F@cking council!

[WillowPeach]

I swear it's run by blimmin idiots.

I live in a flat (1 of 6 in the building) and between all of the 6 flats, we have just 1 wheelie bin for the cardboard recycling and 1 for the plastic/glass etc. My OH requested that the council provide extra bins because they're essentially giving us the equivalent of what 1 household gets but we have to share between 6.

It's becoming a joke. The binmen have been round our estate this week and the bins which were already full to the brim have not been emptied. My OH phoned up the council to be told that he has to report it on their website, only we can't because they don't allow you to if you live in a flat. WTF?

We've been overflowing with recycling for so long, we'd been holding out for the binmen emptying them this week and finally being able to put ours in but obviously they weren't emptied. All in all, we have about 6 bin bags worth of recyling (I usually carry the reclying in a bin bag and then throw it away afterwards).

Today I'm in a bad mood and finally lost the end of my tether and dumped them all by the bins. I feel bad for the wildlife but wtf am I meant to do? I've had the 6 bags sitting in my bath for at least a week.

Isn't this what we all pay bloody council tax for? (well one of the reasons!)

This document by Maidstone council for developers gives guidelines 140l per flat. Perhaps you can find something for your local area.

www.maidstone.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/23852/Planning-Regulations-for-Waste-Collections-September-2015.pdf

Council workers are used to the likes of Edith who makes so many demands and wastes money that others have to go without as Edith makes so much fuss

Every business has a few, the sort you want to roll your eyes at..

If it works though what's the problem? If they just did it at the first time of asking there wouldn't be an issue would there. It's basic common sense that 1 wheelie bin between 6 flats is not enough anyway shouldn't take a resident to point it out. If on the second or third time of asking they still won't do it then what's the excuse apart from laziness or unnecessary passing the buck?

We go to the tip in my little car when we have too much. Council tax pays for loads of things. We don't have our bins either... this is the Cronx.

If it works what’s the problem - you jump to the front of the queue and everyone else that’s been waiting - waits longer. In life you always get those that shout loudest and stomp over everyone else not giving a shit

I've not used the Council Bin Collection for 3 years now... since they went to 3 weekly collections.. I take everything to the Tip and Recycling myself.. this works for me... though understand that's not an option for many people...

That's not true though there's enough staff and resources on most councils to just sort this kind of stuff for everyone that needs it. For whatever reason some councils just make it really hard for people to get a result. You don't have to shout the loudest etc but you do have to be persistent to get things done - doesn't mean it's at anyone else's expense.

Our council only gives us uncovered boxes for our recycling. Binmen will also take any excess recycling as long as it has been separated correctly.

Leave it out before we go to work in the morning and take boxes in when we come home, no problem with foxes eating the cardboard, glass or tins.

I dont see what the issue is. There is no need for the council to buy more recycle bins or boxes.

Definately talk to your local ward councillor; your local district/unitary council website will have their names. Your MP won't be interested.

Edith there have been cuts in staff at most distric and county councils since 2010 to the point that 33% of the workforce has disappeared. Yet housebuilding has increased and year on year there is a bigger population with less and less staff to deal with the numbers

So when people like Edith squeel about her problem with rubbish, it’s easier for the staff to deal with it and Mrs quiet down the road will wait longer as Edith otherwise will waste so much time that others will suffer.

I've come up against this form of gormless Council 'logic' before. Last year they missed our wheelie bin general waste collection several times and I called up each time and said it's been missed, come and get it. We are down a side road and sometimes they just seem to forget us!

On the one occasion I still had a bit of room left in the bin but by the time the next collection came around as usual the following week, I'd had to cram several bags in and the lid was slightly raised.

This is verboten you understand. They didn't empty the bin...

So I said what happened, you've now not taken the trash for two weeks. "We couldn't madam, the lid was slightly raised" - I said well yes it was, because you failed to take the trash away last week. "We cannot take your rubbish if the bin lid is raised" - yes, but (repeat conversation).

It's like knocking your head against a very solid brick wall.

What they're admitting to in your case is that their database of properties, where there are buildings that in effect house a number of different homes in the form of flats, has not been split into individual dwellings and that's why you can't log it online. Nevertheless, that shouldn't preclude them being able to help you! It's moronic, really.

Why wouldn’t an MP be ‘interested’?

Surely at least MP would / should forward complaint to appropriate people or body or advise constituent accordingly?

Our former MP did get involved in these sort of local matters, working with the relevant council, as these things mattered to his constituents (and his constituents mattered to him).

Maybe it depends on the MP.

I would take any extra recycling that doesn't fit in the bin to the tip. Even if the bin had been emptied then it would be unfair to immediately fill it with six bags of recycling if it is a shared bin.

How many people are there in the block of six flats? It takes us about 12 weeks to fill a recycling bin (put it out at half full though) between two people. I don't think one is enough, but six is probably overkill.

@ivykaty44

Clearly you work for the council and have an axe to grind! Your argument is with the council not with people like me who yes I make it an issue until they fix it. They do have the resources to fix it end of!

I agree with Edith . Our local council is a joke.

It stands to reason that the wheelie bin situation is ridiculous. You shouldn't have to highlight this more than once if council workers are so hot. They are not though and endless moaning is the result which we all end up paying for in the round of course.
We were treated so badly by our council we got £150 compensation then the following month another letter and another payment. I have no idea what the amount of compensation we were due to get was. I wrote three letters to try and find out. None were answered so we kept both payments. I gave half to the British Heart Foundation.

Phone the council number, ask for a supervisor. Tell them you aren't happy with the bin collection being missed, you can't report online because it's a flat. Then tell them your block of flats doesn't have enough recycling bins and would someone come out and have a look. There will be an environmental officer who does inspections and makes the decision of how many bins you need. Ime it's best for them to come and see.
Alternatively put all the same in an email marked complaint and request a call back.
If no joy find out which councillor is responsible for the department and contact them, show them the outcome of your complaint and explain you aren't happy.
Simples.

Thank you! Nice to get someone else agreeing with me

I have recently moved and we don't even have recycling bins let alone food bins. Local tip has just closed, fairly sure the people who live 2 roads down would not appreciate me putting my recycling in their bins.

I am a bit stuck on what to do at the minute, following this to see what other ideas people come up with

10 flats here. 3 large paladin? Bins for general refuse and1 for recycling. Collected every 2 weeks.

And its just about sufficient. You need more bins. Unarguable.

Council worker here

Your service for bins will be crap and continue to be crap, so will your potholes, street cleansing, library service, street lighting, pest control, recycling, public toilet provision, verge cutting, planting and anything else which is a non statutory service

This is because elderly care and provision for children in care has shot through the roof and income for councils has decreased.

Councils cant charge for services where a private company cant reasonably do the same. The way to balance books has been to sell assets, live off reserves, cut services and cut staff.

So yes, your recycling team would have had a large amount of staff administering at one point, they wont any more, they will have fewer bin lorries, less money for new bins (because councils cant make money on providing a service), a bigger bin round and fewer staff.

Unless any of you lot want to volunteer to administer bins for your local area?

It beggars belief to me that people will pay more for tv, internet and mobile WHICH HAVE HUGE ANNUAL PRICE INCREASES as a household than for basic public services WHICH HAVE MAINLY BEEN FROZEN IN COST TERMS.

Oh and for the record, as well as having an increasing workload, covering massive increasing need and less resource to do it, i spend my day trying to play contract jenga to squeeze as much provision with the lowest cost without the whole thing collapsing in on itself - there comes a point where i think FUCK YOU to the public, sell the fucking lot off to Private company and you can see if private sector will provide you the same as cheaply.

I think £75 per wheelie bin collection per month would probably be about right!

DD and I are in a 2 bed flat with two pets. Between 10 flats (6 x 2 beds and 4 x 1 beds with varying household numbers) we have 3 bins for glass/plastics and 4 bins for cardboard/paper. Both sets of bins are emptied once a month. They are never even remotely full. We could easily stretch to 2 monthly recycling collections here, and the bins still wouldn't be filled to the brim (unless it's Christmas time). We all recycle carefully (and correctly) and take the time to crush/flatten everything we possibly can in a bid to reduce space being taken up with boxier items.

All those saying go to the tip obviously don’t have a tip like the one near me.

No black bin bags allowed even in general waste. Everything has to be sorted individually and taken out one item at a time.

Last time I was there a lady carrying a plastic box with various things in was seen throwing stuff from it in the general waste.

Guy from the tip nearly had heart failure screaming at her that plastics don’t go in General Waste. Even galloped up the steps to where she stood and attempted to grab the box off her.

There were some metal bits in the box which she wasn’t throwing into the skip which set him off screaming at her again.

It took her screaming at him to explain the box wasn’t going in the skip it was going home with her and she was sorting through it as she went round the different recycling areas.

They are horrible.

Couldn’t believe when I was doing up a flat a couple of years ago that when I visited the skip local to the flat how nice they were.
They helped me empty my car and were so nice compared to the rude belligerent behaviour you get from my local tip.

They are cutting the opening hours of the tip nearest to us and talking about closing the other local one. How they expect people to recycle when they are doing this I don't know.

Take a pic of the mess op and tweet them with it. Also do the same with your local councillors. It does seem mad not to have more than 1 bin for 6 flats!