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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 · 11/09/2021 11:14

@SoupDragon

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.

Yes, they did let me know there was an issue. Which was why I removed the wood and followed their instructions to the letter. So why leave my bin again? Can you tell me, because the council can't.
OP posts:
girlmom21 · 11/09/2021 11:31

Were your spare bags leaning up against the bin? Maybe that's why they didn't take it?

Viviennemary · 11/09/2021 11:56

Why did you balance the wood on top of the bin. Seems an odd thing to do with a smallish piece of wood.

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 12:00

@girlmom21

Were your spare bags leaning up against the bin? Maybe that's why they didn't take it?
No, they were to the side. Not leaning against the bin.
OP posts:
Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 12:02

@Viviennemary

Why did you balance the wood on top of the bin. Seems an odd thing to do with a smallish piece of wood.
Good question. It was kind of a last minute addition. I found the wood down the back of the bins and just absentmindedly grabbed it and took it with me. The bin was overflowing with paper, card, food packaging etc. I just popped it on top thinking wood's recyclable. Confused
OP posts:
PumpkinsGalore · 11/09/2021 12:02

I wish we had a wheelie bin for recycling! We just have 2 bags for recycling! 1 for card & paper and another for plastic, glass & metal 😑

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 12:08

@PumpkinsGalore

I wish we had a wheelie bin for recycling! We just have 2 bags for recycling! 1 for card & paper and another for plastic, glass & metal 😑
My council don't recycle metal. If there's a bit in your recycling they'll leave the lot. They'd rather send wood and metal to landfill.
OP posts:
Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 12:11

@Doggiedementia

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.

No, it's beyond me to understand why too. Sad

My council will take extra recycling as long as it's in the see through silver bags they provide. Which is where I put it. But the binmen are colour blind it would seem, because they attached a label saying they were black so weren't taking them.

OP posts:
PumpkinsGalore · 11/09/2021 12:16

@Isolemnlyscare

Husbands a bin man, he empties approx 2500 bins per day (soon to be more when the new estates are built) walks miles constantly between 6.30 and 2.30 whatever the weather or even pandemic. Hes been called all the names under the sun, hit twice by cars, covered in baby shit from exploding nappies, bitten by countless dogs and stinks of cat piss when he gets home (its not cat piss thats just to give you an idea of the smell of his uniform). Hes currently on waiting on a 2nd knee replacement. He wont pick your rubbish out your bin coz thats your job to sort it not his as he's busy enough already without micro managing everyones bins. Several of his colleagues have been stuck with needles, cut with glass etc which is why they wont put their hands in your bin. That said hes been doing this job for 20+ years and has built up friendships with many residents. So please be nice to your bin men coz one of your bin men could be my husband.
Sexy!
Viviennemary · 11/09/2021 12:16

Our binmen don't empty overflowing bins. And I dont think they take extra recycling either. Just what fits in the grey bin. Same with gardening waste. Its on the printed rules we all got from the council. I'm a rule follower. Usually. Grin

NavyBerry · 11/09/2021 12:25

Have you tried phoning them? Take pictures?

PumpkinsGalore · 11/09/2021 12:27

@cheeseisnice Jesus H Christ OP, some posters realllllllly can't get past that little piece of wood, can they?! When your actual issue and reason for posting, is them not taking a perfectly legitimate bin of recycling just because there was a couple of little bags sat next to it! Madness! There's no excuse for them doing that.
Call the council back and demand request a missed collection. They'll tell you to leave it out and that they'll be back within the next 5 business days

PumpkinsGalore · 11/09/2021 12:29

@cheeseisnice Wow! They don't recycle food tins? Like baked bean tins etc? I thought they were universal

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 12:39

[quote PumpkinsGalore]@cheeseisnice Jesus H Christ OP, some posters realllllllly can't get past that little piece of wood, can they?! When your actual issue and reason for posting, is them not taking a perfectly legitimate bin of recycling just because there was a couple of little bags sat next to it! Madness! There's no excuse for them doing that.
Call the council back and demand request a missed collection. They'll tell you to leave it out and that they'll be back within the next 5 business days [/quote]
Thank you! Yes, it's getting a bit wearisome explaining myself now. I think some people just love to have a go though. I've been called all sorts of things for being pissed off with the bin men...but who wouldn't be annoyed at having their waste deliberately left behind for no good reason? They're known round this area for being jobsworths, but heaven's forbid anyone actually says so on mn. You just CAN'T be disparaging about the refuse collectors. So much pearl clutching!

OP posts:
ScrambledSmegs · 11/09/2021 12:44

Bribe them. Seriously.

We live in a street where the majority of the residents give the waste operatives (that's their chosen job description here) Christmas cards with cash in. They must make an absolute killing but I have to say, they're always really efficient and we've never had a problem like this.

ScrambledSmegs · 11/09/2021 12:49

Btw I know it's ridiculous, but I suppose it's like giving someone a tip for good service. When we lived in a different street in the same town our bin weren't collected once for nearly 6 weeks. It might have been a coincidence but no one on that street gave them cards/cash.

Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 12:56

@ScrambledSmegs

Btw I know it's ridiculous, but I suppose it's like giving someone a tip for good service. When we lived in a different street in the same town our bin weren't collected once for nearly 6 weeks. It might have been a coincidence but no one on that street gave them cards/cash.
I don't know, I'm of the mindset now that they don't deserve a tip for good service because they simply don't provide it. I'm so annoyed with them and their weird power tripping behaviour that I'd begrudge giving them a penny I think. But yeah, I think you're right. The only way to get them to do their job properly is probably to bribe them.
OP posts:
TowandaForever · 11/09/2021 12:58

@phishy

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.

That's disgusting. Why can't he treat the recycling as he's supposed to?!
Original poster
cheeseisnice · 11/09/2021 13:01

@NavyBerry

Have you tried phoning them? Take pictures?
I've phoned them and they said tough luck pretty much. There's no way they'll come back as the bin men marked my refuse in their system as being in black bags. It wasn't, it was in the proper bags provided by the council for overflow.
OP posts:
HappyTimeTunnelDinosaur · 11/09/2021 13:12

It does sound annoying but when my relatives lived in Germany they had approx 6 different bins and they were scanned, if you put the wrong thing in the wrong coloured bin you were given a fine!Shock

safariboot · 11/09/2021 13:13

The first non collection was reasonable. If they see the wrong stuff in the recycling bin they're not going to take it.

The second was them being jobsworths or being careless. (Or not collecting recycling at all - check your neighbours.) Whatever may or may not be outside the bin has zero relevance to collecting the contents of the bin.

notanotherjacketpotato · 11/09/2021 13:25

The problem is they didn't realise your expectation for them to assess the suitability of the piece of wood then sling it/take it... for all they knew there were other pieces throughout the bin. If I'm not sure if something is suitable I leave it out. Or wait until they come and ask them if to include it or not.

I do think you're BU.

notanotherjacketpotato · 11/09/2021 13:26

@cheeseisnice

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.
Yeah the second week you arent BU.
lockdownmadnessdotcom · 11/09/2021 14:37

OP you are not wrong that wood is recyclable, but lots of things are recyclable in theory but not in practice.

I think there should be a national waste strategy and anything that can be recycled (practically) should be collected by all areas; it's not helpful when every area does things differently.

But until that happens you'll have to follow your local area's rules. We have the ridiculous rule where we are that if something is bottle shaped you can recycle it, but if it's eg a grape container you can't, even if it's the same P1 plastic...

And the bin men are jobsworths - they are told to be. It used to be worse - ten or so years ago you would have been fined for that bit of wood if you'd been in Exeter.

Planty13 · 11/09/2021 15:13

So many arsey replies here OP! Wow. YANBU I think they just have a stick up their bum as they now have a massively full bin AND bags x4 to deal with rather than a usual fortnightly load but you have followed the instructions perfectly after your initial error. Nice of your Ex to help out and hopefully you’ll have no further trouble.