Wheelie Bin advice sought

Annemos

Rusty190. I hope this is for a max of about 3 months. Until I can get a gate sorted out. (I hope.)

I just found a good carpet protector in the hardware shop, which is managed by a Gujerati family. They sell all sorts of good things in there, including my shopping trolley. 

Here we are below:   (the board is the acting "ramp")  The threshold is the bit that is awkward for me. 

This was quite a sweet little porch...until yesterday!  

(I don't think I have ever despised anything so much, as this bin!  And our Council.) 



OH MY WORD. 

I am so very happy. My preferred company has just sent me a text. Will pop round next week. 

Life has suddenly brightened up hugely. (I am afraid I do tend to panic more these days, after that awful Subsidence claim.)

35har1old

Annemos said:

Yes, we are Black Bin for household. Blue bin for recycling (card, glass, tin etc). Brown for garden which you have to pay a fee for.    (Black one week, others the next week.... and so on.) 

I have seen on the web, that if all Councils synchronise, then there will also be a red one for glass. 

I have just found a bit of a solution re the temporary porch position of the Black Bin. I have a piece of board which I can lay against the door threshold. It does help me a bit to get the bin in and out of the porch, up and over the threshold. 

(They have not given me a Blue Bin yet. Neighbour thinks that is, because she has always had one, they think I already have one!) 

I have also just sent a mail to the Senior Customer Information Officer at the Council. He was very kind when the Council Trees subsided my bungalow. Maybe he will be able to help and confirm if there are any smaller bins at all to be had. 

Where we are we can't put glass in the blue it has to go into a black box size wise you could perhaps get 36 items in it.
The red bins mentioned are used by council employees to empty the black box's and when these are full they are emptied into a small lorry

YoungBlueEyes

As it's only temporary 'til you get a gate sorted, would Lovely Neighbour fetch your bin out and put it back when they're doing their own...? Or is that a bit much to ask? 

Annemos

My neighbour is the same as me. In fact we often smile together. Our Mums are both in their 80s and 90s and are up the road, in the same home for Dementia sufferers. (Wonderful staff are there.) They are even on the same ground floor, 5 doors apart. My neighbour and I have a bad joke together, that all 4 of us are going to be in there together, one day. 

(Neighbour is situated on the roadside. And does not have any steps. She is also sited where the Council green grass area triangle disappears. I am fully behind the big Council Green Grass Area and also on a slope, with steps to both sides of me. So neighbour is better in that respect. But I do not have any bother from traffic where I am, which is also rather nice.)


Many in the same boat as me here in this quite small area! Lots of one-bed bungalows for the elderly.

The ones at the back which are even further away from the front Main Road than me: their 2 big bins are now all lined up on their front patios. How on earth the 70, 80, 90 years olds are going to manage this, I don't know. 

I was told that on a good day, the wheelie bin men collect their bins from their patio... but then are liable to leave them all again at the roadside far away. 


Now I am actually really laughing about my case..... I have just looked outside the window with my cup of tea... and the blue wheelie bin has now arrived... but it has come with yet another 240l black bin! 

Ha ha ha ha... so I now have three huge 240l bins.  I am going to put 2 of them in the far away garage.

I shall have to keep the second black one as a spare, for when other one gets bashed in a few years. Blue recycling bin will hopefully soon have a nice home behind a gate along the side. 


But it does make you think. We are supposed to be getting a more elderly population increase who are having to manage at home. But all the systems are increasingly focused around a certain average group and not taking account of the population as a whole. So in this case.... the average size wheelie bin is for a Family of Four or Five? 

This is how reduced Council resources will look now, I fear. They are going to have to manage cut-backs in whatever way they can. 

Section62

Annemos said:

...The ones at the back which are even further away from the front Main Road than me: their 2 big bins are now all lined up on their front patios. How on earth the 70, 80, 90 years olds are going to manage this, I don't know. 

....

But it does make you think. We are supposed to be getting a more elderly population increase who are having to manage at home. But all the systems are increasingly focused around a certain average group and not taking account of the population as a whole. So in this case.... the average size wheelie bin is for a Family of Four or Five? 

This is how reduced Council resources will look now, I fear. They are going to have to manage cut-backs in whatever way they can. 

My neighbours in their 90's get quite offended if they are offered help to take their wheelie bins up and down their long drive, they see it as a form of exercise.  Clearly things are different for people with health issues, which is why assisted collection services are provided.

I'm actually quite surprised your council has given out 240litre waste bins and won't provide anything smaller.  Most councils have already switched to much smaller waste bins and will only provide one as large as 240l if the household makes a compelling case (e.g. HMO or someone with health issues that results in additional waste)

I'd guess that since your council is very late to the wheelie bin system they possibly aren't the most innovative when it comes to managing and reducing the amount of domestic waste they collect.  Hence them maybe not thinking things through and identifying that smaller waste bins discourage people from throwing stuff away rather than recycling.

They may need a bit of a nudge - which I why I suggested you (and everyone you know in a similar situation) should consider asking for an assisted collection.  This is one way - if they don't already - of getting the council to provide smaller bins for those who don't need a 240 litre bin.

There's no real logic to the council only providing one size - the lift equipment on the collection lorries should be capable of lifting more than one size of bin, without needing manual adjustment or anything.  If they had very old lift equipment it is possible it isn't compatible with smaller bin sizes, but then if they haven't been using the wheelie bin system until now then it is unlikely they would have fitted old lift equipment to their vehicles.

On the whole the wheelie bin system saves money - it reduces staff sickness/absence and reduces the amount of litter which needs to be picked up from split or torn bags.  It is a big change for residents though and takes some time to get used to.  Hopefully your council will learn how to improve the service fairly quickly and all will be Ok soon.

Annemos

Yes, it is that steps and slopes are a real issue. And whether the access is straight. Or over larger uncut Council Green areas etc. 

Section62, that is a really good idea! About all submitting for assisted help. But the Council has us on that one too, as we have to go through the effort of getting a Health Certificate from our Doctor. And trying to get anything from them is also a pain these days. Old Doctors practices closed down and their beautiful old buildings demolished. Now just one big Healthcare Centre. Everyone moaning that they cannot get through etc. 

Our Council has always had Wheelie Bins. But before, they must have done an assessment of where bungalows are and who lives in them. Not any more. So our area has had the sacks since built in 1979. And surrounding estates of houses had the bins. 

We are a major County Town. And our housing/bungalow estate is also only 2 miles from the Centre. 

In my opinion, Council just passes it all to Veolia who does a costing. And then that's it these days. All must be standardised and the same. No consideration any more. 


Oh just to add... spoke to one lady in her 80's. She goes for a daily walk and knows where every Parish waste bin is. So very day she takes a bit of food waste like peelings.... and puts it in the Parish bins, so she does not have to use the 240 litre bin as much. 

molerat

Section62 said:

Annemos said:

...The ones at the back which are even further away from the front Main Road than me: their 2 big bins are now all lined up on their front patios. How on earth the 70, 80, 90 years olds are going to manage this, I don't know. 

....

But it does make you think. We are supposed to be getting a more elderly population increase who are having to manage at home. But all the systems are increasingly focused around a certain average group and not taking account of the population as a whole. So in this case.... the average size wheelie bin is for a Family of Four or Five? 

This is how reduced Council resources will look now, I fear. They are going to have to manage cut-backs in whatever way they can. 

My neighbours in their 90's get quite offended if they are offered help to take their wheelie bins up and down their long drive, they see it as a form of exercise.  Clearly things are different for people with health issues, which is why assisted collection services are provided.

I'm actually quite surprised your council has given out 240litre waste bins and won't provide anything smaller.  Most councils have already switched to much smaller waste bins and will only provide one as large as 240l if the household makes a compelling case (e.g. HMO or someone with health issues that results in additional waste)

I'd guess that since your council is very late to the wheelie bin system they possibly aren't the most innovative when it comes to managing and reducing the amount of domestic waste they collect.  Hence them maybe not thinking things through and identifying that smaller waste bins discourage people from throwing stuff away rather than recycling.

They may need a bit of a nudge - which I why I suggested you (and everyone you know in a similar situation) should consider asking for an assisted collection.  This is one way - if they don't already - of getting the council to provide smaller bins for those who don't need a 240 litre bin.

There's no real logic to the council only providing one size - the lift equipment on the collection lorries should be capable of lifting more than one size of bin, without needing manual adjustment or anything.  If they had very old lift equipment it is possible it isn't compatible with smaller bin sizes, but then if they haven't been using the wheelie bin system until now then it is unlikely they would have fitted old lift equipment to their vehicles.

On the whole the wheelie bin system saves money - it reduces staff sickness/absence and reduces the amount of litter which needs to be picked up from split or torn bags.  It is a big change for residents though and takes some time to get used to.  Hopefully your council will learn how to improve the service fairly quickly and all will be Ok soon.

We get a 240 general waste bin emptied every 3 weeks, a 360 is available if you meet the criteria and they do a 140 if requested.  Recycling goes in 2 x 140s for paper and plastics / tins, a second or 240 is available if requested, and a 40 box for glass - all again 3 weekly.  Food and garden waste is in a 240, but new issues of these get a 140, 2 weekly.   The bin lorry doesn't care which size it is.  My 240 general waste goes out about 1/4 full, I was quite shocked going for a walk on bin day how many have 360s and are filled to overflowing.

molerat

Annemos said:
Oh just to add... spoke to one lady in her 80's. She goes for a daily walk and knows where every Parish waste bin is. So very day she takes a bit of food waste like peelings.... and puts it in the Parish bins, so she does not have to use the 240 litre bin as much. 

Which is actually an offence considered as fly tipping.  Public litter bins are not for domestic waste.

YoungBlueEyes

As molerat said. 

A long while ago on another thread on here we were talking about binning yacky stuff in street bins so it wasn't sat festering in your own bin. The outpouring of people who posted that it was illegal surprised me, because I didn't know it was illegal. But it is.

Annemos

Thanks for those last comments. 

I shan't be trying that method, then!