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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Well, am I?! HONEY, WHO SHRUNK THE WHEELIE BIN?! I'm overheating and the f*****s have stolen my wheelie bin!!!

215 replies

PimpMyWheelieBin · 04/07/2018 20:22

NC.

Got home today to find my large wheelie bin has shrunk!!! In its place is a miniature version!!! Toy Town!!! No warning, no contact from the local council, nothing. I am not pleased.

Now locally, with DCs using nappies, or if you have a large family, then you are entitled to the large bin. We qualify on the nappy front.

A few months ago, the local council sent out forms to everyone to check current status. I diligently filled in the form and sent it back. The waste management team came round and exchanged a few neighbours' (now only with older DCs) large wheelie bins for the small ones, but as expected they left our large one. All seemed well.

Until today, when a swap of ours was done out of the blue.

We are not huge consumers, and all our garden waste and recycling goes into the separate bins without fail. With a family, and pets, and DCs using nappies, the large wheelie bin is full for the fortnightly collections. We live rurally, there is no nearby household waste site, and of course we'd never, ever flytip. With the best will in the world, we couldn't manage with a smaller bin. If we could, we would.

The best, or worst, part of this scenario - and the bit that has me flapping around doing forehead-slapping impressions of a sweaty Victor Meldrew in a flowery dress and wedge-heeled sandals - follows:

Our old large wheelie bin was nearly half full, mainly of bagged nappies. These nappies have been taken out and transferred over to the new miniature wheelie bin, leaving it pretty full already. The next collection is over a week away.

What sort of useless article does that?! Comes to do a bin swap, sees the old one is half full of nappies, and carries on anyway?! Did this fooly mcfoolface not stop to think for one minute, 'oh, this must be a mistake, these people have the nappy entitlement to a large bin, I'd better leave it and go back to base, or ring, and check. But no. Instead he, (for it must be a he), took the time and trouble to decant all the nappies over to the new miniature bin. He didn't even knock on our door to check, (because someone was working at home all day).

I am not one of those 'I pay my council tax!' kind of people, and I usually really really appreciate the jobs people do for us, that keep our communities and lives ticking over. But this lack of any contact from the local council, and the lack of initiative from the person who did the swap, beggars belief!!!

I know it's hot, but is the weather that hot that even our wheelie bins are f'ing shrinking?! Angry

It is these straws that break our hardworking backs. Gin😣

OP posts:
PimpMyWheelieBin · 06/07/2018 15:48

Following your example, Keta, I have been thinking how to reduce waste further even if/hopefully when we get the big bin back. We already reduce, reuse, recycle and repair what we currently feel we can. About two thirds of our waste is recycled, one third going into the rubbish. I could try to compact it, but while that gets more in I'm not sure it's helping the environment. You're right though, when in a similar place to your rural Italy, we made less waste. Less packaging, cooking from scratch more, less pets especially cats, at the time? Possibly.

OP posts:
PimpMyWheelieBin · 06/07/2018 15:54

Wee's weekly as well! Envy

Grin
OP posts:
Ketayuzu · 06/07/2018 16:01

You're right. Its the bloody unrecycleable packaging that causes the problems in this country. Frustrating when you can't even get a cauliflower without a plastic bag...
We have fortnightly -4 recycling boxes, one recycling bag for cardboard, and brown bin. And then food box weekly. It takes a while to work out where everything goes but I guess that makes us more aware. No animals though! And DC love crushing stuff...
We forgot to put out our normal bin so didnt have that collected for a month and didnt noticed.
The people who lived here before us had 4 composting bins.... I'm not that dedicated.

PimpMyWheelieBin · 06/07/2018 23:46

Quick update.

I have sneaked around with my torch - think more Agatha Raisin than Agatha Christie - it was more difficult than I thought, with barking dogs and lights on, squeaky gates and well-camouflaged bin stores. I did manage to check the hot favourites for bin kidnappers - and they're innocent! Small bin still in situ. I am so relieved I didn't go round there shouting the odds before checking!

No call back from the local council today. Probably too busy writing out my message in triplicate.

OP posts:
Helloflamingogo · 07/07/2018 00:13

If it fell into the lorry the crew should have reported it, but they don’t always bother.

PimpMyWheelieBin · 07/07/2018 12:48

It can't have been that, Hello because it didn't happen on the fortnightly collection day and the big bin wasn't missing for any length of time. One day it had just shrunk and rejuvenated, and the rubbish that had been in it - mostly nappies, grrr! - was inside the mini new one.

OP posts:
PimpMyWheelieBin · 07/07/2018 12:50

I am now hoping that I wasn't caught on anyone's CCTV last night. It is a hotbed of Neighbourhood Watch around here. Blush

OP posts:
CigarsofthePharoahs · 07/07/2018 13:20

Where I live is still weekly collections. We have Official Blue Bags and recycling boxes.
I did get annoyed in our local recycling centre aka the dump. They had a big sign up saying they'd saved enough energy to send a rocket to the moon. Ok then Wokingham Borough Council, where's our space program then???
We had a spate of having our recycling boxes stolen. Don't know why. Then one week we ended up with three sets.

PimpMyWheelieBin · 07/07/2018 14:13

Don't come on here with your swanky weekly collections, Official Blue Bags and rockets to the moon, Cigars. Just don't.

OP posts:
PimpMyWheelieBin · 07/07/2018 17:47

However, I would like to borrow the Wokingham Borough Council Rocket, if that's possible please?

I'd quite like to launch our culprit into outer Space.

Because whoever stole our big wheelie, or more likely whoever took it away despite having to decant nappies into the new mini one, (thus knowing only too well we're allowed the large bin), deserves a rocket up his

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 07/07/2018 18:08

We bought a larger general waste bin a few years ago which is just as well as our council changed to 3 weekly collections for everything except food/garden waste which is every 2 weeks. We have 4 wheelie bins clogging up the back garden - food/garden, paper/cardboard, other mixed recycling and the general waste bin.

The council will give bigger recycling bins for nothing but if you want a bigger general waste one now then they come and visit you to assess whether you are recycling all that you can

RustyBear · 07/07/2018 21:22

I can tell you where Wokingham Borough Council need their rocket...

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 07/07/2018 21:51

Right ... so wheelie bins came out in the 70s and so that would make you around 50ish and yet you have children of nappy age. Impressive.

We got our first wheelie bin in the late 90s. They weren’t in general use around here but we bought one when our DD was in nappies as the small round bin which had served us (and the previous homeowner) for many years was too small for our growing family. “Official” wheelie bins were issued around here around the time my DS was born so 14-15 years ago.

PimpMyWheelieBin · 07/07/2018 23:02

3-weekly collections, Demented?! Shock

I hope this isn't The Future.

OP posts:
PimpMyWheelieBin · 09/07/2018 09:54

Despite my best efforts, the bin is full, which is to be expected more than half way through the fortnightly collection cycle with a bin nearly half the usual size. I can't even empty the kitchen and bathroom bins into it today. Bin bags outside are no good in this weather and with the local wildlife.

On to the local council again later today methinks, as still no call back or letter.

I know it's a bit of a First World Problem, but it's not having to sweat these small things that helps us to carry on dealing with the big things here.

I want my bin back 😵

OP posts:
Katiepoes · 09/07/2018 18:20

Boast! I have a wheelie bin for food and garden waste, collected fortnightly but it's so huge we only ever get it about a quarter full. Bin is tagged as ours with some mystery NASA appoved technologu so they don't get stolen. We also have the bin cave as mentioned above (Dutch bin cave though not Norwegian) and right next to it are paper and glass bins. I only see now that I live in a bintopia!

My Mum has five bins - FIVE! - and every time I'm home I get told off for using the wrong one. The brown bin is for 'green waste', the green bin for 'general waste', the blue one for 'recycling'..the rest? Fecked if I know. They have private companies and on any given day there can be up to four different bin trucks on the street - when did this get so complicated?

thetemptationofchocolate · 09/07/2018 20:31

We're on 3-weekly collections also. But we get our recycling taken away every week.

HaroldsSocalledBluetits · 09/07/2018 21:58

2 weekly here. But they haven't actually been for five weeks and counting, apparently due to a shortage of lorries. Maybe they should fucking recycle some. It's fucking disgusting and looks like a stock photo of The Winter Of Discontent (TM) except with added flies and 30° heat. But for years if you (or, more likely, some passer by) put something in the wrong bin the fuckers don't empty it and leave a passagg sticker for you. Twats. They're going to sticker themselves into oblivion when they do finally get here at this rate.

Hidillyho · 09/07/2018 22:11

Lucky you get bins. Apart from the recycling one we have to provide our own!

Out of interest, does your nappy bin stink like the devils butt hole? I just don’t know how to stop baked poo smell in this weather (we don’t have a shaded area for our bin) Envy < not envy

HaroldsSocalledBluetits · 09/07/2018 22:14

Maybe you could piss on it to cool it down?

I'm sensing a business opportunity for bin canopies here.

Hidillyho · 09/07/2018 22:15

We get weekly collections so not as bad as leaving poo waste for 2 weeks. Least it gets an airing each week

Hidillyho · 09/07/2018 22:17

HaroldsSocalledBluetits do it. I would buy one - you would probably have to give some away for free at some councils

Dickybow321 · 09/07/2018 22:43

How is this thread still going? Grin
Not read the full thread, admittedly. Can someone please summarise? My brown bin went AWOL three weeks ago but I didn't realise I could achieve fame by posting about it on here Grin

Dickybow321 · 09/07/2018 22:44

Must admit the OP was quite entertaining, but it is still just about a missing bin! 😂

HaroldsSocalledBluetits · 09/07/2018 22:48

People like bitching about their bins. What can you do?