[jacobr]

I live in a house and each bin is emptied bi-weekly by a regular garbage truck. The two front-most compartments are actually not fixed to the bin, so the bin is lifted up, the front-most part is lifted and emptied (in a vertically split compartment), then the rest in another. (I used to watch this with the kids a lot...)

Apartments often have a similar setup but with one large bin per category in the basement. There is also another system where you are supplied with color coded garbage bags for each type of waste that you then throw in the same bin.