Reported to social services

[Badwowwow]

My local authority went on to fortnightly collections and since then I have struggled so much with rubbish! I have 4 kids and there is too much to last 2 weeks! I don’t have a car so can’t take it anywhere myself and can’t dump it anywhere. So because of this and it being Xmas I have had extra rubbish! A few times the foxes have torn the bags open if it’s not in the bin and I clean it but still left with additional rubbish as my local authority won’t collect any additional rubbish and will only collect what’s IN the bin. I have admitted this is a struggle for me as sometimes bin collectors don’t turn up then I’m left with a situation where the rubbish hasn’t been collected for even longer. Well someone has reported me to SOCIAL SERVICES!! Because of this, Social services! Really! I’m so upset that someone would do this. What will happen now?!

None of that’s domestic bins though. That’s all public fly tipping. Completely different thing.

How was the call left with the SW @Badwowwow ?

Im aware of that, my point was that people are obviously fly tipping so it isn’t on their property so they can’t be reported, so I’m obviously not the only one struggling just haven’t fly tipped mine.!

Anyway im leaving this thread now as seems the accusations are coming out from people now. Is it any wonder people don’t want SS involved? People will judge you and make assumptions. Sadly I won’t be able to update the outcome as leaving this thread before it gets worse but thanks to those that were genuinely kind and helpful.

Get a bigger bin.
clean up after foxes
report missed collections.

it’s not that hard

Yes, I smiled at that, too. Here in Dorset:

"Prices depend on the size of Hippobag you choose? Midibag at £189.99 Including VAT is the cheapest and smallest but excellent for heavier materials like soil and rubble. The most expensive bag is the Hipposkip at £299.99 Including VAT or the Megabag which is priced in the middle at £219.99 Including VAT."

Skips are more expensive.

Before the bin lorry arrives, go and put your extra bags in neighbours bins that have space. That's what all the bigger families on my road do.

Odd that you don’t want to clarify how the conversation ended with SW.

Presumably because they have not let the matter drop and will be pursuing

You have a dog and a horse. Have you thought about keeping a pig?

I really feel for you, OP. The fact you have been in contact with the council pointing out the missed bin collections is helpful - do you have a paper trail for that to show social services? You can't be held responsible for the failure of the council to collect.

I think you need to address this with your neighbour, though. If it was me, I would go round there. I wouldn't shout or be nasty, but I wouldn't leave until they were 100% clear about how ridiculous this action was, how serious a referral to social services can be, the communication with the school, and how much stress it is causing you. I would meticulously detail the huge list of other more sensible and empathetic alternatives they ignored: speaking to you about it; popping a note through your door; offering extra capacity in their own bin to help you out; if they were concerned, asking if you were OK or needed help; contacting a more appropriate department such as environmental services. Basically, I would make sure there was absolutely no doubt in their mind that they really f'd up here.

The extra bin to store waste out the back is a good idea while you wait for a solution. When we lived in London, we used a waste removal service a couple of times (clearabee I think - it wasn't cheap but worked well). If it's clean bags of dry waste, a mini cab might take be willing to take you to the tip. Not sure if you have a street WhatsApp, but people on ours often ask if anyone has spare bin capacity. It's insane that your neighbour didn't offer to let you put some bags in their bin if it was bothering them that much.

Some of the posts on here reveal a real lack of understanding of the fact that we don't all have the same time and access to resources. We don't all have a horse to feed our turnips to, a garden to compost in or a car to drive to the bottle bank. If we do our supermarket shop via public transport in the mad rush home from work to collect a child from after school club, then recycling anything marked "use local supermarkets" would mean transporting that stuff to work on the bus / tube. It's just not feasible when there are 38473289 other demands on your time.

We just bought an extra one. Well an extra two, one normal one recycling the bin men just empty what’s there and don’t count them up v houses.

In the OP's original post, she says "A few times the foxes have torn the bags open if it’s not in the bin and I clean it"

In her early comments, she says that she has a big bin and the council will not provide more, and also that she has reported missed collections.

Read. It's not that hard.

If you press see all at the bottom of one of the OPs posts you can see all of their posts filtered. Always best to do that before making yourself look a bit daft!

A. Ask for an extra bin
B. If this is the only concern, social care will not care.

@Badwowwow - I know you said you are leaving the thread, but if you do happen to see this:

Social services aren't going to do anything - they only want to double check with the school that they have no concerns and they will likely close the case if there are no other issues. Children's services are overwhelmed - they are not going to undertake any further action for this sort of thing alone.

However, if you do talk to the social worker again, it might be worth using the call to your advantage and asking for help to get the rubbish collected by the council - remember, they are both part of the council so they have the ability to get things sorted outside of the usual channels.

If you explain to the social worker that you have reported the missed collections, but nothing has been done, they may be able to get a one-off collection done for you under the bulk waste collection or similar!

It absolutely won't go against you in any way and might actually do you a favour.

Saying they want to contact the school isn’t an answer.

Lots of posters saying SS will just drop it after the call…. Well clearly SS is not dropping it. They are pursuing it with a third party.

Thanks for this! Ours are changing from 3 weeks to 4 week collections in summer this year 🙈 It is going to be a nightmare so this may come in useful!

Who are you to the OP to be hounding her for an answer on this? Why do you think she owes you one?

Indeed and OP hasn't said she's had an outcome, yet, only that she felt uncomfortable and wasn't planning on posting again so would not be here to update on the outcome.

I only asked because surely relevant.

But OP left so I shall to

You're definitely not alone. I'm only in a 3 person household, we've got multiple bins for recycling which I am militant about, we've had one of those bins collected and emptied since Christmas which was the plastic recycling and all are full, including that one again. We've got a pile of additional cardboard in the bin area. I don't drive. I can't even imagine how bad it would be with four children, a poor collection schedule AND missed collections. We also have issues in the area with fly tipping and people using public bins for household rubbish. And I'm sorry that you have a neighbour who is a dick and would rather report you than break breath to you.

There is a real problem with unnecessary packaging. Households can only do their best to manage it but the ability to do that is finite.

The OP said at 16:47 "thank you. she said she would speak to her manager and call back today but she hasn't."

What further update do you expect her to give exactly?

It is upsetting but try to remain calm.

It sounds as if rubbish is a problem in your area but in your case, they think your house might be unclean. If it isn't and your children are turned out to school, washed, fed and with clean clothes, then you have no need to worry.
Let it take its course. It will and then you can move on.

Regarding the bins, as other pp have said, you must look into getting a larger bin.
I see your sister won't take rubbish in her car but might she take non dirty or wet rubbish like packaging?

Would your ex husband be prepared to take some rubbish to the tip for you-after all, they are his children too and he won't want social services involved with his children any more than you do!

It is horrible but not as bad as you-understandably-think it will be. Ride it out and look for a practical solution going forward. Good luck @Badwowwow

Sorry to read about the person wasting social services time and you are going through this.

The bin situation is to protect the future of our children as they will literally drink the water from contaminated landfill run off and micro plastics are being found in our brains etc...
I'm really sympathetic about the shock of the report to Social Services OP...but the need to reduce waste, increase recycling (change our habits) is super urgent too...
As others have said my recycling bin is now my most filled bin (unproblematic, unsmelly waste) and the household waste has very little in it week to week.
Christmas collections generally do accept extra rubbish bags across the country where I've lived.
Knowing neighbours allows the favour of popping extra bags into bins too.
Lots you can do to make this better ...particularly for the futures of your beloved children 🍀

You have a big bin and still have so much rubbish. What on earth?

We are a family of 4 and have a standard size bin. We rarely fill the bin, don't go out a lot due to affordability on top of all the extra clubs and tuition. Do you practice recycling? I can't help but wonder what this excess rubbish is and ifyou are constantly shopping and spending money, maybe you should pay to cart some down to the tip or walk to the local recycling hub.

I also wonder when your LA plan to give you all the extra bin where you are expected to separate your genral waste from food, garden, paper, and plastic/glass waste.

Re: social services, they have better things to spend their stretched time on. I suspect the most that will happen is that it will be repored to environmental health, and you can highlight the lack of collection, which is their remit. As you are picking up fox stren rubbish, it shouldn't go any further. Stop worrying, it hasn't happened yet. Worse case scenario, someone turns up on the door, tell them no comment and you will speak to them once you have obtained adequate advice. Don't let any one in your house, you are not obliged to. Don't give out school info, and just contact Citizens Advice for more information tailored for you. Seriously though, assess your consumption, cause it sounds crazy.