A New Day Dawns

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

When I were a lad (the grass was greener, summers were warmer and lasted longer, food and drink were cheaper, cars were easily kept running with basic tools and gun-gum) the dustman strode merrily up your front path whistling or singing (according to preference) the latest in madrigals and collected your dustbin from the purpose designed  storage, carried it to his vehicle and deposited its contents, then still making a merry music returned it to the place from which it had come.

 

But no longer. Now we must ensure that the correct selection of our multiple wheeled recycling and disposal receptacles are placed at the roadside before our property no earlier than five hours and fifteen minutes ahead of the specified day of fortnightly collection, with their contents correctly sorted; and once emptied and left randomly strewn up and down the highway, are to be found and taken back onto our property no later than three hours after sunset of the day of collection. The accompaniment to this ritual is no longer the merry tunefulness of the operatives, for it is drowned out by the loud clamour of the mighty vehicles employed to transport the collected stuff to wherever it next has to go.

 

Heaven help you if the correct receptacles were not presented on time and in the right location, or if the contents are in some way faulty. The former errors lead inevitably to a month interval between collections, the latter to an unemptied receptacle and a promissory note. (The promise is of course, no further collections if you do not swiftly amend.) We have yet to discover what happens to reprobates who leave their receptacles in the road, rather than find and recover them on time as specified; all too terrified to try this experiment.

 

Which preamble is to explain why my wife and I, and as we discovered yesterday evening two of the neighbouring households, have adopted a new day in their week to mark this major ritual: Monday, Tuesday, Binday, Thursday...

[Purley Oaks]

Yes, we separate cardboard and plastic bottles/containers, then they're chucked into the same bin lorry!

 

Edited for spelling doh!

[Arthur]

Oh, it's not all bad. Now our towns and villages are gaily adorned by serried ranks of many coloured large wheelie bins, parked on house fronts and pavements all week. What a pretty, gay, display for us all to enjoy, a vibrant splash of colour in a grey world......Not.

[Pete 75C]

I can't leave my brown garden waste bin outside for a second longer than absolutely necessary... passing dog owners have a habit of leaving little plastic bag-wrapped "surprises" inside. The poo might be bio-degradable but the Tesco bag probably isn't, and one day, I'll find my bin hasn't been emptied. Cue me going mental and rigging up some kind of CCTV surveillance system... Grump over.

[coniston branch]

 We have yet to discover what happens to reprobates who leave their receptacles in the road, rather than find and recover them on time as specified; all too terrified to try this experiment.

 

Our local council threatened £50 fixed penalty notices for any bins left in the back street on any day other than bin day.

[AndrewC]

We long ago christened Tuesday night as "garbage eve". This is a special time where we do the magic wheelie bin dance to please the tip gods. 2 wheelie bins and 3 tubs have to be moved to the special place to be presented to the magic trash pixies. These hi-viz creatures first appear the following morning around 06:30 making lots of noise but don't actually seem to empty all the bins until some time in the afternoon. Thursday is of course boxing day. This is where we collect all the bits of cardboard boxes that didn't quite get emptied from the paper recycling tub until the tub was flung back into our front garden. At which time said cardboard decides to land where ever it fancies.

[Andy Y]

We have tactical strike bin men. Binday's Monday here so when it's a bank holiday it's collected on the preceding Saturday just as the sparrows have cleared their throats rather than mid-afternoon; this is clearly designed to catch out those who forget and reduce the round time or at very least to destroy anyone's chance of a lie-in on a long weekend.

 

A trip to the tip recycling centre is another lowlight in life with furniture police checking if the knackered chest of drawers you're about to lob is proper wood or a veneer over particle board whilst badly parked cars with people who don't look where they're going running for the green waste skip 'It's a Knockout' style before it gets hauled away and you have to wait 10 minutes for the next chance.

[New Haven Neil]

Imagine all that, and fortnightly collection only.....welcome to Fraggle Rock!

[DaveF]

Our local system is a bit simpler.

 

Blue wheelie bin for recycling -and I got a new list of things to put in it with my Council Tax bill.

 

Green bin for other rubbish.

 

Collection is blue bin one Monday, green the next - usually around lunchtime.  One day recently they came at breakfast time and no one was ready, so the bin men moved all the bins they could reach from the gardens.  Normally we all put them on the pavement.

 

I also have an optional brown bin for garden waste only, £24 a year, collections from late March to early December - but any wood you put in them can only be to 10cm diameter according to the latest leaflets (they actually prefer much smaller bits).  That goes on Tuesdays around breakfast time.

 

It's always entertaining to watch the bin lorry reversing very briskly down the road opposite me avoiding the parked cars - apparently turning the lorry round is awkward as it is a cul de sac

 

The local tip works quite well, if you choose the right time of day there is plenty of parking and there are skips for just about everything.  The men will even help unload the car if they are not too busy.

 

David

[Judge Dread]

Wait until you are surrounded by students and they cannot grasp the concept of "no black bin liners in the blue bin because no-one knows what is in them". I did explain to my neighbours that all as you had to do was empty the black bin liner out into the bin, to reveal it's contents and then put the aforementioned bag into the bin empty!"

[Ozexpatriate]

I recollect the merry thump of the nightsoil man's step as he collected the spoil from my grandmothers outhouse in the bright early morning before the subtropical heat and humidity suffocated the land. I can also remember being almost flattened as this burly and grubby gent materialized by vaulting the garden fence with a grunt and his box o' sh-te and straw on his shoulder on his mission to expeditiously retrieve his prize and return it to his perfuméd conveyance.

 

I don't miss this slice of life from the 1960s.

 

There will of course come a day when people fondly reminisce about wheelie bins and bin day.

[Ian Abel]

Ahhh, "garbage eve", yes indeed - it was last night 

 

Here it's Wednesday evening, and we scurry around but ONLY need to move two large wheelie bins out to curbside. About a year ago, the for once sensible powers that be decided that ALL the recycling can go in one bin! Praise the <insert your favourite deity/or not here>!

 

Must admit we are as far as we're concerned, rather ahead of the curve with recycling, as we can now recycle most anything in the way of plastic/cardboard/glass and aluminium. There's even talk of compostable waste as a separated item, which will reduce the actual "garbage" one more level.

 

We also have doom-and-gloom warnings regarding when they can be "out" and must be "in", with additional adminishments for NOT putting them out in time or in the right spot - dire warnings of never having service again, blah, blah...

 

Not sure if "the rest of you" have this, but many of the towns/services here use trucks (lorries!!) that have a grab claw on the curb-side and just drive up, grab bin, deposit contents into truck, return bin and move on. If it's NOT at the very edge of the curb, the driver would have to actually get OUT of the vehicle and do some work, so they get very "testy" when that occurs!

[Mallard60022]

Round here loads of kind people don't bother with bins they just chuck their c**p all over the place. 36E must be one of the most untidy towns in England.

Pah!

[APOLLO]

Up here in sunny Wigan we have a good refuse system, seems to work OK. Binmen reliable, and if a collection is missed, (rare) an email gets it sorted the next day. Usually due to vehicle failure or vehicle full.

 

Week 1 Wednesday Black Bin (Landfill - general rubbish)

Week 2 Wednesday Brown Bin (Cans, Glass bottles, Plastic bottles, containers trays etc) Green Bin (Garden refuse, food leftovers in bio-degradeable bags supplied by council)

Week 3 Wednesday Black Bin (as above) plus Blue Bin (clean paper, cardboard, card drink cartons without plastic top)

Week 4 Wednesday as Week 2, Brown Bin & Green Bin

 

Then repeat. All bin colours have a separate vehicle - no mixing. The council issues no fines as far as I know, but if you put wrong refuse in bin a sticker is put stating what / why on & it's not collected. Simple.

 

A new multi million£ recycling plant sorts the Blue & Brown refuse. Black bin goes direct to landfill. Green bin garden/food goes into a huge composter.

 

A visit by car to the local recycling centre is easy, staff there ensure everything goes where it should, even help you to unload.

 

Wigan MBC reckon the system will pay for itself soon, and may even become profitable. I am happy with the arrangements, neighbours also, though storing 4 wheelie bins can be a problem for some.

 

Brit15

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

 'Garbage Eve' and 'Boxing Day', 3 new days a week! Though it must be credited to the contractor our local authority uses that one of the collection team is detailed to pick up any spillages, and in the two years the scheme has operated in present form, they do actually do it. 

 

...Not sure if "the rest of you" have this, but many of the towns/services here use trucks (lorries!!) that have a grab claw on the curb-side and just drive up, grab bin, deposit contents into truck, return bin and move on. If it's NOT at the very edge of the curb, the driver would have to actually get OUT of the vehicle and do some work, so they get very "testy" when that occurs!

Much the same system in the UK and elsewhere in Yurp that I have visited, in that a truck with a bin lifter deposits the contents into a compactor, but typically the bins have to be manually placed on the lifter. What with roadside parking, tight curvatures of many roads, loads of street furniture in urban areas especially, many urban houses off road, significant areas with no road accessible kerbs or parking adjacent the road, the straight lift from roadside with no manual handling of the bin isn't really practical in the UK, and probably most European countries.

 

I am on a three wheelie bin scheme:

week 1 Blue bin, all manufactured recyclables, Brown bin, all compostable recyclables,

week 2 Black bin (smaller than the other two) for landfill.

 

It works very well as a system, and most folks are happy enough with it; we meet every imposed target by a comfortable margin, so the LA tell us in their quarterly bulletin.

[geoffers]

Seems to work OK in this part of Broadland. Reliable collection though early in the day so the Wednesday collection is put out the evening before BUT no crocodile bins else not collected. With 3 houses down a drive Wednesdays have 3 household bins (green and fortnightly) and 3 compost bins (weekly). The next week are the aforesaid  3 compost bins, 3 garden bins (brown), and 3 recyclable bins (not the bins but the stuff inside and limited to certain materials with the bins coloured grey) stretched down the drive. Looks a bit odd and one must be careful not to run them down when turning into the drive. Oh - and no bottles. They have to be deliverd to a bottle bank where the whole world and his mate can view your alcoholic tastes and tendencies. Good game!

[Ian Abel]

Whoops, almost forgot what with the horrendous winter we're STILL experiencing, we do have a THIRD BIN, for "yard waste". Basically all the garden vegitation type trash that isn't truly "garbage" or "recycleables".

Haven't SEEN or USED that bin since late September and lord knows when they are going to resume collection of said bins - probably NOT before all the freaking snow is gone and we can actually see our "yards" and work in them  

[Welly]

Lincoln has recently opened a great big rubbish incinerator in North Hykeham so I reckon all the paper and plastic now end up in the ovens rather than in the recycling system. 

[Nimbus]

It works very well as a system, and most folks are happy enough with it; we meet every imposed target by a comfortable margin, so the LA tell us in their quarterly bulletin.

 

It's ironic that the 34C district very conscientiously streams its refuse to minimise environmental impact, but is having a devil of a job repelling plans, by a higher authority, for the imposition of a large incineration plant for everyone else in the county's waste!

 

The Nim.

[bbishop]

So in the borough but one from the boring borough we have a two bin system. I require my wet bin to be emptied weekly, but the dry bin only once a month. Until last month, the binmen would check bins in front gardens, but we received a missive that bins had to be at the pavement edge by 6am else they wouldn't be emptied. Most inhabitants leave the bins on the pavement anyway.

 

So I puts out the wet bin (as usual), leaving the half full dry bin by the garage. The wet bit is emptied into the wet lorry. Then the dry lorry comes round and I gets a knock at the door. "Your bin ain't on the pavement." "That's right, it doesn't need to be emptied." A few seconds for this to sink in. "But your bin ain't on the pavement."

 

Which begs the question, is someone going round the streets at 6am, marking those bins in position so that the late one's can be left unemptied?

 

Bill

[eastwestdivide]

Round here loads of kind people don't bother with bins they just chuck their c**p all over the place. 36E must be one of the most untidy towns in England.

Pah!

You should take a walk round Swinton/Mexborough/Wath!

[edcayton]

I have said this before, but, whilst all this recycling may be good for the environment, having all these tatty, broken and dis-coloured bins and boxes in the front gardens has ruined my environment-ie the road I live in.

 

Ed

 

and I'm sure they could squeeze bigger lorries up the narrow residential roads if they really tried.

[Kenton]

I understand separate waste collection - to some extent (glass, plastic+paper+metal, general, compostable) What I do not understand is why it has to be so different between authorities? Rubbish is rubbish - it either can or cannot be recycled. Collection should be the same everywhere and the same receptacles provided for the purpose.

 

We have black boxes for the mix of paper+metal+plastics that have some weird segregation and identification known only to non-plastics. We have holy (as in, must be worshipped) blue bags that seem to change in colour each year and are limited per household for general waste. (any other bag - including those that may actually fit a dustbin will be ignored). Then there is the paid for by subscription brown wheelie bin for compostables (excluding wood!) We do not subscribe and make our own compost. Glass - well you need to take that to a recycling centre where you sort it diligently by colour before they mix it all up in the same truck.

 

It should be the same rule for everyone in the UK. I do not mind competition between recycling units but the ground rules should be based on a common goal not bent and twisted each year based on the pomposity of the proportion of the Green Meanies on the council.

 

Still at least we don't have the snoops and can put the bins out the night before ... just keep your shotgun handy for the squirrel attacks.

[Catkins]

Round here loads of kind people don't bother with bins they just chuck their c**p all over the place. 36E must be one of the most untidy towns in England.

Pah!

Round my way we should get our bins collected on a fortnightly basis, recycling alternating with landfill, except when the bin lorry can't get down our road - but to be fair it is a one way street with cars parked on both sides, including the double yellow lines!

 

Lincoln has recently opened a great big rubbish incinerator in North Hykeham so I reckon all the paper and plastic now end up in the ovens rather than in the recycling system.

 

I know where that incinerator is, and you can see it for quite a distance. However it's not "Lincoln", but Lincolnshire that has opened the incinerator - our waste gets taken to a transfer station at Gonerby Moor, where the stuff then gets put into articulated lorries that take it up to the incinerator at Hykeham.

[pH]

We have a three bin system - 'compostable' (garden and kitchen waste), 'recycling' (plastic, glass, paper etc.) and 'waste' (everything else, which will go into landfill). But we have a twist - the 'compostable' and 'waste' bins have heavy metal clips on the lids. These are needed because of the presence in the neighbourhood of Ursus Americanus. The clips should be taken off when the bins are being put out, after 2:30 am, but not later than 7:30am, on the day of collection. We are third house on a route, so our bins have to be out by 7:30. We have a choice - put them out the night before, and risk a visit from our furry friends (and a reprimand for leaving them out early and unclipped), or set the alarm for 7:20, put the bins out and go back to bed. Given that we're retired, guess what option we choose?