Neighbours complaining about the size of my binbags

[OKMorty]

AIBU to think that I have the right to use 15 litre bin bags? I mean what difference does it make? 2 x 8 litres bags v 1x 15 litre.

Surely it’s more environmentally friendly to use one bag than two for equal amounts of rubbish?

Anyway this all kicked off because a neighbour complained about the size of my rubbish bags.

For context there are 2 normal sized bins and 1 large one between 4 flats. I usually fill 1/2 of 1 normal sized bin (being just me) wheras the other flats have at least 2 occupants per flat.

15L is nothing - our kitchen bin holds a bag that is suitable for 40-50L and our black sacks are 80L as a standard (we just buy ‘normal’ black sacks not large ones which, depending on supermarket, can be 100-120L. My small pedal bin uses 15L bags and, if that was in my kitchen, I’d be emptying it almost every 1-2 days - and then would have the dilemma of where to store it until bin day as we don’t have wheelie bins we put the sacks out on the street for collection (we also can’t put them in our shed/barn as it has mice - we live semi rurally - so would be nibbled open by the time it comes to bin day!)

We usually empty the kitchen bin weekly on the night before collection and then go round emptying the waste paper baskets/bathroom pedal bins. It all fits in one regular black sack whereas other houses in our road put out 3-4 of the same size per week so we’re not particularly high rubbish generators.

8 and 15l bins are really tiny. Has someone got the measurements wrong here? We have a decent sized brabantia bin in our kitchen and that's 50l. As a family of 4 we get through 2 of those a week.

8 /15 l is much of nothing, i wonder why some posters think it's a lot ?
i use a 75l ruck sack for holiday travel and even that's not that big !

15 litres is tiny, and I didn't even know 8 litre bins existed!

Is this one of those Mumsnet moments where you suddenly feel like a filthy beast for eating feeding your child perfectly normal food, or not boil washing every towel in the house daily?

15 litres is tiny, I have a normal kitchen bin and it's 30l and large kitchen bin is 50l. A standard black sack is 50l I have one bin full a week (still on weekly collection here)

Are the bins totally full by bin day?

We are three plus dogs (not that they generate much waste!) and we easily fill two standard 100l bins with three 50l bags each every other week (because they squish a bit). We also have three 50l bags of recycling plus a box just full of papers (and I only get papers on Sunday)) and card.
So I think you all are doing brilliant to generate just 1 15l a week.
How do they know which bags are yours? Point out you are just filling one quarter of the two bins (half of one) which as one flat in four is surely your entitled amount.
And if your bins are 60l that’s unbelievably small - standard wheelie bin is 240l though some councils have reduced theirs to 180l.

As an example in our wheels bin i can fit two large black sacks in.

Or six half size white sacks.

You can manipulate the smaller bags easier into the gaps IYSWIM

So two smaller bags of the same volume as one larger bag can be finagled into less space than one large.

Do the big bags mean fewer little bags can fit around them and the bin takes less waste?
Or do they mean ‘your bags are massive’ to mean ‘you’re making too much rubbish?’

Also agree that are you recycling everything?

Ha cross post re space!

How full are the bags?

15l for one person in a week sounds a lot to me!

I can also recommend using a child to jump on the bags (once in the bin) to further compact. (I do put a bit of cardboard on top so she’s not bouncing in rubbish)

"And if your bins are 60l that’s unbelievably small"

Is it?

We're in Germany & that's what we have for a family of 4.

It's emptied fortnightly & usually has 2x20l bags in (neither full)

Maybe more of our stuff can be recycled?

I think my kitchen bin is 40L I feel awful. I do so much recycling too.

Presumably recycling is collected in the week landfill isn't?

Just ask the neighbour what he means. Point out that you use about 1/2 a small bin and that that is less than everyone else does and that what sort of bag size you use is irrelevant. If he doesn't get it then he is stupid and there is no point in having the conversation.

For all those struggling to fit bin bags in wheelie bins, there is one failsafe solution.

We had a rat find its way in to our bin a few months back. couldn't get it out. thought I'd just wait until the binmen empties it all out (once every two weeks). Meanwhile I'd keep on filling it.

The rat was the perfect bio-friendly waste disposal unit. It tried to eat through everything, with the result that everything was reduced to a chewed up mush at the bottom of the bin. Could have filled it for weeks.

Wouldn't recommend it though. Eventually discovered we had a little nest of rats nearby, and they got inside the house between the ground floor ceiling and first floor void.

It depends if it is a large bag of stinking food waste which is disgusting in this weather. If it's a bag of non-smelly recycling then YANBU.

We take waste that cannot be recycled/composted to the dump in this weather so it doesn't smell.

Are you sure you have your measurements right OP?
This is a 15L capacity bin.

8L is the size I have in my bathrooms, it is tiny. My kitchen bin takes a 50l bag

You can't possibly be recycling.

2 adults in my house, we generate no more than 5 liters of actual rubbish every week.

I do loads of recycling though, and compost/food waste (peelings, apple cores, banana skins, never actual wasted food).

Recycle more, OP.

"My kitchen bin takes a 50l bag"

Do you just put out the one bag per fortnight?

Our wheelie bins are 240L so can take several 50L bags (we only get collections every 3 weeks now)

Our council recycles paper, plastic, tins, glass, food but we still generate plenty of non recyclable waste

But not everyone can compost- you need a garden for that!

"but we still generate plenty of non recyclable waste"

How??