to think that the bin men shouldn't be doing their stuff in peak rush hour?

[HeadFairy]

Especially in London where most of the residential streets are really narrow and can only fit one car in each direction? This morning was a perfect example of how disruptive it is... the roads where I live are in a grid pattern, narrow roads with cars parked both sides so only one car can go down them, if another car comes along you have to find a space to pull in and let them pass.

This moring there were three bin lorries parked in the middle of the street blocking three roads, two others were closed for road works so all the traffic was being funnelled down one tiny road. It was gridlock because there's usually only space for one car to pull in and let others go, so if there are two cars going in each direction you sit there face to face unable to move in either direction.

I don't expect them to do it at 5 in the morning, but can't they wait until say 11am? We didn't even have the school run to contend with this morning, it's much much worse when we do.

Ok, rant over, give me your worst

[Habbibu]

Thing is, you don't know how long their day is, how much area they have to cover, etc. Maybe if they waited until 11 am they'd still be working at 7-8 pm, etc?

[LadyOfScoffleTheEasterEggs]

Then they would be doing it in the evening rush hour...

[IwishIwasmorechocolatey]

YABU imo!

Who is to say what peak times are? There are plenty of shift workers who start at 7am, school runs vary from school to school, then there's the 9-5 workers.

When excatly would suit you for these people to do their jobs?

Perhaps if they could squeeze it in between 10-2 that would be ok - but only if you want your bins and recycling collected monthly!

[MitchyInge]

yabu

it has to be done, they probably do start at about 5

[HeadFairy]

OK then, how about a 9pm start? Most of the rush hour traffic has subsided by then. Is 8am really the only time to do it?

It wouldn't surprise me if they had really long days to be honest, our council trumpet all the time that we have the lowest council tax in the country, but that's because they spend nothing on public services (while the councils chief executive earns more than the prime minister)

Still hacks me off though....

[HeadFairy]

Iwish, I appreciate there is never a time when the streets are completely empty, believe me I do shift work too, however, the bulk of traffic is between 7 and 9am. Why on earth contribute it by blocking several roads with rubbish lorries?

[PeachyWithTheBirthdayBas]

yabu of course you are

its life, get on with it

I live in one such street, often have binmen wakind dh t move a car belonging to someone else (e're on schoolrun parking area and dh is on nights), it's a PITA but needs doing

[PeachyWithTheBirthdayBas]

Our binmen start 1t 6am BTW, get here between 7.30 and 9

[Grumpyoldcaaaaaaaa]

Can you imagine the reaction to the bins being collected at 9pm? I's not the quietest job.

Come on, the guys have to collect the bins, it's a long job, they have to do some of it in 'peak time'. They only do it once a fortnight FFS.

[ABetaDad]

HeadFairy - does my head in why they do this in the rush hour. Where I live they block the bus lane on the main road into town in the middle of the rush hour. Why not do the side streets then - but no they do the main road. Gaaaargh!

I know the bin men in London where I used to live used to go round in the middle of the night emptying the big wheelie bins and the bin men that do the commercial premises also go round at night. They go round at night in a lot of European cities too.

I just think it may be outdated unionised local authority working practices in a lot of cases.

[HeadFairy]

I'm not sold on this whole "it's life get on with it" line. Why do we have to accept such easily solveable crap from councils reaping millions and spending nothing on public services? If they had more bin lorries they'd do the rubbish collections in no time and not have to block already congested roads. But no, Mr Chief Executive of Wandsworth council has to earn his £250,000 a year doing something, and that's making cuts.

[PeachyWithTheBirthdayBas]

Well I'd much rather have top deal with it in the daytime than have them waking the boys after bedtime TBH (or just freaking them out- DS1 getsscared as anything by people outsode at night time).

Ok instread of its life..... how about IMO it's a minor inconvenience for what we receive in return

[HeadFairy]

Grumpyoldcaaaaa, we have bin lorries around here most days of the week, they do my road daily because we have a large number of restaurants, commercial property and a street market in my road so there's tons of rubbish.

I'm with BetaDad, most European cities do it overnight, and they're not all sleep deprived because of the noise of bin lorries. We have planes rumbling over from 4.30am so we're really not going to notice a bin lorry passing through....

[oneplusone]

YANBU, i often think the same thing. When they do my area on a friday morning it is utter chaos around here. Narrow roads and lines and lines of traffic behind dust carts. Madness!

I think they should work through and only through the night. But god knows what that would do to our council tax, it is astronomical as it is!

I guess we just have to put up and shut up as with most things!

[PeachyWithTheBirthdayBas]

You might not notice in HF, but when they come down this narrow few hundred year old road we all have to move cars (one way system so you either get boys out of bed or leave them unattended) and the lorries echo something terribly as they move down- we have one of those cottagey houses with no front garden whatsoever and just a door onto road IYKWIM

[LadyOfScoffleTheEasterEggs]

More night workers? They have family too. They start about 5am around here. After 3/4pm remember there are kids around after school etc.

[HeadFairy]

What happens if someone's out peachy? Do they have to leave their keys with a neighbour or do the bin lorries just not go down if they can't move a car?

[OrmIrian]

I agree with you hf. Ours went through a phase of working at 8.30am - and going down a narrow Victorian street with cars parked on both sides just as parents were getting their DC to school. Absolute gridlock. They would only have to delayed by 30mins and all would have been well. Which they did in the end.

[2shoestrodonalltheeggs]

yabu

[WhatFreshEggIsThis]

YABU - can't believe people are suggesting putting more people on night shifts to save a bit of time in the rush hour. Night shifts are really bad for your health, family life and happiness, and would cost the councils more in shift pay too.

[Simplysally]

Our bin men start at 7am and work til about
3.3 - 4pm, not forgetting that they'll have to go to the tip at least once or twice during that round to empty the lorry. The recycling lorries will go more often to the recycling centre as they have less capacity.

If they did night rounds, the tip/recycling centre would have to open at night (what about those local residents?) and the refuse office would have to be staffed too. Plus if a bin is overlooked or not put out by the resident, often they'll go back for it.

Even starting at 11am all this would still spread into the evening rush hour. They've got to do their work sometime during the day!

[HeadFairy]

I know all about night shifts whatfresheggs, do them myself. I'm not really suggesting night shifts, why not start at 9am though?

[Simplysally]

Our bin-men are really nice though and often collect the bins/recycling boxes from driveways as long as they're visible if the householder has forgotten to put them on the property boundary, so I may be biased .

[PeachyWithTheBirthdayBas]

HF they don't go down, you have to call council and complain then they send a van out instead (also if 'er next door tells them to bog off)

[ChippingIn]

Just the other week when taking LO to school they had the whole village in gridlock (as they do most weeks) and I thought 'Why the fuck can't they do this at a sensible fucking time... for fuck sake!!' (Didn't say it as I didn't want it repeated by the backseat parrots!!)...

Then had a good laugh at myself... they start at an antisocial hour, do a shit job in all weather, put up with moaning and groaning - then some tit (me!!) wants them to stop between 8 & 9 and twiddle their fingers while I drive the kids to school so I am not inconvenienced.... PMSL

I guess in some areas it could be planed a little better, but where we live, they'd really have to stop for a couple of hours to not inconvenience 'rush'hour/school drop offs...