Wheelie Bins

[LynneP]

Blue Bags and green bins one week and the regular rubbish the next. I find that because we compost, the green bin lasts long enough, but because of predators we freeze out meat/fat/bone scraps and put them out in newspaper or a paper bag just before pickup.

[manda]

It's interesting reading this as we don't get bins included in the rates- like a lot of people we don't have street lights, pavements, water (on well so we are careful as we pay every time it gets pumped up).

In town they pay for council bags (or private contractor) and recycling is free (little green boxes) and collected once a week.

We are rural so we don't get anything collected by the council. We pay a private company to come and remove out general rubbish - they use old oil drums and we probably use half to one of those a fortnight.

Plastic 1-7 is recycled here and we take that to the local recycling centre - that's free and fortunately not that far from us. We tend to stick anything in old feed sacks and then take it in one trip maybe every 4-6 weeks.

- We use plastic bottles if we get them (don't really buy fizzy drinks or that sort of size bottle) for mini greenhouses.
- The cat food comes in plastic pots (and I haven't been able to find any larger size to buy food in which I find frustrating - even rolls of food) which I use for seeds and I cut the lids up to make garden labels or for freezing stocks in (they do get a good wash out and they are a great size).
- Other more rigid bottles (like dishwasher powder type things) if we get them then we use them for feed scoops for the pigs. Milk cartons (2 litre ones) make good scoops for the chook feed.
- Glossy paper gets recycled.
- Shredded (matt)paper we use for the bedding in the pigs house. I get that from work and any friends who shred stuff so we have an endless and plentiful supply for them.

Don't buy ready made meals and if possible try to buy with as little packaging as poss / bulk - and it's a bit of a trek into town - I shop on my way home from work and buying in bulk just makes sense, I'm not paying the prices of our smaller nearer by town because it just makes me cringe!!

We used to recycle in the UK but got more efficient here so it doesn't go in the general rubbish and we have to pay for it (nothing like the cash incentive ).
Manda

[kate egg]

We live in a bungalow 100 yards drom the road so never got our bin emptied when it was the old system as the bin man could never be bothered to walk down our drive.
They introduced wheelie bins about 5 or 6 years ago and hubby was so opposed to them (eyesore etc) that he took them back to the council offices (had to go through the revolving door twice ) with a letter explaining his views.
So we carried on going to the local recycling centre run by the council where we sort out the waste as per the notices on the skips.
Last week on holiday they had a blue recycling bin and a normal non-recycling bin and it was great - but I am sure if we had them at home they would need emptying more than once a fortnight (there are 5 of us here plus cat, dog and chooks - not that they make any waste that we don't recycle ourselves)

[Mo]

Our saga continues.....
Our green garden bin has been emptied fortnightly from the end of the lane (quite heavy to push it there).
I put the bags out, in the brown bin and they were taken but no new bags left, also I'd seen a dust cart, and the bin was left on it's side so I wondered if it was the bin-emptier or the bag-collector that took them.
Had an email saying the superviser would come with bags.
Had another email saying she'd been and left them.
I emailed her to say I couldn't find them, and we'd been in all afternoon; she emailed back to say there was no-one in, but a blue car on the drive. She gave the address. We haven't got a blue car and the address was 2 miles away (one of those addresses like 'Church Street' that you have in every village).
Next day I thought I'd catch the bin men but when I looked the green bin was laid empty at the end of the lane, the brown bin laid at the end of my drive. So I thought I'd missed them and was just emailing again when the man collecting the bags drove up.
So I've got my bags now and it looks like we get double collections!

[secret squirrel]

You must be tempted to put all your rubbish in a ruddy great pyre and butn the lot. I think I would.
That would make them take you seriously especially if you chose your spot carefully enough to make an inpact.

You must be VERY frustrated.

Lorna

[saint-spoon]

Now the weather has turned hot we have got our annual problem with maggots in our general rubbish wheelie. Bah! collections every two weeks is rubbish (excuse the pun)

[Chicken on the Hill]

we are as pleased as punch on our estate now. We have just had green bins for garden waste delivered.

[Lilo-Lil]

I HAD a garden waste bin, but 3 weeks ago someone pinched it after it had been emptied, and left their half full one behind. Guess they must have been too late putting theirs out.

I took this as it was the only one available, filled it and put it out last week to be emptied. Someone then stole that one as well, so I dont have one at all now!!! I dont always get my bins in immediately after emptying as they come whilst I am at work.

I wouldnt mind but I put it out almost full every time, and there are only about 1/4 houses round by me who put them out at all.

I now have 7 sacks of garden stuff to go to the tip tomorrow.

[mothernature]

Ours is on an everyother week basis.

We have 'normal' rubish collected one week, then green waste (such as grass, hedge clippings, and now also food) and the recycling collected the next week.

We have had to ask for extra recycling boxes so we can be thorough, we do try to buy items with as little packaging as possible, but as you know this isnt always practical. But if you call your local council they should provide extra recycling bags and boxes.

[secret squirrel]

We dont get green waste taken away at all. I imagine they expect everyone to compost it (which we do) but not everyone can be bothered.

What a rotten thing to steal your bin. What IS the matter with people? They dont think what an inconvenience it is for folk who are trying to do the right thing.
Lorna