The new bin collection system is a nightmare. Anyone else?

[ThisIsJustDisgusting]

We had our new bins three weeks ago.

The food bin wasn't collected for a fortnight during the heatwave and so everything in the bins had rotted, decomposed, fermented (weird alcohol smell to it). And, when they wre finally collected last week, the stench that arose and lingered in the street afterwards was phenomenally foul.

I've got a pretty strong stomach but even I struggled washing the food bin out afterwards. I've never smelt anything like it.

I think part of the problem is that the composting bags provided were really thin and tore easily. Part of the problem is that there's nothing else in the bin to soak up any liquid that comes from the rotting food.

Evidently, none of neighbours washed out their bin because, a week on, I can't open the windows because the whole house ends up smelling of it 😭

Has anyone else noticed similar? Is this just how life is now..?

That's absolutely scandalous that a council is going to force you to separate out your food waste but then only collect it once every 14 days!

We've had food waste collection in our borough of London for more than 10 years, it has always been weekly.

I like the system - my general waste bin stays nice and clean and I don't chuck out a lot of food. Every scrap of raw fruits and vegetables go on the compost heap in the garden.

Might it be people on holiday? So they’ve put their bin out, neighbour has dragged it back to their door, and now it’s just festering until they get back?

I’m clutching at straws, I know!

Fingers crossed! I'd take my chances against an army of zombies if it meant it got rid of the smell 😆😭

We’ve had food recycling for years and years. It works fine if collected weekly. We buy compostable bags from Sainsbury’s and then transfer to the outside caddy once full. Maggots are only a problem if a) very hot and b) flies are able to land on the food and lay eggs. Also, I read that salt stops the eggs from developing and my home experiment trying this seems to suggest that it works!

Exactly

We’ve had them for about 8yrs and don’t have any issues - hopefully it’s just a bedding in period for your neighbours to get the hang of it

My food waste bin is collected weekly. It’s never been a problem. The bins have lids that are lockable so there are no smells.

The bin liners we are given are compostable so the whole lot can just get tipped into the composting/recycling system. If you’re adding extra plastic bin liners that won’t break down, that’s a problem for the waste management as will have to removed by hand.

No. The first collection was last Thursday morning. I left the house on Thursday afternoon and the smell hit me immediately.

It wasnt until I checked my bin that I realised that's what I could smell. Before that, I assumed something had just spilt.

So I cleaned my bin out (utterly gross!) But i don't think anyone else has.

We have food/garden waste collections every 2 weeks. I line the indoor caddy with kitchen roll in case of leaks. I double bag food waste to minimise the bags leaking. It can smell by the time its due to be collected especially in summer.

We have bin cleaners that come round on the day we put 2 bins out (1 food and 1 of general waste, paper or mixed recycling) so mine doesn't smell too bad for long

I just don't understand how the air can still smell a week later!

We lasted two weeks. They don’t provide bin bags for us but have told us to buy plastic bags. Not compostable ones because apparently they can decompose and cause issues debagging.

I spent a load of money on thick paper bags. Whole thing was teeming with flies.

Absolutely not buying plastic bags.

So yeah it’s pissed me off tbh.

Will give it another go in cold months. Absolutely not putting it in my freezer!

I read a long time ago that in Australia they keep a container in the freezer and as waste is created it goes straight in that container. Then they essentially put out a frozen block on bin day. But that relies on people having freezer space.

Keep an old ice cream container in the fridge and store the food waste all week in this box in the fridge. No smells and no rotting. Sometimes we even freeze our food waste, especially if we have fish skins and collection is a few days away.
Just tip into the outside bin on collection day. Simples

We went with the food collection and at the end of a week they emptied the bins and we had maggots. Bleugh 🤮

Until the new food collections we had a bokashi composting system going and after these maggots we resurrected the bokashi system. We don't put food waste out any more.

I can't do that for the whole street though!

ETA: Its a good idea though!

Still waiting for our food waste bins....i won't be bothering lol

Never had a smell in the street like that and we've had food waste collections for years round here. That does seem odd for it to smell so bad, are you sure there isn't a dead animal somewhere?

We’ve had food waste bins for years , I am emptying the indoor caddy everyday at the moment ( still so hot ) and the bins go every week

The council supply bags , enough for 3 bags a week for a year but we can collect more and we do , eg a roast chicken carcass take the best part of a bag and I don’t want that hanging around inside

I have to say I very rarely clean the outside bin , but it doesn’t smell

We live rurally ( back of beyond , actually ) and the foxes haven’t managed to get in , the handle locks the outdoor bin to keep,it safe

There were photos in a local fb group.of broken bins the day following first collections - lids broken off, corners snapped off, handles missing...

No. Its the whole street up and down and started the day of the first collection.

@ThisIsJustDisgusting yep other areas have said the same thing. Itd meant to be a gradual rollout but.....the lorries kept breaking down in the heatwave. The area's that did get the bins are so far behind now I don't think they will ever catch up!!

Not many people bother where I live. It isn't compulsory.

Next door is just putting windfall apples in theirs.

We’ve had food waste collection here for years @ThisIsJustDisgusting. We’ve had some times during particularly hot weather where our bin has got pretty smelly but I can’t say I’ve noticed other than when I’m right at the bin! we did also get maggots once so I bleach the bin regularly!

Our bins don’t get emptied regularly at all:

• general waste, paper/cardboard, plastic/glass - each emptied once every 3 weeks on a rotation.
• food waste and garden waste - every 2 weeks in summer, every 4 weeks in winter

Likewise. The handle on the food waste bin locks down so foxes and vermin can't get in. We've had one for years as our council was one of the first to introduce them. It's about the only thing our council does properly!

We get weekly bin collections on rotation. One week is food waste plus the recycling bin, and the next week is food waste again & the ordinary wheelie bin. We also have a separate wheelie bin for garden waste, and that is collected fortnightly on the same day as the recycling one, but only from March-October.