Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

3 week bin collections

101 replies

Desiredeffect · 21/08/2023 00:03

The council last year made it so our general waste is only collected every 3 weeks and recycling every week. Does anyone else have this. I think it's not a good idea as by the time the bin comes to be emptied it stinks. I recycle to but feel 3 weekly collections is ridiculous

OP posts:
AIBot · 21/08/2023 00:08

I am all for encouraging recycling but that’s not acceptable. In the current heat, it’s a battle against stinking bins and maggots. A better balance would be weekly collections of non recyclables in summer and monthly for the rest of the year if they need to save money.

uhOhOP · 21/08/2023 00:10

Does the council collect food waste separately? Realistically, it's food that will be causing any smell.

anotheranotheranotheranother · 21/08/2023 00:11

My problem with that wouldn't be the smell, it would be the space. There is no way a collection every 3 weeks would work. Even at 2 weeks I sometimes don't manage to for it all in my bin!

Theoldwoman · 21/08/2023 00:11

Oh yuck, Imagine the stench of people who put used nappies in, dog poop, kitty litter.

Ours is weekly here.

TheBeesKnee · 21/08/2023 00:13

That's awful! Ours is fortnightly and by the end we're struggling to close the lid thanks to nappies and general stuff, no way could I hope with every 3 weeks.

Original poster
Desiredeffect · 21/08/2023 00:14

They take the food waste every 2 weeks and it's smells after a while. My council are ridiculous and raise. Our council tax and cut everything down so we paying for a service which will end up 4 weekly bin collections to

OP posts:
uhOhOP · 21/08/2023 00:14

AIBot · 21/08/2023 00:08

I am all for encouraging recycling but that’s not acceptable. In the current heat, it’s a battle against stinking bins and maggots. A better balance would be weekly collections of non recyclables in summer and monthly for the rest of the year if they need to save money.

Recycling is one thing. Reducing the amount of waste we produce is another. We have to grow up, I think, and realise that when we put things in the bin and put the bin at the kerbside, it doesn't just disappear. It gets buried, or burnt or shipped off to some poor country, or whatever, but nothing good happens with it.

The wheelie bin is not some sort of magic receptacle into which we can toss any old shit and be done with it. We need to take responsibility for the waste we produce and maybe start to produce a bit bloody less. And stop blaming the council for what they do or don't do on this particular matter.

GreenIsTheMagicColour · 21/08/2023 00:15

That's absolutely crazy. I live abroad and here all types of waste are collected DAILY! Not helpful, I know. I just can't get my head around a 3-weekly collection.

Blanketpolicy · 21/08/2023 00:16

Ours has been every 3 weeks for at least 5 years now. Space in the bin is not normally an issue for us (family of 3) if recycling is done, but we do occasionally get maggots. Bigger families can get bigger bins and I think there is also an option for a separate nappy pick up.

GeraldTheGoodMouse · 21/08/2023 00:16

It's fine as long as you don't put food waste in that bin. If you're recycling all your tins and food packaging then it really shouldn't be causing a problem.

uhOhOP · 21/08/2023 00:19

Desiredeffect · 21/08/2023 00:14

They take the food waste every 2 weeks and it's smells after a while. My council are ridiculous and raise. Our council tax and cut everything down so we paying for a service which will end up 4 weekly bin collections to

Food does begin to smell under certain conditions. That's just how it is, unfortunately.

Does the council provide you with a kitchen caddy and a kerbside caddy? Then every couple of days you tie up the bag in your kitchen caddy and put it into your kerbside caddy, which lives outside (with the handle in the upright position so the lid doesn't blow open, or whatever) where the smell ought not to reach you?

BerylWiddicombe · 21/08/2023 00:20

3 weekly seems really hard to diarise! Nothing in my life happens 3 weekly!

Redglitter · 21/08/2023 00:22

Our garden & food waste is fortnightly- so long as you pay for a permit
General waste every 3 weeks
Paper & card every 4 weeks
Plastic & glass every 4 weeks

It's crazy

rainbowunicorn · 21/08/2023 00:24

GeraldTheGoodMouse · 21/08/2023 00:16

It's fine as long as you don't put food waste in that bin. If you're recycling all your tins and food packaging then it really shouldn't be causing a problem.

Not everyone has a food waste bin though. We are 3 weekly for general waste which includes food scraps. Then we gave fortnightly mixed recycling collections.
We compost what we can but not everyone has a garden to do so.

Mademetoxic · 21/08/2023 00:26

We have had 3 weekly bin collections in my area for about 10 years.

Polis · 21/08/2023 00:31

We have had three weekly bin collections for years and it works fine for us. Food waste is every week though, so no stinkyness.

Mademetoxic · 21/08/2023 00:34

Polis · 21/08/2023 00:31

We have had three weekly bin collections for years and it works fine for us. Food waste is every week though, so no stinkyness.

Maybe you're in the same area as me :)

WhereYouLeftIt · 21/08/2023 00:37

The thing that tends to stink the bin out is usually food waste. Peelings and the like, I can compost. Meat/dairy/fish/cooked scraps, I keep a tub in the freezer and scrape it into that. Night before bin collection, the tub contents are put into a compostable bag or wrapped in newspaper, and put out for collection.

StarsOnAMat · 21/08/2023 03:23

Mine are four weekly! There’s a bin for plastics and tins, one for paper and cardboard, one for general rubbish. The garden bin is also monthly but needs a permit paid for. The glass box is fortnightly and food weekly. There’s four of us in the house and we find it alright. They’re full but not overflowing. The council also does a weekly collection for nappies and adult continence products if you need it to make space in the general waste bin.

PurBal · 21/08/2023 03:27

Yep. I have two in nappies and it’s summer. I have used reusables in the past but too much for me with two.

RafaistheKingofClay · 21/08/2023 03:38

We’ve had 3 weekly for years and it’s fine. Food waste is collected weekly though. As is all the recycling.

What’s in it that’s making it smell?

Original poster
Desiredeffect · 21/08/2023 04:05

I recycle everything I can and no food is in the general waste as goes in the caddy. Not sure why the bin smells but it's cleaned up after collection.

I do recycle everything I can and never miss any collection days. But it's not always practical to have 3 weekly collections. Bring back every 2 weeks.

OP posts:
Bumblebee112 · 21/08/2023 04:13

I can’t believe yours has changed so recently tbh @Desiredeffect 😳 as others have said - our general waste changed to 3 weekly years ago. We have:

Purple - glass/plastic - every 3 weeks
Blue - paper - every 3 weeks
Black - general (eg nappies) - every 3 weeks
Brown - garden + food - fortnightly April-Sept/ every 4 weeks Oct-March!

We have a kitchen caddy for food then the bags get tied and put in with the garden waste. It STINKS after the 2 weeks in summer & 4 weeks in winter. And this year we’ve had maggots in it numerous times 🤢

You can get an extra general waste bin here (you pay £48 for the bin) if you have 2 children in nappies.

freesolo76 · 21/08/2023 04:23

Ours is also every 4 weeks. We're a family of 5 and it's fine, we never run out of space. Our recycling and food waste is weekly and we often run out of space in our plastic and tin bin mind.

user1492757084 · 21/08/2023 04:31

Would it make a difference if you had a compost bin and hens for foodscraps and used washable nappies?
Rinse out your cans and jars so they can sit longer without smelling.
Does the council promote using a plastic bin bag to line the bin to keep the bin from becoming hard to clean?