of that you still toss your freaking water bottles in the trash, you are never ever coming back to my house.  We used to send a private to note to anyone who didn't recycle that said 'you should recycle' but we stopped that.  However, since not a single one of our post COVID guests recycled, we may start doing that again.

[Colleen253]

@Robbi1  I'm watching this post to see what creative solutions other hosts might have as I struggle with the trash thing too. It's frankly been a problem from day one. My max occupancy is 5 and I strictly enforce it. Yet I find myself constantly in awe of how hard people seem to find it to sort trash, organics and recyclables, and how much garbage in general they generate.  I'm sure at home they have to be careful with trash, sort it, pay for bags etc etc, so what gives?

I make it easy by including simple directions in my house manual. I have a clearly labeled and easy to see and use recycling bin, and a compost bucket under the sink. But I'll still find recyclables and organics in the trash. I'll also find plastic spoons, go cup lids, and rib bones in the compost bin (at least they tried).

So, I taped notes to the trash and compost bins too. STILL, I'll find the same stuff in there. I mean, how can you miss "trash only please" taped front and center to the trash can? I hated doing that btw, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. I fantasize about telling guests they have to haul their trash out. I would never do that pre covid for guests travelling here from a great distance, but I'm sorely tempted to do it for the more local guests we are getting these days.😬

[Huma0]

I have briefly mentioned recycling and energy efficiency in my house rules but, as I know that most guests don't bother reading or digesting the finer details of the listing, I find it more useful to run through it with them when I do the welcome tour.

Initially, I used to go into too much explanation, but now I just say it matter of factly, as if it's just the NORMAL thing to do:

"Regular trash goes in this bin. Recycling goes in this bin (you can put in this that or the other and there's a flyer on the fridge in case you can't remember). Food waste goes in this bin. Grigio is the greediest cat in the world, do please make sure you put the lid on securely..." etc.

I have had guests who balk at this, but have found that it is usually when they come from somewhere where recycling is unusual, e.g.

"Recycling. No, I don't do that. I'm from X. We're a Second World country."

"We have recycling in X, but I don't do it because the Government sells the plastic. It's a scam."

Well, I'm not going to just say, "Ah ok, don't bother then." Instead, I respond something like, "Oh really? That's interesting. Here everyone does. The Council will fine you otherwise..."

But, more commonly, guests just take it as a given that they are supposed to separate their rubbish, even if they don't normally bother at home, because that's how I present it to them. They often don't get it right, but they at least try.

If they are creating a lot of food waste, I do mention it, but in a relaxed, conversational way. Usually you can see from their expression that they just hadn't thought about it before and, after that, they seem to throw away less.

Of course, I am a live in host, so it's easier for me to encourage guests them to be more environmentally friendly during their stay. Also, I've mostly hosted long-term guests the past couple of years and they are more likely to make an effort.

Some guests just don't get it though and probably never will.