I deliberately tried to make mine less negative, by saying that if the reason given was genuine, it was a good thing, however it it just too easy to believe that it either isn't true, or fits the council's agenda, it wouldn't happen in reverse ...
I have just received a note from my "friendly local council[1]" that from July 2001 refuse collection will be made only once per fortnight, one the alternate weeks the council will only remove "recyclable materials. Where the definition of "recyclable" is "paper, cardboard, tin cans and PET bottles." umm that's it. There will also be provision of a "free bag for the collection of garden waste."
So since I already compost all of the waste from the garden, and I compost all the waste paper and cardboard or alternatively burn it for fuel in a multifuel stove, what this "good news" means is that I get colelctions of refuse halved *and* council tax is to be massively increased with a revaluation to add to the increase. We don't buy much in cans or in PET, so my "recyclable materials" bin will mostly be empty.
[1] AKA "That Useless Bunch of Gobshites"
I compost
Do you compact the paper/card into bricks in some way (other than scrunch it up!)? If so how?
Cheers, Rob
No, just roll up newspapers and crimp the roll to stop it unwinding. As long as it's a mixed load of fuel the paper burns away to ash.
OK, thanks. I think some sort of domestic paper press would be a useful addition to homes with multi-fuel fires.
Rob
The message from "Mathew Newton" contains these words:
Much the same here. If we miss a fortnightly collection it's rarely close to full even after a month. And before anyone asks - we're a family of four.
ICBA, all the ones I have seen involve wetting the paper and pressing it into a brick which then (presumably) takes days to dry out. In future I'm thinking of getting a pellet making machine to turn olive wood chips into stove pellets. If I get one I'll experiment adding shredded paper to the chips.
We are told to place refuse/recycling at the property boundary, NOT on the public footpath.
The council have now pointed out (in their annual bank holiday collection re-organisation leaflet) that, "as from April 2006 this Authority has the power to impose a fine of =A3100 on residents presenting their refuse on the pavement."
Just wait for the half capacity bins to be phased in, here its 120 L replacing 240 L if the bin gets damaged/nicked.
2 weekly collections and half size bin really makes life difficult at times, hence the woman in next local authority areas efforts to highlight the health issues. Still they do allow us two 240 L recycling bins!
I wish I could get our council to pick up our recycled bin. we are disabled and have to have the paper/glass/tin box collected. no matter how many times I have rang/emailed we still get missed out. even the intervention of our local councillors (2) have failed to improve matters. i would love to recycle but our council is failing us, so all our refuse goes in one bin. I have even wrote to the council with my concerns and they cannot be bothered to reply. if this is happening to other disabled persons then how can councils threaten to prosecute when they can't be bothered? I spoke to the wagon drivers and they say we are on the assistance register so they will pick up from our property, this happens the day I speak to them but the next time (fortnighly) they just drive by even though our recycled bin can be seen from the front of our property.
dave
We can get 'fined' £45 for putting rubbish out on the wrong day - even the night before apparently.
Sadly, I doubt Medway will enforce this. Of course, they would not have to IF people acted responsibly. Why do people feel it is OK to dump household refuse on the pavement, road, etc.?
Brian
There is a statutory duty for them to do so, in compliance with the EU Packaging Waste Directive. However, it is measured by weight, so can often achieved by making the packaging thinner, rather than smaller overall.
It usually takes me about 2-3 weeks to produce the amount of general waste that would fill a bin. The recycling bin, which is collected fortnightly, is usually full, but a lot of that is PETG bottles, which are bulky.
Colin Bignell
On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 10:24:54 GMT someone who may be "Brian Reay" wrote this:-
It is not always a matter of dumping things. The City of Edinburgh Council have kidnapped waste bins from some restaurants. Their "crime" was to "present" (what a ridiculous word) their bins overnight.
The Council arrogantly assert that businesses should "present" their bin at certain times. The only problem is that these times are often quite ridiculous, such as between 07:00 and 08:00. Someone who closes up a restaurant in the early hours is not going to come back at 07:00. Neither is someone going to come into an office at that time.
All it needs is for the Council to be grown up, but that is not something they are noted for.
Can't you ask a neighbour to do it for you?
Mary
Perhaps he's under the impression that he's already paid the council to do so?
In our case, if we leave it 1mm inside the property line, they don't take it.
Days? More like months.
I don't think you pay extra for such assistance - you don't in Leeds anyway.
In any case it would keep his blood pressure down if a kindly neighbour helped out. If we have to be away ours put ours out and in, without our asking. We do the same for others. It's not exactly hard work and is good for friendships.
Mary
Then crush them down with 10 seconds of effort, tighten the top and you'll find they will scrunch up so small you can chuck everything in the normal bin and forget about recycling.
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