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..?

If you have the space in the freezer you can freeze the food waste and put it out the night before bin day.
I do that to stop foxes having a go at the bin.

We’ve had the new weekly food collections since April and it’s all working fine so far. None of the maggots and flies as reported on MN and no terrible smells.Did you have terrible food smells when people just put their food waste in normal bins in previous years? Or did the food waste and their terrible smells just magically disappear into a puff of lovely pink fluffiness?

Haven't read the full thread. Friend of mine taught me a trick a few years ago for the kitchen caddy - couple of kitchen paper towels at the bottom. Reduces the smell and absorbs the moisture relatively well.

We have had food waste collection here for several years. The big green bins took food and garden waste but as most houses here don't have much more than a yard they are used for food waste mostly. The green bin is collected every 2 weeks.

For the indoor caddy we use a green bag liner... Wash the bin each change. Either in the dishwasher or a bleach spray work well. Don't overfill the bin so the bags don't split. We also empty it if raw meat or fish bones are put in it.

The big green bin is rarely cleaned out... It isn't awful. In the summer if it is full enough to let flies in does it get manky. When it does get grim a power washer works.

Well I assume people put the food waste in normal black bin liners and tied them up before putting them in the bin? Sounds like you cant do that with the food waste bins?

its what i do. I buy smaller bin liners.

It’s just started here in July.All good so far. They delivered the food caddies a couple of weeks before they started collecting so we didn’t use it straight away as didn’t want it hanging around for longer than a week. No problems. I do double bag though just in case.

I bought compostable bags from Amazon.. much better than the free ones

In addition to @BabblingBiddy advice, I’d also suggest butting the outside bin up against the front of your building and putting a brick on top. Otherwise the foxes get into it!

They have to be compostable

Our food waste is weekly and the recycling and rubbish alternate. Garden waste is every two weeks. Works fine for us and I don’t think we’ve ever had a missed collection.

We are specifically told NOT to use compostable or biodegradeable ones. Yes I know that sounds weird and I have checked several times...yep I checked again apparently the food sticks more to the compostable ones and as all the bags are removed and incinerated anyway we are asked to use ordinary refuse bags or things like bread bags

We don't have these yet but now I'm really worried about smell and maggots!!!

Never had anything similar but we have not had any missed collections. Perhaps people had similar in Birmingham and Brighton when the bin collectors were/are on strike.

It’s surprising that all your neighbours are putting up with the smell of their bins rather than cleaning them out.

Oh don’t be worried about it. It’s just a bin, like your current bin that you put food waste in. If you don’t get maggots and smells now then you won’t with a food waste bin. Ours are collected more frequently than then general waste is, so food waste is removed twice as often now. That would mean less chance of maggots and smells.

We've had food bins for quite a few years and they are emptied weekly. I rarely wash mine out and it might smell when I open it but it doesn't smell otherwise. We've never had a problem with smells in the street from the food bins.

Are you sure that's where the smell is coming from. We have had farmers muck spreading this week and that smell has drifted down into the streets due to wind direction. Could it be that?

I saw one of the local bin crew today pulling a grey wheelie bin along the street - he was using it to decant the household bins into before his bin was then tipped into the waste truck. Looked like a particularly unpleasant task in this weather.

I don't understand why everyone thinks they smell worse than when it all went into general waste. Surely that was the same contents, just in a bigger bin?

I think is because people were putting their food waste into those black bags and then into the bin. But the compostable bags aren’t as robust so rotting food and liquids leak through.

I use non-compostable bags, one every day. I also keep the food waste bin inside my general waste bin (you can buy special clips that let you hang them from the rim), which prevents anything (other than me) being able to get at the contents.

I sympathise with the neighbour issue. Our food bin has been collected weekly luckily, but during the heatwave I realised that my next door neighbours keep theirs right outside their front door, instead of on the driveway like everyone else. I think they had rotten meat there because the stench was unbearable🤮. I could smell in the living room with the window closed. I don’t know how they didn’t notice with their windows open. People are strange.
It’s really bad that your council skipped a collection. Our comes the next day if they are delayed. During the hottest weeks they started at 5 am in order to finish early. We can also report online if a bin has been missed.
You should complain if they do it again.

Never use them - I hate them . Infact no one in my immediate neighbours uses theirs. All food waste - straight into normal bin!

@Borborygmus I also keep the food waste bin inside my general waste bin (you can buy special clips that let you hang them from the rim), which prevents anything (other than me) being able to get at the contents

Oh that sounds like a good idea. I’ll check mine when I get it (anytime between now and next March apparently) to see if the design will allow that.

I had no idea food waste collection wasn't already in place for everyone, you learn something new everyday! I knew we were more strict in Wales than other countries but just assumed everywhere separated food at least.

Are all these bags degradable? What about the manufacturing of them? Is that eco friendly. I wonder what we’re doing here 🤪