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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

148 replies

MrsMuddlePluck · 28/07/2017 23:13

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.

OP posts:

IThoughtYouSaidGin · 29/07/2017 06:34

Ours won't take extra bags unless you buy the fucking expensive council sacks. I can never buy them as the only shop that sells them around here is a little corner shop that is only open a couple of hours a day when I'm at work.

Ours rummage through the bins, including the general waste I think it may just be the one man who does but I really don't understand it.

I moved counties a couple of years ago and previous had a weekly bin collection of as many black bags as I desired! Those were the days...

picklemepopcorn · 29/07/2017 06:36

Because councils are supposed to be reducing the waste which goes to landfill. They do that by reducing the amount you are allowed to put out. If they take whatever you leave, they'll never meet the targets.

Our area has replaced standard wheelybins with slimline wheelybins, still collected fortnightly.

Fairylea · 29/07/2017 06:43

We live in south Norfolk and they collect whatever you put out. Most weeks we have about 3 extra bags. We also have an extra wheelie bin- we rang and asked for one and explained because our son has asd and was in nappies etc etc we had a lot more rubbish than a usual family - he also has food issues so we throw away quite a bit of stuff. They gave us another one no problem whatsoever. We are decluttering and decorating at the moment so have extra rubbish to put out (all kinds of stuff) and they always take it. It's crazy how different it is across the U.K.!

dudsville · 29/07/2017 06:50

Our bin men literally run. It's a job for the young and fit. The time pressure on them be high.

insancerre · 29/07/2017 06:51

It's not the binmens fault that you forgot to put your rubbish out
Just take it to the tip

womaninatightspot · 29/07/2017 07:05

I have found (two children in nappies and cat litter to dispose of/ stupid tiny bin) that jumping on the rubbish inside the bin squishes it down so you can fit in those extra couple of bags. It's not my favourite job but it works.

insancerre · 29/07/2017 07:07

Don't jump on your rubbish like that, it will make your bin split down the sides

DopeyDazy · 29/07/2017 07:12

Technology will allow weight of rubbish to be charged to bin and householder before long and everyone will need a bin lock. Skips are getting horrendously expensive and we are going to 3 week collection of rubbish and charged for garden waste from nextt year. Of course council charges are also going up by maximum allowed each year

Travelledtheworld · 29/07/2017 07:19

OP do you have a green recycling bin too ?
Most local authorities are adopting very strict recycling policies and you have to sort out all you glass and plastic for one bin. Paper and cardboard for another and food waste is also collected separately.

Ours will only collect one bin of rubbish per fortnight. It's surprising how little actual rubbish you produce once you have taken out all the recyclable stuff.

yomellamoHelly · 29/07/2017 07:35

Our council recently took away our second bin having given us one because we're a larger household. (To "encourage us to recycle"- when all of that is overflowing already.) Had to pack it really carefully and compress it all as much as possible to cram everything in and it weighed a tonne when full. Hope they appreciated my efforts! Did notice a man with a clipboard recording the state of everyone's bins. Would love to know what that was for.

RedBlu · 29/07/2017 07:39

Here they will only take the contents of the rubbish bin, no extra bags. If the lid doesn't close, they will also refuse to take it.

Even at Christmas when due to the holidays the rubbish bin didn't get emptied for three weeks and everyone has extra rubbish due to Christmas, they wouldn't take even one extra bag of rubbish. Luckily for us the nearest tip isn't too far away but I watched them as they did the collections on our street and they were all laughing and taking the piss out of any households who has the audacity to think they would take extra bags she to the late collections

RedBlu · 29/07/2017 07:43

FairyLea - it's interesting that you are South Norfolk and they take extra bags. We are North Norfolk and they are really strict on "acceptable bin standards" and won't take any extra bags of rubbish

Summerisdone · 29/07/2017 07:56

YABU, I've not actually known bin men to take extra bags in quite a good few years.

They're not allowed to take extra bags, nor are they supposed to accept a wheelie bin that's over filled and the lid can't close.

The councils ABU as they've enforced all these (ridiculous) changes to bin rules and collection days, but not the bin men as they're just following the rules set out by their employer.

Lucysky2017 · 29/07/2017 08:04

It has been the same for us for years and I am just used to the system now. Normal rubbish every 2 weeks. I paid £50 for an extra bin so have 2 for that.

Then if you pay £150 a year (new charge) they will empty my 3 garden waste bins. They were emptied this week and the same day I had filled them again so that now has to wait until bin day 2 weeks later. Again one was free but I had to buy 2 extras.
Then the food waste is once a week in a little bin thing which unless you put it on top of the others the foxes are so clever around here they can open the supposedly unopenable animal proof lid.

Then Ih ave 4 recycling waste bins emptied every 2 weeks ( proably a record here to have 4. I don't know if that makes me good or bad!) Sometimes I just fill 3 of them not 4. They are emptied every 2 weeks.

I very often go to the council tip. In fact I quite like the trips when I have time. Often it's after a garage clear out but sometimesb ecause there is too much rubbish. They charged my son and I about £200 just because we had a van not a car when he bought his house. Yet another time they didn't because they wanted 4 bikes and some garden tools I was tipping at the same time as the other even large amount of stuff. Ours has loads of time when it is open and even is open on Sundays. I agree there are queues but if you get there and are prepared to wait 20 mins in a queue after that they are so helpful there or they are to me, lovely men, showing where things are to be put etc. I had about 60 black sacks of garden moss after my grass was demossed to be rid of and had to go twice in the same afternoon and empty each one out of the sack of course as the sacks are not recyclable. Anyway don't dismiss the council tip - it's quite a nice place, good atmosphere, and such a nice cathartic feeling to be rid of rubbish.

Witsender · 29/07/2017 08:08

Dems the rules. I get it, we waste too much. As long as there are facilities for suitable recycling that's what should happen.

We have collections weekly, but alternating so recycling one week and general waste the next. Food recycling every week. General waste has to fit in the bin (we are a family of 4 and it is quite doable, we generally produce about a bin bag a week) but you can put out as much recycling as you like. Plus textiles on recycling day too.

LittleMyLikesSnuffkin · 29/07/2017 08:08

I have this too. I moved into my new house couple of months ago and the bin which is only emptied every fortnight was already full so now I have bags of rubbish lying around outside the back gate. If they deem the bin to be overflowing they chuck bags out of the sodding bin too. I'm at a loss as to how to get rid of it all without hiring a skip or something which I can't really afford. Surely it's best for the council to just take the rubbish so streets aren't left covered in crap that attract vermin?

minimonkey11 · 29/07/2017 08:12

The restrictions are to reduce waste to landfill. Landfill is very expensive and is running out. Alternatively we could burn the waste and recover energy from it but no one likes an incinerator in the UK. So there we have the problem. Spain has cheap landfill and in continental Europe incinerators are easier to build.

loubar101 · 29/07/2017 08:14

Where I am we don't even have a black bin. We have a green and blue bin, and then every several months they deliver a roll of bin bags. Prefer it that way as we can then put out unlimited amount of bin bags to be collected

woodhill · 29/07/2017 08:14

The whole system is ridiculous and they wonder why we have rats. There needs to be discretion and common sense.

Notreallyarsed · 29/07/2017 08:15

Council waste collection rules are ridiculous, YANBU on that, however the binmen are not "jobsworths", they are following the rules of their job and working hard in a pretty unpleasant job. I've got a lot of respect for them, and like every job, they have to follow the rules.

ghostyslovesheets · 29/07/2017 08:22

I have 1 black bin and 2 recycling bins - I fill the recycling bins and not my black bin - they are collected alternate weeks

if I have extra stuff (mainly diy bits etc) I go to the tip

Bin services have been cut because of cuts to local council budgets but also to encourage recycling - do that and you may fit stuff in the black bin

SpottedGingham · 29/07/2017 08:23

We have one wheely bin refuse collection and one recycling collection fortnightly (on alternate weeks). All fruit/veg and garden waste we compost for our own use.

TheFallenMadonna · 29/07/2017 08:36

In my area there are no general waste skips at the tips/recycling centres. If you go with a black bag you are asked to open it and sort the contents into the correct skip. No extra black bin waste collected kerbside, but extra boxes of recycling bin (glass, cardboard, tins, some plastics) are. And food waste goes into the compostable wheelie bin with garden waste. On the whole, I think it's a good system.

Kittymum03 · 29/07/2017 08:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MondieBee · 29/07/2017 08:56

How did you forget to put out 4 bags of smelly food waste last week? Does that mean you kept those 4 bags for a week or more for the binmen rather than go to the dump?

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