My waste collection is €142 every 6 months for 2 bins - one rubbish, one recyclable material. As a single householder, it takes weeks to fill the rubbish bin in particular and as a result my bins do not get emptied every fortnight.
I was wondering about approaching one of my neighbours (all childless couples) about the possibility of sharing bin charges.
Does the refuse company not also have the alternative of refuse sacks which you can buy locally. In that way you can fill them at your leisure and only pay for them as you need them.
Not all local authorities offer the option of bags rather than bins in all areas. I consider ourselves lucky in that we are covered by the Dublin City Council pay as you go bin bag label system (€2.65 a go before tax relief) in our area and have no fixed annual waste management charges (yet!). We put out a bag more often since the nipper arrived a few years ago but still probably one ever other or three weeks.
I think you're mad involving other people. Bin collections are moving towards pay per lift/pay per weight anyway so you won't be paying these high charges for a lift every few weeks forever.....
I don't know what Local Authority or service provider you're using, but with Dublin City Council there's an option to change to a smaller black bin (140 litres instead of 240) for a lower annual fee and lower lift charge. This could be worth investigating with your LA.
I know someone who did this, more on a 'grace & favour' basis - the neighbour paid for the bin, she fired in a bag of rubbish on average every 3 weeks and in return she cut his front lawn & verge whenever she was doing her own.