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Original poster

Bin men! Ridiculous

496 replies

SassyCrab · 06/02/2025 18:54

Has anyone else got this problem with there local council! The bin men take the rubbish every 2 weeks, so our rubbish mounts up to the point we have to put it on top of the bin, bare in mind we have baby and a dog so we have quite a lot of rubbish in the two weeks when they bother to collect. They’ve come yesterday and emptied our bin but just left the rubbish on the top!!!!! So now our bin is full again and still got 2 weeks to go. So annoyed with it, I just don’t understand why they can’t come every week.

OP posts:
Duechristmas · 07/02/2025 18:10

We're a family of five and we don't fill a small wheelie bin. Reduce first, then reuse and recycle.

Needmorelego · 07/02/2025 18:13

Where I live it's the recycling bins that are constantly overflowing and many public ones (like bottle banks in supermarket carparks) have been removed.
I don't recycle as much as a should because the current system in my borough just doesn't make it as easy as it should be.
It really annoys me to be honest.

Timetochillnow · 07/02/2025 18:28

SassyCrab · 06/02/2025 19:13

My dog still has accidents as he’s a stubborn frenchie so we use puppy mats for him if we go out, so that’s rubbish that goes in the outside bin & we waste a lot of food where the shopping dates are rubbish and our freezer isn’t working unfortunately.

Show quote history

Do you not have food waste collection bins? ( small brown bins in our area - emptied weekly)
if you can’t freeze stuff then buy less at any time so you stay inside the dates - this must be costing you

angela1952 · 07/02/2025 18:35

Sorry, not read all the
posts but can you ask for a second bin?

GregT · 07/02/2025 18:37

Our council have a service for nappies where they provide separate big bags for them. In addition to the bin - you leave them next to the bin to be collected.

Whyamiherenow · 07/02/2025 18:47

Our bin men here are really lovely. Always take time to wave to the kids and speak to them. We do get them chox and biscuits etc quite regularly too.

We have littles too and sometimes our bin is a bit full. It was a nightmare at Christmas. But there is a recycling place in walking distance and I’ve made a few trips to the tip on occasion. Over Christmas I am not ashamed to admit I did send family back to their house with the odd bag of clean (not smelly) double bagged rubbish. It helps they are local.

Our neighbour also lets us pop rubbish in her bin if needed.

It sounds like you will have to see how to reduce your waste. Or maybe get a bigger bin from the council? I think they do this in some areas and for big families but there may be a charge.

fetchacloth · 07/02/2025 18:49

Sorry OP but I thought all councils did this. I think the idea is to encourage us to recycle more.

Timetochillnow · 07/02/2025 18:50

OhGoodie · 06/02/2025 19:53

I think I know the district. The recycling goes in clear plastic bags (mixed) just on the curb, not in a wheelie bin. But that’s recycling, not general waste. General waste goes in a wheelie bin. Food waste into a little caddy that is collected every week (if it ever survives the foxes).

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Our food caddies have a handle that locks if you push it right over the back and down to the floor - it’s to stop the foxes accessing it!

Crakajak · 07/02/2025 18:52

They're terrible and the grey bins are smaller. I confess to standing in the bin to compact the rubbish.....can then fit another full bag in!

Rhaenys · 07/02/2025 18:58

Ours is monthly now. They’ve increased recycling collections to weekly, but have made the bins much smaller. They’ve also got new, smaller lorries, which often means they can’t get their rounds done in time as they’re having to make more frequent trips to the depot to empty them. Any sign of bad weather and they don’t come at all. It’s been a nightmare. I don’t know how households with more than 3 people cope.

TheignT · 07/02/2025 18:58

Timetochillnow · 07/02/2025 18:50

Our food caddies have a handle that locks if you push it right over the back and down to the floor - it’s to stop the foxes accessing it!

Show quote history

We have these and I was very sceptical about them surviving the foxes and badgers but they work perfectly and never been an issue. We've had them for over 10 years.

If our recycling boxes are full we just put a bag out with them with the extra stuff. They always collect everything and we recycle as much as we can so the black bin is never full. The only thing they don't collect is soft plastics which I take to Sainsbury's.

Single50something · 07/02/2025 19:02

Ours is every 3 weeks..and they won't take side waste.. only what is in the bin. They has a man going round to houses telling people off! He came to our house but.it was the neighbours bin..he went to her and gave her a warning. 3 weekly with pets and children is hard. Recycling boxes are always full.

Timetochillnow · 07/02/2025 19:05

Have you tried crate training the dog? They won’t soil their own bedding so you need a crate big enough for the dog to stretch out and to be able to stand up and turn around but nothing more!
if it needs to go out in the night it will soon learn to bark to be let out or go before bed.

TheignT · 07/02/2025 19:08

Grammarnut · 07/02/2025 15:30

You mean terry nappies. There will still be nappy liners (must not be flushed) and terry nappies must be bleached and then washed and then dried. They tend to go hard if dried outside, so need to go in the drier. Disposable nappies are a huge liberation from those chores (and I remember my mother boiling nappies in a metal bucket on the stove), which almost always fall to women. So you have a smelly nappy bucket somewhere - bathroom - and smelly water to dispose of and nappies to be dried all the time. And I have not even gone into the gallons of water needed to wash such nappies (no joke if you are unlucky enough to have a water meter) - unless you wash by hand, which (see above) requires boiling. Not a plus.
And there are also sanitary towels - yes, there are re-usable ones and period pants etc (but not all women use these and should not be forced to). The washing problem appears again and it doesn't cover tampons, which will smell if left in a bin for any length of time, as will panty liners and incontinence products (which many women need as a result of childbirth).
I am frequently amazed by the women who espouse e.g. terry nappies over disposables and even low use of washing machines and other conveniences. They appear not to realise that the loss of these conveniences mean women are locked into back-breaking housework; if they also go out to work the burden women are asked to bear from these 'green' ideas is much greater than that borne by men. 'Green' is a feminist issue in many ways.
NB Your dog may eat leftovers. Mine gets diarrhoea. I agree with composting but not everyone has a garden or a garden large enough for a compost system.

Edited
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I never boiled nappies, just soaked them in Napisan, emptied the bucket in the morning and rinsed the nappies. It really wasn't that big a deal. This was the early 70s.

sunshinemode · 07/02/2025 19:41

I spoke to our refuse collectors about this and they let me know that they can be disciplined if they take extra. The have cameras on the truck

Reddoorredhandle · 07/02/2025 19:44

It’s not the bin men it’s the council you should aim the post at. The bin man are brilliant where I live and surrounding areas. Not only as bin men, but also on roads. Always courteous and go out of their way to help and consider other road users.

orangesandlemonssaythebellsofstclements · 07/02/2025 19:45

SassyCrab · 06/02/2025 19:02

Well they must’ve picked up the bin bags to empty the bin and then put them back, so I don’t see how that’s a valid point. I’m blaming the council who do set the time table, our recycling bin is full too but probably don’t recycle as much as we should admittedly

Show quote history

Well there you go then, looks like you know the answer to your problem

Grammarnut · 07/02/2025 19:52

TheignT · 07/02/2025 19:08

I never boiled nappies, just soaked them in Napisan, emptied the bucket in the morning and rinsed the nappies. It really wasn't that big a deal. This was the early 70s.

Show quote history

I was using terry nappies in the late 70s. Soaked over night in bucket of Napisan. Carried bucket upstairs to get rid of water. Rinsed nappies. Washed them in the washing machine. Dried on the line/in dryer (weather). Folded up and put away.
Rinsing soiled nappies is not enough to remove bacteria. My DS had nasty nappy rash, too. 2 dozen nappies need a constant cycle of washing; plus muslin nappies for lining, of course.
In the 50s and 60s my mother had to soak and then boil terry nappies, Napisan not being around and washing machines in the home being a rarity among working class families. It was a daily chore in addition to general washing and cleaning. Sheets were washed in the bath etc.

Curryingfavour · 07/02/2025 19:53

I always managed ok with a family 🤔 of 5 ( one in day and night nappies plus another one in night nappies ) plus we had a dog ?
I did a lot of recycling ♻️ and composting
We are older now ( so less rubbish )but we are still a family of 3 plus dog and neighbours further down have baby and dog and manage ?
Try a washable belly band for the dog ?
try washable nappies ?
make sure you recycle ♻️ everything you can and when shopping think if the packaging is recyclable or will it create more landfill waste .
Be mindful shopping for food , you will create less waste .
I understand not all will want to compost

Zocola · 07/02/2025 19:57

Purchase another bin from the council.

Waitingfordoggo · 07/02/2025 20:02

Our rubbish is fortnightly too. General waste one week and recycling the following week. I asked the council for an extra large recycling bin, which they were happy to provide. The general waste bin is fine for fortnightly collection- we have very rarely needed to overfill it. We have two teenagers (we also have a dog and two cats but they don't create much rubbish!)

We haven't had weekly collections for a long time so we have adapted by creating a lot less waste! Loads can go in recycling and I do a separate bag of soft plastics because they can be recycled at most supermarkets around here.

It's very satisfying to cut down on the waste you create, if at all possible.

Vinomummyinlockdown · 07/02/2025 20:03

Our refuse collection has been fortnightly for years, bin men don’t take rubbish piled on top / extra's and our local tip just got closed by our shitty council. Happy days 🤪

Waitingfordoggo · 07/02/2025 20:04

But yeah, I would take your excess to the tip so you can start off with an empty bin and just try and be more careful about what you put in there- assume you have a recycling bin also?

I get that it's difficult with nappies- maybe not a suggestion you want to hear, but I used cloth nappies for my two which were brilliant.

Waitingfordoggo · 07/02/2025 20:05

Oh I see others have discussed cloth nappies- my apologies for not reading the whole thread!

Duckinahat · 07/02/2025 20:06

Buy less shit. Live without. Aren’t you disgusted with how much waste you are producing?

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