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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be thoroughly fed up with the jobsworth bin men?

151 replies

cheeseisnice · 10/09/2021 15:28

Fully prepared to be told I'm unreasonable here, but here goes...

A month ago I put my silver recycling wheelie bin out for collection. When I returned later in the day, everyone's bins had been emptied except mine. There was a label attached to the handle saying they didn't empty my bin because there was wood in there. It was a small bit of wood probably about 20cm square. I was annoyed, but thought 'okay, fair enough' and removed said piece of wood.
Two weeks later I put my recycling bin out again. It's full to tell brim with last collection's rubbish (sans wood) and as I've since accrued another two weeks of recycling there were 4 silver bags of recycling sitting next to the bin.
Again they've not collected! Argh. Why? The stupid label says 'we couldn't collect today because your waste is in black bags'. It's fucking not...they're silver bags. And they're only there because you were too precious to remove a bit of wood last month and empty the bin. I've called the council and they basically say tough.
Am I unreasonable to think they just have it in for me or something?

OP posts:
Original poster
cheeseisnice · 10/09/2021 17:03

It wasn't treated wood. It was untreated wood left over from a small build project. It was balanced on top of the bin, they have to open the bin to load it in to the truck. They could have just cast it aside. No extra work, no extra walking required. They're just being dicks.

OP posts:
magsbagsfags · 10/09/2021 17:06

You're being utterly ridiculous and acting like a princess who expects the bin men to serve you.

It's very simple. You put the correct stuff in the bin and it gets collected. You put the wrong stuff in, and it doesn't get collected.

The bin men aren't dicks....you however...

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 10/09/2021 17:10

I did what was asked of me this week. After the wood mistake I've presented my waste as they asked with no contraband items. So why didn't they take it? I'm prepared to be called a dick, I'm fine with that. If only I knew what made me a dick this week.

OP posts:
MissMaple82 · 10/09/2021 17:12

You could of taken to tip yourself or paid someone to collect it its annoying but you're in the wrong for not wasting and recycling correctly

GoodnightGrandma · 10/09/2021 17:12

We put any extra metal/plastic in a bin bag next to the bin and they take both.

FelicityBeedle · 10/09/2021 17:15

I can’t believe you’d recycle a potentially useful piece of scrap wood. Doesn’t everyone know they must be kept in the shed forever more

magsbagsfags · 10/09/2021 17:18

Are you sure you didn't have black bin bags inside the bin?

My bin men are great. If we add something wrong into a bin then they don't collect. Quite rightly. However, we put the entirely wrong bin out last week and instead of leaving it, they very kindly walked up my drive and took the correct bin and emptied it.

So I don't know - maybe they know you think they're dicks..... and so are being dicks?

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 10/09/2021 17:24

@magsbagsfags

Are you sure you didn't have black bin bags inside the bin?

My bin men are great. If we add something wrong into a bin then they don't collect. Quite rightly. However, we put the entirely wrong bin out last week and instead of leaving it, they very kindly walked up my drive and took the correct bin and emptied it.

So I don't know - maybe they know you think they're dicks..... and so are being dicks?

Haha, yeah. This is my thinking...they know I'm fed up with them so are punishing me accordingly. Grin

I'm sure my recycling bin was acceptable with no black bags. I checked it carefully when I put it out last night to make sure there was nothing in there that could possibly be unacceptable. Why not just take the bin and leave the bags if they are the problem? Now I'll have 6 weeks of recycling waste by next collection.

And for the two posters calling me a princess. How many princesses do you know who'd have to deal with this crap?

OP posts:
JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 10/09/2021 17:25

I had a run-in with our blue (paper and card) recycling collectors a few weeks ago. Our council's guidance clearly states that large cardboard boxes can be flattened and left out for collection with the blue bins, something I have done for years as our son's nappies/pads are delivered in massive boxes. I prop the flattened boxes between our bin and our neighbour's blue bin. Never had a problem.

Four weeks ago, they pulled the two bins away to the lorry to be emptied, as a result the flattened box fell on the ground. They ignored it. I spotted this, dashed out of the house, and asked them about taking the box too, to get the answer "We don't pick up stuff on the ground". Except it wasnt on the ground until the took the flippin' bins away, it was clearly on its edge between them!!! They grudgingly took it from my hands to throw into the lorry ...

Embroidery · 10/09/2021 17:30

Twice in one day Ive had to say this and never said it before!
No need to empty manky bin into your car. 🤮
You can have them privately emptied. Costs £25 for large wheelie bin.
Google waste disposal.

gamerchick · 10/09/2021 17:31

A silver bin sounds cool. Is it like properly silver or grey?

You'll have to take the excess to the tip. Start afresh.

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 10/09/2021 17:31

@Embroidery

Twice in one day Ive had to say this and never said it before! No need to empty manky bin into your car. 🤮 You can have them privately emptied. Costs £25 for large wheelie bin. Google waste disposal.
But I've already paid for them to be collected surely? Their wages come out of our council tax I think. 🤷‍♀️
OP posts:
simitra · 10/09/2021 17:34

Just make sure that what is visible from the top of the bin is the correct stuff. Anything can be in the bottom. Once it gets emptied into the bin waggon no one will know who it belongs to.

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 10/09/2021 17:34

@magsbagsfags

You're being utterly ridiculous and acting like a princess who expects the bin men to serve you.

It's very simple. You put the correct stuff in the bin and it gets collected. You put the wrong stuff in, and it doesn't get collected.

The bin men aren't dicks....you however...

Of course I think they're there to serve us. Confused What else are they employed for?

In the same way that I serve members of the public when I go to work and wipe bottoms and change wet beds. Just because you've got a tough job it doesn't mean you're exempt from actually doing it.

OP posts:
TheDogsMother · 10/09/2021 17:36

The bin guys around here are great, the council however ... When we moved to this house there was a small sized wheelie for general waste and also a small sized one for recycling. I contacted the council to ask for a normal sized recycling bin and was advised that I would need to pay £80. I said I wanted to recycle everything I could but didn't want to pay a further £80, to which the response was just put it in the general waste then Confused

girlmom21 · 10/09/2021 17:41

They're just following the rules unfortunately. Do you have a neighbour who might have space for some of your excess waste this week?

Alternatively I'd just do a tip run and reset for next collection day.

phishy · 10/09/2021 17:51

Your mistake was putting the wood on top! Should have put it at the bottom! 🤣

Seriously speaking, we save wood and metal for the tip.

The issue in our home is plastics/jars. I rinse/wash all recycling that needs it whereas DH just puts it in the recycling bin without washing it. I don’t even know if what DH puts in will get recycled as there’s lots of food like mayo/coleslaw etc left.

MereDintofPandiculation · 10/09/2021 17:56

I placed the square of wood right on top on the bin, thinking that if they don't take wood they'll just sling it on the grass for me to remove and take my recycling away with them. They probably assumed that wood on top meant lots more wood underneath.

Suzi888 · 10/09/2021 17:58

I don’t think YABU to be honest. It’s happened to my DM, someone put an empty can of coke in her bin (not recycling) she doesn’t even drink coke. It was clear someone had chucked it in there.
She had her plastic/cans tub out there too and cleans everything well before putting it where it needs to go. She has an assisted bin lift, so
You can always tell it’s bin day because the roads are a mess!
My bin men are good though, they’ve come down to the house to get my bins Blushbecause I forgot to put them out.

stoopidqu · 10/09/2021 18:02

I think you need to go on your councils website and find out what can be recycled. Our bin men take anything, but a lot of things can't actually be recycled by our council such as the plastic meat containers and yoghurt pots.

HypocriteHunter · 10/09/2021 18:07

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Razorsharp · 10/09/2021 18:09

Don't make an enemy of the refuse collector, they're your friend!

Mine get a god tip each year and they got more during Covid, they get left out cold cans of drinks when it's hot.

I never have any waste left and my bibs are always replaced to the original spot.

They also insist of helping me reverse out of my parking spot when I used to go to the office, not sure how they though I coped the rest of the time. But they meant well!

The ones near my mum used to help me every day in a Thursday get her wheel chair out of an awkward door in her flat. The flat was then made accessible, but they used to do it without being asked.

I've never met a difficult refuse collector yet.

Razorsharp · 10/09/2021 18:10

*bins not bibs!

Deletesystem33 · 10/09/2021 18:11

YABVU. They don't make the rules, but they might lose their jobs if they don't follow them. That doesn't make them jobsworths.

Wed8pril · 10/09/2021 18:14

But I've already paid for them to be collected surely? Their wages come out of our council tax I think. 🤷‍♀️

God, I remember when I had a public facing public sector job. People like you thought that because our wages came (indirectly) out of their taxes, we had to do whatever they wanted and they had a right to treat us like shit.