...to think the bin collections are getting 'jobsworth'

[MrsMuddlePluck]

Put my bins out yesterday, including 4 tied black bags that I forgot to put out last week, that wouldn't fit in my wheelie bin. Bin collection has been and the bags have been left for dogs etc to dig into. The sacks had food waste in them so made a bit of a mess. Their reason, when I complained, is that if it doesn't fit in the wheelie bin, they wont take it and I should take it to the local dump [which is hell to get to now due to reduced times and huge queues.]. They only needed to chuck the bags in the back of the van?

AIBU to expect bin men to collect bags of household waste? Its what I pay my council tax for.

Why don't you direct your annoyance at the council who make the rules and leave the bin men alone.

How exactly does one recycle food when one lives in a flat with no car and no food recycling service?

We lived in Spain for a while. EVERY DAY they collect garbage there. Every day.

Why can't we do it properly one day a week here?

Have to say our council are brilliant at that (Richmond). Rubbish (pardon the pun) at lots of other things but rubbish, recycling collected every week. They don't count bags either...just take it all.

Apparently not taking it doesn't mean you then have to fit a months worth in the same bin that never fitted a weeks worth it means all will be ok an they will behave next time 2 weeks and multiple rats later

YABU. You should really just ask neighbours if they wouldn't mind you popping a bag or two in theirs if they have the space on collection day.
Hint: single people are the better choice. Waaaay less rubbish from their household.

We have an agreement with the bloke next door. He's fine with us using his bin on collection day if it's out. In fact when we moved in we bought a bunch of official council bags that allow us to put rubbish out beside our bin, (Gutting the place meant too much waste) and he popped them all in his bin without us asking.

If you fail to put your bin out on time, the onus is on you to brave the trip to the stinky tip that week.

i would manage waste better if i didn't have a doubly incontinent autistic 11yo.

No food recycling in our county. We did compost veg peelings etc until our compost bin got invaded by rats. Stick with grass cuttings and weeds now - and a jump on the wheely bin contents at about day 10, to keep the lid down.

I understand why the council make the rules, btw. It's because the first thing the tory govt did was limit their funds (even those from council tax rather than central government) and non life or death services had to be limited first.

It is silly, but if they make an exception for you, they have to make an exception for everyone, which would cause delays and ultimately cost the council (then you) more money in the long run.
Make friends with neighbours and see if you can put some of your black sacks in their bins.
Where I live, we can't recycle glass or milk bottles at home, which is a right pain in the arse. And I'm sure I read a while back of some councils doing a nappy collection? god I need that

BackForGood - I'm in Birmingham too, the whole waste collection thing is getting right on my nerves now. I am well aware it's the council, not the bin men themselves, but we haven't had any collections for 3 weeks now (household or recycling) and the streets are just strewn with overflowing wheelie bins. Hardly any now close and there are lots of black bags alongside them, which I suspect won't be taken anyway.

I went to the tip this evening to take a mattress and part of a bed, a big box of paper recycling and a bag of household waste - was told to put it all in the same skip. I checked about the recycling, but was told to put it all in the same place. In the place that has boards up stating they're a recycling centre and that you should separate your waste. I didn't take household waste out of the wheelie bin as some of it's been in there for 3 weeks and it stinks, but I think I'm going to have to fish it out and take it this week if they don't come again.

Sorry OP, didn't mean to stray off topic on your thread, just a bit jealous you're getting your waste collected at all at the moment.

Council tax goes up.

Bin collections reduced to fortnightly.

Family of 5. We even pay for an extra recycling bin, so we do as much recycling as possible.

How does collecting an extra bin bag once in a while cause an issue. They are there. They have the lorry. Instead, they come out and collect the bin full. Then we're supposed to drive to the dump with any extra. How does that help the carbon footprint?!

Talk of collecting once a month. Jesus. The rats round here are already bad enough.

Fully expect council tax to go up again though.

I don't see how telling people to take stuff to the tip reduces waste anyway. If it's in the tip it's waste.

My rubbish collection comes every THREE weeks luckily my single BIL lives a few doors up so we chuck a bag or two in his bin but it can be a bloody nightmare if his is already full.

Our black bin only gets emptied every three weeks. With nappies it reeks.

with one bin emptied fortnightly and three others on a three week cycle the tip is way busier now as folks can't mind which sodding bin goes out on which day!

Binmen deserve basic occupational health and safety standards. They should not be handling plastic bags at all, too high a risk for accidental cuts and puncture wounds.
Where I live special bins are used, the truck pulls up next to them, clamps onto a metal bar and lifts it/dumps the contents with only the driver operating the truck.
When my dd in London had extra garbage from moving we paid someone to take away the extra. The council wasn't helpful. The composting plan seems to encourage urban foxes and rats....I don't see this as a benefit.

I'm in Birmingham too. We haven't had a collection in weeks. The streets are filthy with rubbish and recycling over spilling onto the streets. Be thankful you're having a bin collection at all!

A quiet couple of ££ or good Christmas tip solves this for us. You're asking them to do something extra for you no matter how small it seems to you, so in return if you can do a little extra for them you might find them more willing.

I was on my way to tip (20 mins away) with extra bags when bin men turned up, I said where I was going so he could see I was willing to go myself until I jumped out with £5 in my hand and asked if he could save me the trip. He gladly did and not only are they kind and friendly but they are much happier to take the occasional extra bag when we have it. I give them a good tip at Christmas. It's a horrible job, I know they're well paid but nothing could be enough for me to do it. Also agree I suspect the bag rule is more about past incidents than being jobsworth. What if that bag is the one with broken glass in it, or the one that's so heavy it splits and spills on street? Wheelie bins serve many purposes, they're not just to limit the amount you throw out.

I'm actually glad that we don't have bins and just have to put loose bags out, there doesn't seem to be a limit on how many they will take, we put about 20 bags out after a unpacking session and all of them were taken away, and thankfully it is still weekly collections here. I was very glad to see in bag mountain removed from the garden. Two weeks between collections and only one full bin is not sufficient because of the needless amounts of packaging on everything these days.

silk pyjamas where do you store your full bags though, don't the rats / foxes / crows get into them?

Also I agree there's far too much needless packaging but all that should be recycled. We have have recycling and refuse collected on alternate weeks and rarely have extra

kittymum did he ever say why the slightly open rule applies? Do they find rodents in them etc?

salt In Spain they can afford to collect it daily. They have a much lower spend on other services, such as elderly care (cultural difference, families care for their own elderly relatives ).

It is unreasonable to expect bin men to pick up extras, because if everyone expected it our collections would be even less as they wouldn't get round as fast. They also shouldn't have to handle bags, for their own safety.

It is unfortunate you forgot to put your bin out. However, it isn't their responsibility, it is yours. If you want them to collect extra rubbish, you have to put them in specific bin bags in my area. We last bought such bags circa 5 years ago at a cost of £5 per 50 litre bag so it may be even more now.

Imagine if the bin man picks a load of black bags up and either gets stabbed with a syringe in his hand or if carrying them on his back, in his back. This is totally possible in this day and age. I don't blame them for not taking them. I actually did see a bin man carrying a load of bags over his shoulder the other day.

Ps they aren't being paid enough.