Household rubbish getting me down

[lubeybooby]

Hi, wasn't sure where to put this so went for here. Hope it's ok.

I have fortnightly bin collections, and fortnightly recycling collections, staggered so that something is picked up every week.

Despite recycling all cardboard, plastics, paper, tins and glass there is never enough room in my bin and I end up with surplus. To add to this, one bin day ages I missed the collection and gradually the problem got worse and worse and I was having to store surplus rubbish in my shed. I don't drive so can't take it to the tip.

I got a skip and put it all in there, and was able to keep it for a month so all surplus was gotten rid of - I also had a big clear out and got rid of as much stuff as possible. This worked well for a while apart from having a skip full of rubbish outside my house, lovely - not.

Now it's been a while again since the skip and surplus is starting to build again and having trouble fitting everything in

It's making me miserable

I can't afford to keep getting skips, and they look so bloody ugly

Does anyone else have trouble with this? If so what do you do?

Our local council don't let you have more than one bin or a larger bin unless you have 6 or more in your household. I don't.

Please someone tell me weekly collections are starting again soon... or any other ideas would be welcome. Thanks

I dont get how they could get so full lol. Theres 5 of us, we recycle glass, cans, paper and card and our regular bin is never over half full unless weve had a big clearout :). Evn during the bad weather they missed 2 collections and ours was just nicely full (lid still shut)

Agree, compost all cardboard, even burning on the odd occassion isnt so bad against gasses being released from landfill tips. Most should burn.

Can you pop to the local tip?

We have a fortnightly collection which doesnt bother me at all. I cook from scratch so seem to have loads of packets etc.

I'm lucky I through vegs over the fence (semi rural not city).

Could you have a small burn just to get on top of the surplas?

Can you analyse what goes into your bin over a period of time?
There might be some things you could reuse or reduce - off the top of my head:

• packaging which doesn't recycle - can you keep some for eg. making kids models, freezing meals etc?
• do you reuse shopping bags, and keep all carrier bags for reuse?
• make careful choices while shopping, for minimal packaging, or even take the packaging off and leave at the shop?
• put tissues & similar down the toilet (nothing more bulky that tissues/toilet roll, obviously

We have a waste disposal unit in the kitchen sink and I've started putting all food waste which can't be composted in here (except bones). This really helps with the smell, but probably doesn't change the volume much, unless you are throwing away lots of food?

Good luck! I'm sure with some thought & analysis you can work it out.

I have a standard sized bin with fortnightly collection and weekly recycling collection and TWO in nappies and ours is close to full but I can always close the lid. I also don't use the optional food waste recycling as we don't generate much and I'm not keen on an extra smelly bin in the kitchen.
I would imagine your excess is packaging and food waste so perhaps a compost bin might be an idea for you. Do you also try and compact your waste as much as possible? I always push stuff down in the kitchen bin and empty it every other day and bag it in a black sack to keep smells down and try and make sure that the bags lay in the wheelie bin slightly staggered so that maximises use of space if that makes sense!

We used to place all our bulky rubbish into plastic carrier bags and put them into the local rubbish bins I used to send ds1 out every evening to dispose of the stuff. It worked very well, but then we were given recycling box/bag and it goes in there now.

"I often find neighbours rubbish dumped in my bin but I don't know who is doing it."

Oh, that is just downright mean.

"I can't keep my bin round the back either as I'm too scared of missing a collection."

Surely your bins are emptied on the same day each fortnight? We keep our bins round the back because that is where we need them (close to the kitchen door). We live in a cul-de-sac and have to take our bins to the end of the road on collection days. There is no way I would leave my bin out for a fortnight because a) It looks untidy, b) A burglar might assume our house is empty c) It is inconvenient for us.

The council distribute stickers with collection dates on so we know when it is household waste or recycling collection, and the appropriate bins go out every Monday evening for emptying on Tuesdays.

Do you use big or small bags for your rubbish? We use carrier bags as then you can fit more in the bin.

Bunbaker yes they are apart from the recent change in collection day but I am too prone to forgetting to risk it

tiredmelly that is a good idea. I use big bags and try and squash it down as much as poss but that would probably help.

Thank you everyone. I will start composting, use smaller bags, double check if anything can be reused or recycled and hopefully that will sort out the prob.

Agree, compost bins are very good, but you do need to be carful what you put in them. Rats will go for any easy pickings. Make sure you put your compost bin on a concrete base or sturdy slabs to make it more difficult for them to get in. If you have to store a bin bag in the garage make sure it does not have any food waste in it, as rats and mice will sniff any food out pretty quickly. Good luck with the composting.