weekly bin collections

[dangerousdave]

as far as i can remember, you can request one extra blue bin if you phone up and ask. the waste management team wil probably speak with you to discuss ways in which you can reduce the volume of recycling (i.e. flat-packing cardboard, etc). The reason for their willingness is that for every tonne of waste recycled instead of put to landfill the council saves around £50 (doesn't sound much, but it does mount up). If you live in a house with a certain number of occupants (definately over 5, probably nearer 8) you can also request an extra green bin free of charge.

all of this info may be out of date as it's a while since i worked for SBC, so your best bet is to phone up the council and speak with someone on the waste management team. They're all lovely (or were when i left)

 

[Gadget]

There are six of us 2 children in nappies. On normalish weeks we can fill the bin, on the times we have a clear out we are done for. Kids produce waste and a fair bit of it. I'd love to reduce our waste, just not sure what else we can do.
We requested a second blue bin, i think everyone can. A larger/second green one is available if you fall into the criteria of 5 or more people i think.
G x

 

[Mikinton]

I'm not sure what's prompted this 'initiative' by the government, but I think the system is fine as it is. Having said that, it is only me and t' missus, but then I'm sure we'd have coped with what we've got when the kids were young.

However, I would agree with the comments about the brown bins. Maybe run the collections from mid-March to mid-November and the other 4 months use the lorries as gritters. On the rare occasions when we've got too much for a brown bin, I either take it to the tip or bag it up for when the bin's been emptied.

 

[United57]

Not used my green bin since christmas however my blue bin more than makes up for this .......

Still managing to live on beer

 

[United57]

I'm not sure what's prompted this 'initiative' by the government, but I think the system is fine as it is. Having said that, it is only me and t' missus, but then I'm sure we'd have coped with what we've got when the kids were young.

However, I would agree with the comments about the brown bins. Maybe run the collections from mid-March to mid-November and the other 4 months use the lorries as gritters. On the rare occasions when we've got too much for a brown bin, I either take it to the tip or bag it up for when the bin's been emptied.

Its Pickles pledge to appease Mr Angry of Orpington. The amount of money is not sufficient and most authorities will not be changing even Tory ones.

 

[Mikinton]

I'm not sure what's prompted this 'initiative' by the government, but I think the system is fine as it is. Having said that, it is only me and t' missus, but then I'm sure we'd have coped with what we've got when the kids were young.

However, I would agree with the comments about the brown bins. Maybe run the collections from mid-March to mid-November and the other 4 months use the lorries as gritters. On the rare occasions when we've got too much for a brown bin, I either take it to the tip or bag it up for when the bin's been emptied.

Its Pickles pledge to appease Mr Angry of Orpington. The amount of money is not sufficient and most authorities will not be changing even Tory ones.

I was wondering what point Mr Angry of Orpington was making, and I guess this quote from the Mail sums it up.

"Householders quickly began to complain about increases in rats and other pests, unpleasant smells from food waste left uncollected for up to a fortnight, ...." ...... which I wouldn't disagree with, though I've never found it a problem.

Regarding Pickles' "Chicken Tikka Masala test", I don't suppose there much food gets wasted in his household, the fat bastard.

 

[United57]

The rats issue is actually a report from a pest control company that also has links to refuse collection. Friends of the earth cannot find any data to substansiate this. Councils have not reperted an increase. If there is an increase in rats its probably due to weather and general littering.

 

[henryscat]

The rats issue is actually a report from a pest control company that also has links to refuse collection. Friends of the earth cannot find any data to substansiate this. Councils have not reperted an increase. If there is an increase in rats its probably due to weather and general littering.

Indeed. I had a fantastic exchange of correspondence with a Labour Borough Councillor who opposed the move to a fortnightly collection. He couldn't answer the question how all these rats would apparently gain ingress to a closed wheelie bin.... Nor would he acknowledge that most of the rat problem is caused by people chucking rubbish everywhere and nothing to do with changing the system of refuse collection.

 

[henryscat]

There are six of us 2 children in nappies. On normalish weeks we can fill the bin, on the times we have a clear out we are done for. Kids produce waste and a fair bit of it. I'd love to reduce our waste, just not sure what else we can do.

Not use so many disposable nappies? Which account for a scary amount of landfill - disposable nappies are the largest single contributor to UK land fill and about 8 million a day chucked into landfill each day in the UK.

 

[Gadget]

There are six of us 2 children in nappies. On normalish weeks we can fill the bin, on the times we have a clear out we are done for. Kids produce waste and a fair bit of it. I'd love to reduce our waste, just not sure what else we can do.

Not use so many disposable nappies? Which account for a scary amount of landfill - disposable nappies are the largest single contributor to UK land fill and about 8 million a day chucked into landfill each day in the UK.

I've had this debate many a time on other forums and just one last time i'll say cloth nappies are not for me, plus i'm not convinced by the economics of them, initial outlay plus laundering costs. They may be better for the environment but they sure as hell aren't better for me. That is the one issue i'm not going to change, sorry. Hopefully the youngest one will potty train soon.
A once a month extra collection even would help me out no end.
G x

 

[Wolfenrook]

Hiya folks, Gadget's hubby here.

HC, another thing with cloth nappies, have you taken into account the extra electricity used in the laundering of these nappies? Then there's the negative effects the manufactuering of the detergeants used in the laundering, blah blah blah. Weigh in with the extra workload in handling cloth nappies, in days already EXTREMELY full of caring for 4 children (2 disabled, 1 toddler and a teenager) and I am sure you will understand better our refusal to stop using disposable nappies.

On the flip side, we don't own a car, and use public transport for most journeys not involving our children. Our carbon footprint actually comes in lower than many of the card driving cloth nappy users that oh so often try to push cloth nappies onto us.

Regarding those who believe we are doing something wrong if we are managing to fill our green bin. Nope. We even have THREE compost bins in our back garden for ANY waste that can be composted. EVERYTHING that can go in the blue bins does (until they are full, which takes us about 3 days). It still takes us less than a week to fill our green bin, at which point we are left with having to put black bags of rubbis in our garden until such a time as we can once again fit them into the green bin.

As to the brown bin, anybody who needs it emptying more than once a month is doing something wrong. Seriously, all that goes in ours is the odd bit of woody material that can't be composted. If you have a garden, you have room for at least one compost bin. If you don't have a garden, you don't need a brown bin. As to leaves in the autumn, they are one of THE best sources of nutrients you will find, leaf mould is second to none as a soil enhancer. Don't give it away for free, use it.

We NEED either a weekly green bin collection, the collection to take properly sealed bags next to the bin (wont happen for health and safety reasons I shouldn't think) or about 4 green bins, 6 blue bins...... The council are welcome to take our brown bin away.

Ade

 

[United57]

Hiya folks, Gadget's hubby here.


As to the brown bin, anybody who needs it emptying more than once a month is doing something wrong.
Ade

I compost but unfortunately I have a very large holly hedge and lots of trees. Not all leaves break down. For the size of my garden I would need 5 composters. I have 3 water butts.

 

[Wolfenrook]

Bud, I wasn't ENTIRELY serious. Yes I do think a lot of people brown bin stuff that could easily be composted, but I was tying to make a point that sometimes different people have different needs when it comes to bins and collections.

Oh and holly, good for keeping cats away, heard it's ok for keeping slugs off as well. But yeah, that's the kind of thing I would use our brown bin for as well. Our garden just doesn't produce that much waste though to overwhelm our 3 composters (2 aren't even in use yet), where our household produces more than enough waste to overwhelm our green and blue bins and collections.

See it more as an attempt to challenge with humour, than a genuine rant, hence the winking smiley.

 

[Withnail]

It still takes us less than a week to fill our green bin, at which point we are left with having to put black bags of rubbish in our garden until such a time as we can once again fit them into the green bin.

Do you have any neighbours (not those ones) that might generate less, who might let you use any spare capacity they have.

Failing that, if it's anything like round our way, many people put their bins out the night before...

 

[Wolfenrook]

Do you have any neighbours (not those ones) that might generate less, who might let you use any spare capacity they have.

Failing that, if it's anything like round our way, many people put their bins out the night before...

I can neither confirm nor deny that at any time my wife or any other member of our family etc etc has ever ninja's rubbish into other people's bins.

Actually, you have to be careful around here that the bin FULL of rubbish/recycling isn't emptied before the truck comes... All over the street usually, followed by angry letters ordering you to clear it up. Not happened to us (we put the bins out the day of collection) but seen it happen to other bins. Sadly, drunken males around here seem to consider a bin to be a target on which to vent their aggression.

I can already tell though that Gadget has been educating you all as to the nature of our neighbours. Thing is, the place we moved from was (in my opinion) a lot worst, and I've lived in SE London before now, so this place doesn't seem so bad to me. lol It's just the difficulty fitting in around here really. I rarely drink to excess, I hate confronation, I don't agree that partying in your front garden at 2am is a good thing.... It makes it easier for me though that I am from 'around here' originally. Lived most of my formative years in Yarnfield.

Ade

 

[Gadget]

It still takes us less than a week to fill our green bin, at which point we are left with having to put black bags of rubbish in our garden until such a time as we can once again fit them into the green bin.

Do you have any neighbours (not those ones) that might generate less, who might let you use any spare capacity they have.

Failing that, if it's anything like round our way, many people put their bins out the night before...

I have been known to when our imediate neighbours do put their bins out if they have room, sadly they are both single blokes who live alone and rarely put their green bins out. Saying that though we have next doors blue bin at the moment and they have ours due to a mix up with their house sitter when he was on holiday.
G x

 

[Withnail]

our imediate neighbours... are both single blokes who live alone and rarely put their green bins out

This sounds to me an ideal arrangement (on the very rare occasion that my bin is full, my single occupancy neighbour is happy for me to use theirs), and one ripe for negotiation.

Bottle of Single Malt each at Christmas and Bob's your father's brother?

(not that Bob)

 

[shoes]

Indeed. I had a fantastic exchange of correspondence with a Labour Borough Councillor who opposed the move to a fortnightly collection. He couldn't answer the question how all these rats would apparently gain ingress to a closed wheelie bin.... Nor would he acknowledge that most of the rat problem is caused by people chucking rubbish everywhere and nothing to do with changing the system of refuse collection.

The trouble with people like that is they are not capable of rational thought, and certainly have an absence of common sense.

Else they would have proper job

 

[Neon Jay]

Would Neon Jay be recyclable material do you think?

Hazardous waste only I'm afraid lad

 

[Scoot Doggy Dogg]

I have to say Dave, you have totally ruined my perception of life as a rock and roll superhero with this thread.

Can't you start some threads something like:

"Maserati vs. Bentley- which would you chose- or both?"
"Super model, tennis star or Hollywood Actress?"