So many garbage pails.

The Town of Salina delivered to residents two hulking new garbage pails.

Instructions told us that a new haulers would take the huge green one for recyclables and black one for regular trash once a week come this new year. Same day as the old haulers took our own pails and county-provided blue recycling bins. But with new rules.

One big free pail per household. If you ding it or damage it any way, you buy the next one.

The new company won’t take anything not in the pails, unlike the old company, which hauled away bigger pieces. Unless you call and set up a special appointment. For a fee. (Heck, I thought better big pieces have always been snuck away be eagle-eyed collectors before trash day, anyway.)

No word about the brown paper bags and yard waste that will come in spring but I’ll assume they’ll take those. Hope they’ll take those, anyway.

The notice says this will help us residents stay healthier rolling these big wheeled pails and guard the town from a rodent and bird diving problem.

We shall see.

Now our decisions.

What to do with my old pails?! Can’t put them out at the curb to take without scheduling a pickup and a fee, right? My dear wife Karen and I have decided they’ll go out back behind the shed for future use with yard work. Blue bins can be returned to the town offices. But I think we’ll keep them, too, for use as big buckets come gardening season. (I’ll also lament putting our nickel-worthy cans and bottles in them for the weekly citizen collectors to hawk and return.)

Besides, not to wish bad on the new company and these huge pails, but new contracts can become former contracts and the old equipment might become new equipment in years to come, might they not?