Bin Drama!

Jellybean1108

Hi,
Hope this is in the right place!
We moved into our first home last month, our 2nd blue bin collection was the wednesday just gone.
We went out the next morning to bring the bin back in and it's gone!!
It's obviously been stolen!
I rang the council and they have a £28 charge for a new one!
Is there anyway to avoid this charge or anything I can do about it?!

Thank you

Nick_C

Councils are entitled to charge for bins. If the blue bin was the recycling bin, you could;
1) stop recycling, and put all your waste in the refuse bin. (And maybe tell the Council why you are doing this!!)
2) take your recycling to the nearest "bring" site, eg at a supermarket
3) Ask the council if you can present you recycling in clear bags, and buy appropriate bags
4) pay the £28, get your new bin marked up with your address, and take it back to your property more promptly in future

smithers1981

Could accidently mistake another blue bin for your own they all look the same especially late at night with no one around......

teddysmum

I'd try telling the council that, because you have had the expense of a recent move, you can't afford to buy a new bin, so will have to cease recycling the items which would go in this bin, as bags will attract vermin.

rustyboy21

I can beat you with your bin.


I had mine turned upside down in the middle of the night and the axle and wheels nicked off it. They had the decency to turn it back the right way though. Waited 3 weeks for a guy off the bin lorry to nick a new axle and wheels for me and fit them back on.


Thought kids were up too late these days !

Jellybean1108

Nick - We went out at 7am to get it! The bins don't get emptied til 6am. I'd have thought that was pretty prompt lol.
My OH works at Tesco so will take recycling there as he's there anyway until we can afford a new bin, thanks all!

Nick_C

Jellybean1108 wrote: »

Nick - We went out at 7am to get it! The bins don't get emptied til 6am. I'd have thought that was pretty prompt lol.

You said in your original post that your collection was last Wednesday, and you went out the next morning to bring the bin back. If it had been out 24 hours, there is a good chance someone took it.

If you went to reclaim on 7am on collection day, after the collection had taken place, then I would have thought it likely that the collector returned the bin to the wrong house. If that is the case, you could try taking out a formal complaint against the Council. Say you believe your bin was not returned correctly by the collection team, and that you are unable to recycle. Ask them to replace the bin. If they refuse, ask them to give you details of the investigation that they carried out. Then take your complaint up through the various stages of the complaints procedure. They will probably give in and replace your bin as it will be cheaper than dealing properly with a complaint.

You could also send in a FOI request, asking how many bins were reported missing last year, how many were believed stolen, how many were believed to be returned to wrong address, and how many were replaced free of charge. This could highlight some information to help with your formal complaint.

trailingspouse

Or you could pop round to your nearest neighbours and see if anyone has an extra bin. This happened to me once - Mrs Neighbour took their bin in, Mr Neighbour came home later and took their bin in... A polite enquiry from me as to whether they had any stray bins lying around showed up the problem.

Did your bin have your house number on it? If not, it's probably just been taken in by someone else.

MadelinesMum

My general rubbish wheelie bin went missing last week. I went to bring it in about 10mins after I heard the bin lorry leave. I checked all around, asked the neighbours and even drove around the whole estate. I phoned the council the next morning and mentioned that it may have accidentally fallen in the bin lorry because it had a damaged lip where it fell off the bin lorry a few weeks before. They are sending me a new one out for free. I reckon the binmen must have reported to the council that my bin had been eaten, otherwise they would never have just given me a replacement.

DRP

we used to play 'musical recycling bins' in our old street on a windy day - we just picked up the nearest one and claimed it - sometimes someone else got there first so i had to hunt up & down the street...

Definitely paint your house # on it in future!

going_nowhere_fast

rustyboy21 wrote: »

I can beat you with your bin.


I had mine turned upside down in the middle of the night and the axle and wheels nicked off it. They had the decency to turn it back the right way though. Waited 3 weeks for a guy off the bin lorry to nick a new axle and wheels for me and fit them back on.


Thought kids were up too late these days !

:rotfl: thanks for the laugh!!