Dive Brief:
- 17 years ago, when the village of Bristol, Vermont was looking for a waste hauler, Patrick Palmer won the contract. He uses a team of horses to collect trash.
- It takes four hours to haul the curbside waste for the 250 customers along the nine mile collection route. He charges $5 per bag, recycling is free.
- Palmer is a registered trash hauler in Vermont.
Dive Insight:
The horse-drawn wagon hauler concept is environmentally-friendly. As environmental groups push for fleets to move towards alternative fuels like natural gas, using a horse has the benefit of not using diesel. The owner uses a horse trailer to transport the horses. The two wagon loads of trash are hauled to the landfill by a private garbage truck, which is 26 miles away.
