How should we handle excessive amounts of trash?

[Gailyn-And-Adam0]

Let me start by saying that most of the homes we manage are larger (sleep 8-10). But, we are located way up in the mountains, and we don't have trash service. Trash has to be physically lifted out of garbage cans and taken to the dump station behind our office by housekeeping.

We are looking for a solution in dealing with people who end up leaving a ridiculous amount of trash (we have TWO 55 gal trash cans at each home for their use) and every so often we end up with way more than that. This wouldn't be as big of a problem except that housekeeping can only fit so much trash in their cars, and to make two trips to the house just for trash can be upwards of an hour driving to the home roundtrip again.

We've put in our terms and conditions that each reservation comes with two large containers of trash space, but sometimes we get bookings for as long as a week (sometimes even more) and I'm wondering if its too strict on our part to limit 10 guests to only two trash bins? Has anyone else had this issue, and how did you handle it?

[Kaylee18]

@Gailyn-And-Adam0   I can't say I have this issue, but I can say a lot of guests put most of their recycling in the trash. Sometimes I have half a garbage bag full of mostly recyclable material. This could be what your guests are doing and thats why there are so many bags left behind. Maybe have a note requesting they use the recycling bins and that you may charge a fee if garbage exceeds two bins full for the cost of garbage removal. 

[Anonymous]

@Gailyn-And-Adam0  You could introduce a fee for excessive waste to your House Rules, but if the guest doesn't accept your Resolution Request for the charge, there's no guarantee that Airbnb will back you up on it.

10 guests, though - that's a lot of people. I'd suggest raising the Extra Guest Fee and stipulating that larger groups will be visited by housekeeping every "x" number of days for trash collection and site inspection. 

Alternatively, it might be worth reducing the maximum number of guests. The tendency for a lot of hosts is to allow the maximum number of people that their furniture can sleep, but sometimes other circumstances need to take precedence. In your case, the amount of waste your property generates is a factor, not to mention the environmental impact of all the extra car trips. And then there's water and energy usage, and increased risk of damage. If you've found an optimal group size for all these parameters, perhaps that should be the maximum group size.

A third option would be to ask guests to personally remove any waste exceeding the allotted bins upon check-out. It might be an effective deterrent, but the obvious concern would be that they would dispose of it irresponsibly at the roadside instead of the proper facility. This might also be the case if you charged an excess waste fee.

[Robbi1]

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 garbage 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 garbage 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.

*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! :-}

[MariaCecilia22]

On my listing it is mentioned NO TRASH SERVICE, must take home trash with them when they check out.. If they do not agree with our house rules, don't have to book our home. Even with that information,  the current guest is asking where he can drop off their trash because they do not have enough room in the car, even though NO trash service was mention on the listing, on the communication before booking and welcome email.  Furthermore, how can someone have that much trash after less than 1 day and their check out is tomorrow? Can you imagine the amount of trash the cleaning crew has to haul after they leave. So no, I tell them upfront not to rent my home if they can't take their trash home. Another option is ask the cleaning crew how much they would charge if they have to take the trash when they clean, then you can tack that on to the rate.  I wouldn't to do because not sure when the cleaning lady can clean that could be 2-3 days after they check out which means, stale and sticky food in the garbage permeating the house.. No good.

[MariaCecilia22]

one more thing 10 guest that's a lot of people... my max is 6 and that's still a headache sometimes..