Best questions for citizen survey about waste collection service

Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about waste collection service, plus practical tips to make sure your survey uncovers real insights. If you need to build your own, you can generate a conversational survey with Specific in seconds.

Best open-ended questions for citizen survey about waste collection service

Open-ended questions let people share honest opinions in their own words. They’re powerful for surfacing pain points, ideas, and unexpected perspectives—especially with complex community topics like waste collection.

It’s not just about quantity—deep context from open-ended questions gives you richer, sharper feedback that’s hard to capture with predefined responses. When service quality and responsiveness shape satisfaction—as shown in a meta-analysis of municipal services, with solid waste management accounting for 12.9% of studies analyzed—flexible questions are crucial. [1]

1. What do you think about the current waste collection schedule in your area?

2. Can you share a recent experience you had with the waste collection crew?

3. What changes, if any, would make it easier for you to properly sort or dispose of your household waste?

4. Have you noticed any recurring issues with missed or delayed waste pickups? Please describe.

5. What do you appreciate most about our waste collection service?

6. If you could improve one thing about our waste collection or street cleaning, what would it be?

7. How do you feel about the condition and cleanliness of the waste collection vehicles?

8. How satisfied are you with the professionalism and neatness of the crew?

9. Do you have suggestions for additional services or information we could provide related to waste management?

10. Are there specific locations where public waste bins, containers, or cleanup are most needed?

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for citizen survey about waste collection service

Sometimes you just want to quantify satisfaction, spot patterns, or get a fast pulse on a topic. Single-select multiple-choice questions make that easy. They also work well as conversation starters—especially when citizens aren’t sure how to put their experience into words. Quick options lower the barrier to reply, and from there, you can always dig deeper with a good follow-up.

Question: How often do you notice missed waste pickups on your street?

• Never

• Rarely

• Sometimes

• Frequently

Question: How would you rate the cleanliness of the public walkways after waste collection?

• Very clean

• Somewhat clean

• Not very clean

• Not clean at all

Question: Which of the following best describes any improvements you’d like to see in the waste collection service?

• More frequent pickups

• Better waste bins/containers

• Improved crew professionalism

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" Knowing the "what" is helpful, but you learn the most with the "why." For example, if someone selects “Not very clean” when describing walkways, a simple “Why do you feel the walkways aren’t clean—what have you noticed?” can pinpoint the issue behind their rating. These follow-ups can transform a generic response into something actionable and detailed, as shown in this study on survey follow-ups. [2]

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always add “Other” for any structured question where you might not have captured every perspective. If someone chooses “Other,” a follow-up like “Could you explain what you had in mind?” often uncovers unmet needs or creative ideas you never considered in advance.

Should you use an NPS question in a citizen waste collection service survey?

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a single, powerful question that measures loyalty and satisfaction: “How likely are you to recommend our waste collection service to friends, family, or neighbors?” Citizens answer on a 0–10 scale, and you follow up differently based on their score. This format is a great fit for tracking public sentiment over time, especially in municipal services where trust and reputation matter. Try generating an NPS survey designed for citizens about waste collection—it’s one of the fastest ways to benchmark satisfaction and spot problems quickly.

The power of follow-up questions

If you want insight, not just a data dump, follow-up questions make the difference—this is where Specific shines. Automated follow-up questions clarify ambiguous answers, dig deeper, and make it possible to uncover what really drives satisfaction (or frustration). According to a study, follow-ups can fundamentally improve data quality and decision-making by revealing underlying issues, not just surface-level opinions. [2]

• Citizen: “It’s okay.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share what would make the service more than just ‘okay’ for you?”

• Citizen: “The collection crew is fine.”

• AI follow-up: “Could you share a specific example of something the crew did particularly well or poorly?”

How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2–3 follow-ups are usually enough to unlock genuine insight without overwhelming people. With Specific, you can customize this—set the AI to ask more questions or let respondents skip ahead once you’ve collected what you need.

This makes it a conversational survey: You’re not just collecting data; you’re building a dialogue. That’s what makes surveys like these less of a chore and more like a real conversation.

AI survey analysis and themes: Don’t worry about wrangling mountains of text responses—AI makes it easy to analyze, cluster, and summarize everything you learn. Check out how to analyze responses from citizen waste collection service surveys and see how AI does the heavy lifting.

Follow-ups are a new standard—try building your survey and feel the difference for yourself.

How to prompt ChatGPT (or other GPTs) to come up with citizen waste collection survey questions

If you’re using ChatGPT or another AI, a specific prompt makes all the difference. Start with this for open-ended ideas:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for citizen survey about waste collection service.

AI always gives better results when you provide more context about your goals, location, and who will answer. For example:

I work in the waste management department of a mid-sized city. We want to understand how residents feel about our waste collection service, what common frustrations or improvement ideas they have, and how professional our crews are perceived. Generate 10 open-ended questions that could uncover meaningful insights.

Then, organize the ideas into groups:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Pick the category you want to explore deeper, and get focused:

Generate 10 questions for the category “improvement suggestions and frustrations.”

This method helps you efficiently explore angles and dig deep where it matters most.

What is a conversational survey?

Conversational surveys are different. Instead of dumping sterile forms on citizens, AI surveys engage them in a quick, natural back-and-forth—just like a chat. That’s why so many respondents share more context and detail, making your analysis sharper and your plans more likely to hit the mark.

Why use AI for citizen surveys? Simple: AI survey generators like Specific let you create an AI survey in less time, with smarter questions, and the flexibility to adjust on the fly. You skip the pain of building and tweaking question lists, and respondents get a faster, less painful experience.

If you’re new to this, try our walkthrough on how to create a citizen survey about waste collection using AI in minutes. Our platform was built for exactly this kind of deep feedback—giving you best-in-class user experience and a process that’s insightful for you and rewarding for your community.

See this waste collection service survey example now

Jump in and experience an AI-powered, conversational survey for waste collection services—see how real-time follow-ups and rich data help you get the insights needed to improve your city’s waste management.