The smell isn't the trash. It's what's stuck to the bin.
Every time you drop a bag in, small amounts of food, grease, and liquid leak out and dry onto the plastic walls. By the time the hauler takes the bag away, the bin keeps the smell — and the bacteria — for the next two weeks. Compound that for a year and the inside of your can has a film of biological gunk you can't see but can definitely smell.
Why pests show up
Flies, maggots, roaches, raccoons, opossums, mice, and yellow jackets are all drawn to that residue. Maggots specifically need food and warmth — Eastern Shore summers give them both, and a dirty bin gives them somewhere to live. Once the colony establishes, killing it without sanitizing the bin is whack-a-mole.
Why the garden hose doesn't work
A cold-water rinse moves the residue around. It doesn't kill bacteria, it doesn't cut through grease, and it leaves your driveway covered in trash-water. Bleach works on the smell short-term but corrodes the plastic and runs off into your yard or the storm drain. Neither one is a long-term fix.
What actually fixes it
Pressurized water at around 200°F. The high temperature kills bacteria on contact, and the pressure strips the residue off the plastic without damaging the bin. The wastewater needs to be captured and disposed of properly — not left to drain wherever. That's the whole job, done in a few minutes per bin.
Done monthly, your bin stays clean. Done quarterly, you stay ahead of the worst of it. Done once a year? You'll need it.
Doing it yourself vs. hiring
You can rent a hot-water pressure washer and dispose of the wastewater legally yourself — it just takes about an hour per bin once you factor in setup, cleanup, and the smell of you doing it. Most people who try it once pay someone the next time.