To be thoroughly fed up with the jobsworth bin men?

[cheeseisnice]

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?

@OnlySpam

Just hide all contraband lower down. End of problem 😀

@cheeseisnice

But wood? 🤷‍♀️ It was a small piece...and wood is recyclable. But yes, my fault...which is why I said it's fair enough.

I've never heard of any council offering a kerbside collection for wood. That's something which normally has to be dealt with at a recycling centre.

@DdraigGoch I know, you're right. I wish I'd thought it through before I dumped it on the top of the bin. But it's not as if I was trying to offload a garden shed on to them. It was just one small piece. But anyway, I understand why they didn't collect my bin on that occasion. It still doesn't explain why they've been absolute dicks about this weeks collection though. 🤷‍♀️

I agree OP, they are being annoying dicks

@cheeseisnice - on the one hand, I get your frustration. On the other hand, you’re bang out of order.

You’ve already acknowledged your mistake re the wood, which is great. And I get that you’ve got an issue going on re collection of correctly covered bags - and that is blooming frustrating.

But, please, don’t blame the refuse collector# for this. They aren’t “dicks”. They have their rounds each day, with instructions of what to pick up.

Depending on the council, they will be picking up general rubbish once a week, and then alternating paper vs plastics every other week for recycling. They aren’t being dicks to you personally, they are trying to follow guidelines they’ve been given. My area has gone from waste collection every week to once a fortnight. Everywhere is trying to cut costs.

If you need to complain, check out your local council website. Firstly, more than likely you’ll find that refuse collection is outsourced ( and council site will direct you to outsourced provider for complaints). Secondly, if you do raise a complaint, I’d angle it towards the operation as a whole, rather than dissing the guys doing your rounds.

Wherever anyone is in the country, whatever complaint you have with public services, direct your complaint upwards - don’t complain about the service on your “route”. Because, bet your bottom dollar, whatever the service, they are following directives. It’s not personal.

Caveat - yes, I know some people can be dicks. But at the moment, I think people need their jobs. And I think some of us raise complaints in the wrong way (ie at the people DOING the job, rather than at the system/body that lays down the guidelines as to what they’re supposed to do).

There are huge dumpster style recycling bins on my street, so I can dispose of stuff as and when. I think I would struggle to return to a wheelie bin scenario.

YABU - you didn't do what you were supposed to so why vent at the bin men, who are doing their job properly. Why should they have to take things out of your bin because you are too lazy to check what you can put in the bins? Maybe just do what you are supposed to in future and then you won't have a problem.

It still doesn't explain why they've been absolute dicks about this weeks collection though.

You really are an entitled piece of work!! Presumably the recycling is supposed to be in the bin, not in bags - it certainly wouldn't be collected here in bags and no-one would expect it to be. I would love to know what the bin men call you.

Recycling bags are supposed to be see-through.

It was mean of them not to empty at least the bin this week.

Ours are strict on no bags for recycling and all rubbish bagged for rubbish. But, they will take extra cardboard. We had a massive delivery of garden furniture and they took all the boxes over a few sessions. They’d have left your bagged up recycling but would have done the bin. Not so sure about what ours would have done re the wood.

Here in my area of sunny Surrey they've stopped garden waste collections for the foreseeable future & probably in to 2022 due to lack of drivers...
Magnanimously they will extend our subscriptions to this service for the length of time we are without it.
I'm just relieved the rubbish, recycling & food waste is still going out!

In my last three houses, different areas...

1. all recycling was in bags- yellow to be exact
2. extra recycling could be left in white bags- unlimited amount. Some streets were bags only depending on the width.
3. extra recycling could be left in a cardboard box, and taken at drivers discretion

Normal rubbish had to be left in a closed wheel bin though.

Our binmen lift extra recycling if you put it in a cardboard box. No bags allowed in the bin or the box.

It rains a lot here and the boxes are sometimes sodden and I’m sure they’re manky to lift.

I don’t understand why they didn’t empty you actual bin though.

What a massive palaver!

This would frustrate me so much. As you say yourself, the wood was obviously a no go and has caused this whole situation. I can see in theory it would have made sense for them to just throw it back on the grass and take the rest; likely they are trained not to for all sorts of reasons like what if there is more in the bin etc.

I don’t understand why they didn’t empty the bin today and leave the excess bags. That part would get to me the most.

So now you have to get rid of the extra bags somehow - is there a recycling facility available near by? And then you are going to have to do the same
for the next two weeks until bin is emptied and normal service can resume. Nightmare.

@SarahBennettAdvice

You aren’t being unreasonable. Obviously because you had excess waste they took that as an opportunity to leave all of it - lazy!

Round my way they have December & January off for Christmas, they don’t come if it’s sleeting or if it’s too cold / hot / windy and on the days they can be bothered they will only place the bin directly in front of my driveway, despite there being plenty of space to stow sensibly.

Where on earth do you live that they get two months off for Christmas?

No bins where I am. Just dumpster things at strategic points. I really wouldn’t want one outside my house. You can put anything in them. Rubbish, wood, used toilet paper, dead dogs etc.

Recycling has to be taken to a recycling centre aka a hastily bulldozed bit of waste ground at the side of the road with some dome shaped bins on it.

What I don't understand is that surely the effort walking up to the bin, identifying offending item, walking back to the lorry, getting appropriate sticker, walking back to pin, peeling sticker and sticking on bin....is a far greater amount of effort than just leaving the bit of wood on the OPs front? The second time it happened was probably them not wanting to take the extra bags, so a sticker it was.

Our binmen are really good here and take pretty much everything, or if there is something truly incorrect (like the time I thought polystyrene was a plastic waste ) they just leave it...no "naughty" stickers.

My sister once had bin men who would actively look for something to refuse the bin. One time she put 1 x hanging baskets worth of soil in the garden waste bin (permitted). The bin man scooped the soil out of the bin and dumped it on top of her bin with a sticker! The next time she placed the permitted amount of soil at the bottom of the bin and covered in grass cuttings. Bin was refused again and sticker applied - the bin man had rummaged in the cuttings to uncover the soil.

So like in all jobs, some people are great, some people are jobsworths.

@cheeseisnice

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.

Tbf they wouldn't have known if there was more wood throughout once they'd seen the bit on the top and if they had to live the bags to collect the bin then I can see why they didn't do that either. They obviously wouldn't take the bags. And wouldn't have time to empty them. Ours are good in that they take bins that are so full the lids don't close or take flattened boxes that are put at the side as they don't fit but is not expect them to take wood (or remove it) or bags on recycling day so I think YABU

@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.

Recycling agonist be manky though. Food or landfill I'd agree with you but recycling is meant to be rinsed and clean. I'd definitely pop it in my car and drive to the dump for 50p petrol rather than wait for a private collection and pay £25 (would they even take the additional bags?)

So does all your recycling go in the one bin then to be sorted at depot? We have separate bags/boxes for plastic bottles/cans; paper/card and glass . You aren't supposed to put any recycling into plastic bags. Having said that, if we put out an extra tub of bottles or extra loose cardboard they will take it.

They won't take other items which aren't advertised as being part of kerbside recycling - such as wood .

@gofg

It still doesn't explain why they've been absolute dicks about this weeks collection though.

You really are an entitled piece of work!! Presumably the recycling is supposed to be in the bin, not in bags - it certainly wouldn't be collected here in bags and no-one would expect it to be. I would love to know what the bin men call you.

Entitled for expecting bin men to empty my bin? Okaaaay.

I'm not really bothered about the bags, even though they are council issued bags for excess recycling. But there is absolutely NO REASON on Earth for them not to have emptied my bin this week. I can see why they didn't take it on wood week, I'm not disputing that. I'm pissed off that they found the time to fill out the little label and attach it to my bin saying I'd left black bags when I hadn't. And in any case, the label is more effort than just dragging the bin to the truck to be emptied. They ARE being difficult, just for the sake of it. And I really don't give a fuck what they think or say about me...just get my bins ffs.

@shinynewapple21

So does all your recycling go in the one bin then to be sorted at depot? We have separate bags/boxes for plastic bottles/cans; paper/card and glass . You aren't supposed to put any recycling into plastic bags. Having said that, if we put out an extra tub of bottles or extra loose cardboard they will take it.

They won't take other items which aren't advertised as being part of kerbside recycling - such as wood .

Yeah, it all goes in one bin. I usually wash dirty items and throw it all in loose, no bags. The week in question I put the bin out just as the truck pulled on to my road. The bit of wood was a last minute addition, balanced on top of the bin. I thought if they don't take it they'll just cast it aside. They left the bin...which is fair enough I guess. They had no way of knowing if there was more wood in there. But this week? Leave the bags if you really must, but why leave my recycling again? 🤷‍♀️ It's almost like they are punishing me for being the dissenter who tried to offload a small piece of MDF. I haven't seen my bin men, I've never met them. Yesterday I was really mad with them though. Today, not so much. Lovely ex husband has offered to take my bags of recycling to the tip on his way home later on.

And in any case, the label is more effort than just dragging the bin to the truck to be emptied.

It's less effort that having to deal with someone's half arsed attempt at filling their bin correctly every week though. The point is that it is letting the bin owner know there is an issue otherwise they'd just keep doing it.

You're very sneery about the bin men to be honest.

Motto dont argue with bin men. Accept a telling off meekly and apologise. Then you'll be fine.

20cm square piece of wood - that is 8 inches by 8 inches. Not exactly small. Not easily hidden.
If the recycling bin contain non-recyclable material (that amount of wood block would not be accepted in the garden waste bin either) - it will have to be fished out by hand when it gets to the depot.
Wood in black bin if you HAVE to get rid of it.