Keeping outside bins clean in summer

[TBC45678]

Our big bins get sooooo smelly and covered in flies through the summer. I'm sure we'll get maggots soon, it's absolutely gross. I know it's a problem on our road as all our neighbours are complaining too, so not just me. I hose it out with Dettol every bin day but then it's just back to being disgusting. We have a small bin in the kitchen which is regularly taken out and never seems too horrible. Young kids so there are pooey nappies, but always in a tightly tied nappy bag and then in another bin bag. Our front garden gets the sun all morning, I'm wondering if this is part of the problem.

Does anyone have any miraculous tips to stop the smell/flies?

My mum uses a giant bin bag to line her bin, then puts in her bins. I was very impressed with how clean her bin is but apparently twice the bin men have asked her to not do it as … actually I don’t know why, but the bin driver of our bin lorry is so bad tempered I can’t even imagine trying this!

Double bag everything up, clean our containers, get a compost bin for the garden if possible so as many food scraps can go in there.

I do these and personally keep a freezer draw empty and fill it up with bits I can't reuse or recycle and then bin it still frozen on bin day morning.

I once lived on a street on a certain town where a company ran a bin cleaning service. You would subscribe to their service by paying an annual fee, then they would come round every bin day, after l the bin lorry had been by, and spray & wipe down the inside and outside of your empty bin (including a deodorisation). Every house on the street signed up for it. It was great. Is there anything like that where you live?

Double bagging is a good idea. Don't love all the plastic but I can't stand the flies! @BlameItOnTheGoose I will look into this! I basically do this myself every bin day but I'm sure they'd do a better job and it is my worst task of the week ...

@TomatoSandwiches LOVE the freezer idea! V clever.

Empty the nappy contents into the loo & flush rather than binning it all - massively cuts down on the smell.

What else goes in your bin that attracts flies? Mine has almost nothing in it, and then the dog poo bags get added on bin day.

All recycling is either clean/dry or rinsed/dried so nothing there.

All kitchen scraps, peelings etc into the green waste bin, which is allowed here.
Occasionally get maggots in that - when that happens I wait till it is emptied on bin day and leave the lid open for birds to eat them (actually I put it in my hen area and they have a field day).

Keeping the bins in full sun won't help.

We use a bin cleaning service , they come once a month after it's been emptied and leave it clean and fresh

Unfortunately no green waste collection here. I think maybe keeping the nappies in the nappy bin until bin day is a good idea though.

No problem with recycling bin as like you say that's all cleaned before it goes in.

So it's the nappies and kitchen scraps etc then.

The freezer idea sounds likes a good one for scraps.
Or start your own compost bin.

When I had this problem I put some old fashioned moth balls* in a net and hung them inside the bin. They kept the flies and maggots away!
*Not sure how readily available they are now - I mean the white very smelly ones. Google says they are still available …..

@Chasingsquirrels where do you keep the dog poo bags until bin day? We are new dog owners and struggling with the bin situation.

We don't actually have an outside waste bin, just recycling and green waste.
General waste is black bin liners (that the council leave a wad of 52 once a year!).
I also keep soft plastics separate and drop them in the supermarket collections.

Because I have very little general waste, and all of it is dry and non-food, I just empty the kitchen and a couple of upstairs bins on bin day.

For dog poo I have an ongoing 2-bag method.
I use bread bags, or cereal bags, and have one as a big glove to pick up with, and the other to put the poo into.
I then keep the 'glove' bag in the 'collection' bag and put them in a tub, which is covered with an upturned tub - keeps the smell in, flies off and keeps them dry, just at the side of the house.
On bin day I put the collection bag into the glove bag (inside out, so the poo side is internal), tie it off and put it in the kitchen bin bag with other rubbish and throw that out.

On a walk I use normal poo bags and try to dispose of while walking, if not they just go in the ongoing poo bag.

@Chasingsquirrels thank you for the reply 😊