Refuse collection and Council Logic

[Mr AJ]

mph1977 said:

it's amazing how the powerfully built company director denziens of PH want the council to flex the terms of a contract to suit them, but if their customers wanted them to do so they'd have absolutely no problem with saying no or charging handsomely for the privelege.

It's amazing how some of the powerfully built company director denizens of PH fail at basic comprehension.

[Vixpy1]

I often have to take bin bags to work to deposit in the bin lorry I pay for through my company because a 2 weekly refuse collection is not enough for a family of 5,

It's a ridiculous situation.

[Emeye]

Oh dear, this doesn't bode well for the conflict I'm about to enter into with my council's refuse collection department.

I live in an end terrace on a crossroads. The alleyway is gated, and despite most of the neighbours making the effort to put their bins out following the complicated weekly bin rota which now involves 5 different bins(!), the council have decided that they are not happy with us all leaving our bins down the side of my house next to the bins from both streets, but every houses' bins MUST be left on the street which the front doors open onto.

On our street the pavement is much more narrow and everyone parks with their wheels on the pavement, otherwise the bin wagon would not get through. So where the fk are we going to put the bins to avoid blocking the pavement?

Why the change when it has never caused anyone problems in the 3 years I've been here, and probably the 105 years the house has survived? The people on the side street will still need to leave their bins in the same place, so surely it makes the collection quicker if they are all together?!

Do not even get started on the 2 new mini food waste bins that no one at all in the neighbourhood, apart from my dear wife, can be arsed with putting out as they all feel it's a bin too far!

Then again,this is a council that spent thousands on a virtual Town Hall in Second Life and a YouTube channel, both of which attracted about 50 visitors.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/790...

Now if they could virtualise my rubbish collection....

Edited by Emeye on Wednesday 6th February 00:23

[southendpier]

Shred your personal details before lobbing in a ditch.

[Vipers]

Gets worse, in Edinburgh the bin men can't pick up black bags of refuse according to the union for health and safety reasons. As from next week this ban comes into force.

If people put out extra rubbish will get a warning letter, do it again and they will fine you for £50.

Full bins with side waste next to them will have a sticker on them warning that it will not collected in future.

I think the answew is to sell up, buy a caravan, call myself a "Traveller" set up on illegal sites, and get a weekly collection, and be able to move on and leave as much rubbish behind as I want.

[mph1977]

Vipers said:

Gets worse, in Edinburgh the bin men can't pick up black bags of refuse according to the union for health and safety reasons. As from next week this ban comes into force.

<snip>

if i were you i'd look in the following concerns that will have changed the pattern for the EMPLOYER to change their policies

1. manual handling ops regulations - a piece of legislation that's only about 20 years old ... but seems to be ignored by the tabloid journalists and the powerfully built PH reader ...

this risk assessments and safe systems of work are based around the use of wheelie bins ...

the obvious risk controls wheelie bin / old fashioned bin or bin bags

1. use of a wheeled bin - minimises carrying

2. use of the bin lifts - eliminates lifting of a heavy weight to waist height or above ...

3. some councils have gone further than that in using fully automated bin wagons which can be single crewed rather than 3-5 people - bins to be parked in marked spaces facing outwards only ...

There are infection prevention and control reasons not to accept 'loose' bagged rubbish , or would you routinely accept the risk of being scratched and cut by a mixture of broken glass, junkie needles, rotting food and baby poop.

I do find it interesting that people maintain that despite the proliferation of types of bins provided ( to get better 'quality' recyclables) that the replacement of 1 * 80 litre traditional dustbin collected weekly with 2 or 3 * 240 l wheelie bins collected alternate weeks ( so still a collection every week) provides a lesser service ...

[Vipers]

mph1977 said:

if i were you i'd look in the following concerns that will have changed the pattern for the EMPLOYER to change their policies

1. manual handling ops regulations - a piece of legislation that's only about 20 years old .

I do find it interesting that people maintain that despite the proliferation of types of bins provided ( to get better 'quality' recyclables) that the replacement of 1 * 80 litre traditional dustbin collected weekly with 2 or 3 * 240 l wheelie bins collected alternate weeks ( so still a collection every week) provides a lesser service ...

The time will come when an ambulance will have to send for a lift truck to pick you up and be put on the stretcher. Yes legislation is there for a very good reason, with this though common sense seems to have dissapeared.

And you mention a lesser service, bloody right it is. There is just me and the OH, often I have to to take some bags from my bin to the refuse truck at ASDA it's WEEKLY visit, of course with the lifting regsI get the OH to load up the car

Thinking about it, why do we have a weekly visit to ASDA by the refuse truck, do,you think the council know that a fortnightly collection just is not enough.

Edited by Vipers on Wednesday 6th February 17:37

[crankedup]

South of France, refuse is collected every day during the summer and weekly during winter. Just thought I would mention that.

[mph1977]

Vipers said:

<snip>
The time will come when an ambulance will have to send for a lift truck to pick you up and be put on the stretcher. Yes legislation is there for a very good reason, with this though common sense seems to have dissapeared.

some A+E / middle tier vehicles carry hoists as it is, many people with mobility problems all ready have hoists at home ...

hoists and handling equipment is the reason why some ambulance services operate Bariatric support vehicles to attend calls to provide personnel and equipment for very heavy patients

Vipers said:

And you mention a lesser service, bloody right it is. There is just me and the OH, often I have to to take some bags from my bin to the refuse truck at ASDA it's WEEKLY visit, of course with the lifting regsI get the OH to load up the car

Thinking about it, why do we have a weekly visit to ASDA by the refuse truck, do,you think the council know that a fortnightly collection just is not enough.

how can 2 of you fill a 240 l bin in a week ? never mind several 240 l bins ?

in a household of of 2 ( + cats) the 240 l general waste bin will generally not be full every 2 weeks ( generally aobut half full or slightly more), however the paper and card bin (also 240) again half full and the cans glass and plastic boxes (*2) will be full however ...

this would suggest that you do not undertake even the most cursory waste seperation...

[Vipers]

mph1977 said:

how can 2 of you fill a 240 l bin in a week ? never mind several 240 l bins ?

in a household of of 2 ( + cats) the 240 l general waste bin will generally not be full every 2 weeks ( generally aobut half full or slightly more), however the paper and card bin (also 240) again half full and the cans glass and plastic boxes (*2) will be full however ...

this would suggest that you do not undertake even the most cursory waste seperation...

All we are required to segregate is bottles, cans, plastic bottles, cardboard and paper which we do religiously, but still some times the general waste from the kitchen fills the bin up in les than 2 weeks, and when this happens what are you supposed to do.

My neighbour has three grown up children living with her, and she is only allowed ONE bin which is inadequate.

I have never worked out why if you need two bins, you can't get two bins and be done with it. I think the general opinion of fortnightly bin collections are crap.

Over the festive period our collection was moved 5 days later, which I understand as it was due on New Years Eve, but instead of coming a day early, they come 5 days late, so it was 19 days between collections. Christmas generates more rubbish, so I ended going to the council tip to unload the excess waste, those without transport couldn't have done this.

End of rant on fortnightly collections.

And I don't think the Manual Handling Regulations prohibit mr average built "Refuge collector operator" from picking up a black of rubbish his neighbours granny put out the previous night.

Just to clarify, we don't fill it up in a week, but if it's getting past halfway in the first week, then the Saturday before the Tuesday collection, I take some bags to ASDA on the Saturday.

Edited by Vipers on Wednesday 6th February 21:26

Edited by Vipers on Wednesday 6th February 21:26

[Johnnytheboy]

Vipers said:

I have never worked out why if you need two bins, you can't get two bins and be done with it.

This.

Nobody creates rubbish for the hell of it.

[Emeye]

Johnnytheboy said:

Vipers said:

I have never worked out why if you need two bins, you can't get two bins and be done with it.

This.

Nobody creates rubbish for the hell of it.

The council gave us 5! Catch is only certain thing allowed in each one, and they are picked up following a complicated rota.

1) Medium Green wheelie bin for glass and plastic bottles
2) Medium Blue wheelie bin for cardboard and paper
3) Tiny brown bin for food waste that lives in the kitchen (and gets on my tits- we already have 2 bins under the sink for general waste and bottles.
4) Small brown wheelie style bin without wheels for the food waste that lives outside. (I've never seem anyone other than ourselves bother to put this one out!)
5) Large black wheel bin for general rubbish.
6) if you have a garden they make you have a medium brown wheelie bin for garden waste! I've got a small garden in my yard but luckily I've managed to avoid it.

I've nothing against recycling, but this is getting excessive. We're lucky and have plenty of room behind the house, but how the hell some people manage who have tiny yards or no alley I have no idea?

[Vipers]

I am also all for recycling, but when you go to the recycling bins at ASDA and there is cardboard stuffed between the skips because they are full, what are you supposed to do, take it back.

On a number of occasions I have sent photographs of the problem suggesting they re think the frequency of pick ups, usual response, and sod all happens.

If Aberdeenshire want residents to recycle, they must do their bit.

[Oakey]

mph1977 said:

There are infection prevention and control reasons not to accept 'loose' bagged rubbish , or would you routinely accept the risk of being scratched and cut by a mixture of broken glass, junkie needles, rotting food and baby poop.

If I'd chosen to do that job then yes, I'd accept the risk. Just as a fireman risks getting burnt, or a soldier risks getting shot. But that's besides the point, the homeowner managed to get the bag in / to the bin just fine so exactly how 'dangerous' is it to pick up a bing bag by the knot at arms lengths and drop it in the back of the wagon? I mean, it's not fking rocket science.

ETA: A couple of years ago I got a bit of community service. One of the jobs we did was clearing (dumped) rubbish, sticking it on the back of the flatbed, taking it to the council waste depot (not dump, but the place the refuse wagons empty) and hurling the bags into the mountains of refuse.

We managed that job just fine. Without injury as well!

Edited by Oakey on Thursday 7th February 11:10

[otolith]

Oakey said:

mph1977 said:

There are infection prevention and control reasons not to accept 'loose' bagged rubbish , or would you routinely accept the risk of being scratched and cut by a mixture of broken glass, junkie needles, rotting food and baby poop.

If I'd chosen to do that job then yes, I'd accept the risk. Just as a fireman risks getting burnt, or a soldier risks getting shot. But that's besides the point, the homeowner managed to get the bag in / to the bin just fine so exactly how 'dangerous' is it to pick up a bing bag by the knot at arms lengths and drop it in the back of the wagon? I mean, it's not fking rocket science.

If only we had the technology to enable people to safely handle something like a bin bag of household rubbish. Perhaps one day humanity will reach such levels of technological advancement.

[Xerstead]

otolith said:

If only we had the technology to enable people to safely handle something like a bin bag of household rubbish. Perhaps one day humanity will reach such levels of technological advancement.

You mean something like a bin with wheels :-)
We've got another problem now, landlord has had decorators in to tidy up a few rooms, but in doing so they've filled our bin with crap. We've still got another week and a half till the next collection, for a shared house of 6 adults and our large kitchen bin needs taking out but there's no room in the one outside :-(

[rscott]

Vipers said:

Gets worse, in Edinburgh the bin men can't pick up black bags of refuse according to the union for health and safety reasons. As from next week this ban comes into force.

If people put out extra rubbish will get a warning letter, do it again and they will fine you for £50.

Full bins with side waste next to them will have a sticker on them warning that it will not collected in future.

I think the answew is to sell up, buy a caravan, call myself a "Traveller" set up on illegal sites, and get a weekly collection, and be able to move on and leave as much rubbish behind as I want.

Northern softies :-) . The refuse collection operatives down here in North East Essex can cope with any number of black bags! We still have weekly black bag (general waste) and green bin (food waste) collections, then paper/card or with plastic bottles/cans on alternate weeks.

Still have to trek down to the recycling point with glass bottles though. Gets embarrassing when you have a boot full :-) (and I drive an estate!)

[mph1977]

Xerstead said:

otolith said:

If only we had the technology to enable people to safely handle something like a bin bag of household rubbish. Perhaps one day humanity will reach such levels of technological advancement.

You mean something like a bin with wheels :-)
We've got another problem now, landlord has had decorators in to tidy up a few rooms, but in doing so they've filled our bin with crap. We've still got another week and a half till the next collection, for a shared house of 6 adults and our large kitchen bin needs taking out but there's no room in the one outside :-(

cheap ( and dodgy) landlord and /or decorator for putting trade waste in a domestic bin ...

[NDA]

otolith said:

If only we had the technology to enable people to safely handle something like a bin bag of household rubbish. Perhaps one day humanity will reach such levels of technological advancement.

When I was a kid we had something called 'bin-men'. These creatures have obviously become extinct - they could lift a bin and put it in a dust cart. They had quite big arms and would chat to householders. I believe they evolved from 'men'.

Today we seem to have 'bin-girls'. They look the same, but can no longer lift a bin without special machinery and the bin has to be the right shape and colour. If there's a wedge of cheese in the wrong bin, it does not compute and they go into melt down.

I'm not sure where this evolution is heading.

[markbigears]

I have fantastic bin men, real old school, nothing too much trouble ..... especially when you cross their palms with silver