There are a few things in Pinehaven that seem as dependable as sunrise over the
Spanish Peaks.
Snow in the winter.
Road construction in the summer.
And every annual meeting… the dumpster discussion.
If someone were to read twenty years of Pinehaven meeting minutes without knowing anything else about our community, they might conclude that we are engaged in an ongoing archaeological dig centered around four tan metal dumpsters.
The dumpsters have experienced more growth than most of our cabins. One became two. Two became four. At this rate, we’re hoping they don’t qualify as a new subdivision.
Year after year, the same mysteries appear.
Who put an entire living room in the dumpster?
Who thought a remodeled kitchen counted as “household trash”?
Who looked at an eight-foot cardboard box and said, “Nah… it’ll fit.”
Perhaps the greatest mystery of all is how a dumpster can be completely empty on Friday afternoon and resemble Mount Everest by Saturday morning.
Somewhere, there must be a cabin owner who believes cardboard boxes reproduce when no one is looking.
While researching Pinehaven’s history, I read more than 400 pages of Board and membership meeting minutes. I expected to uncover stories about roads, water, cabins, and community life. Instead, I discovered that trash has enjoyed a remarkably successful twenty-year run as a recurring agenda item.
Over the years, the Board has patiently repeated the same requests.
Please flatten your boxes.
Please don’t dispose of furniture.
Please don’t leave construction materials.
Please don’t share the dumpster combinations with people outside Pinehaven.
These aren’t new rules. They are simply the annual reminders that have appeared in meeting minutes for decades.
The challenge, of course, is that dumpsters obey the laws of physics rather than optimism.
An unflattened box occupies the same space whether it contains a television or absolutely nothing.
A broken couch doesn’t magically become household trash because it spent one weekend in a cabin.
And every truckload of construction debris that avoids a trip to the county landfill eventually shows up on every Pinehaven owner’s bill.
How to Be a Dumpster Hero
Fortunately, solving much of the problem doesn’t require a committee, a consultant, or another annual discussion. It does not even require a fifth dumpster.
Just remember four simple habits:
Flatten every cardboard box before placing it in the dumpster.- Household trash belongs in the dumpsters; furniture, mattresses, appliances, construction and forest debris do not.
- Never share dumpster combinations with people outside the Pinehaven community.
- If the dumpster is already full, resist the temptation to create a six-foot-high game of “trash Jenga.” Wait until it has been emptied.
- Items that are not accepted in the Pinehaven dumpsters may be taken to the Huerfano County Waste Transfer Station, located at 701 Industrial Park Drive, Walsenburg, Colorado. For hours and disposal information, call (719) 738-9985.
None of these habits are particularly glamorous.
No one receives a plaque for properly breaking down a cardboard box.
But if every owner followed these simple practices, one of Pinehaven’s longest-running agenda topics might finally disappear. TV
Now that would be historic!