Local recycling centres
Discussion
I think that what we see in this thread is irritation with the reality that dealing with household waste has become a significant ball-ache in recent years. Like the proverbial frog in boiling water we are starting to the feel acutely the effects of changes that have been implemented gradually. Dealing with our household waste has become more time consuming, beauracratic and expensive than it was. Not so many years ago we used to have our domestic refuse (all of it!) collected weekly. If we wanted to dispose of a larger item like an old sofa, we could take it to our local facility. If we had an elderly relatives house to clear following their death, we could hire a van and get the job done.
The vast majority of us recognise that recycling has become more important, and we are perfectly willing to do some basic sorting at home. We know that special care needs to be taken with materials like asbestos, or with used engine oil.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance, over the last 20 years the average council tax bill has risen by 57% in real terms, ie by 57% more than inflation over the same period. During this period councils have outsourced significant parts of their waste management processes to specialist companies that have the expertise and resources to generate economies of scale, and to maximise the value recovered from recyclable materials. We would like to believe that outsourcing of this nature has resulted in increased efficiency and cost savings alongside environmental benefits.
The bottom line is that we feel we are paying and doing more but receiving less in terms of service, hence the dissatisfaction we see expressed by many posters in this thread.
I don’t know what the answer is, but my sense is that it is time to start asking harder questions of the decision makers responsible.
The vast majority of us recognise that recycling has become more important, and we are perfectly willing to do some basic sorting at home. We know that special care needs to be taken with materials like asbestos, or with used engine oil.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance, over the last 20 years the average council tax bill has risen by 57% in real terms, ie by 57% more than inflation over the same period. During this period councils have outsourced significant parts of their waste management processes to specialist companies that have the expertise and resources to generate economies of scale, and to maximise the value recovered from recyclable materials. We would like to believe that outsourcing of this nature has resulted in increased efficiency and cost savings alongside environmental benefits.
The bottom line is that we feel we are paying and doing more but receiving less in terms of service, hence the dissatisfaction we see expressed by many posters in this thread.
I don’t know what the answer is, but my sense is that it is time to start asking harder questions of the decision makers responsible.
Edited by WindyCommon on Monday 30th December 23:21
Sonie said:
this is the charges for dumping in a Bucks Council refuse centre
https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/4514355/non-house...
£10 to dump a toilet or £20 a boiler. Take a shed and that will be £17.50
Well, there's the true cost of grammar schools.https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/4514355/non-house...
£10 to dump a toilet or £20 a boiler. Take a shed and that will be £17.50
WindyCommon said:
I think that what we see in this thread is irritation with the reality that dealing with household waste has become a significant ball-ache in recent years. Like the proverbial frog in boiling water we are starting to the feel acutely the effects of changes that have been implemented gradually. Dealing with our household waste has become more time consuming, beauracratic and expensive than it was. Not so many years ago we used to have our domestic refuse (all of it!) collected weekly. If we wanted to dispose of a larger item like an old sofa, we could take it to our local facility. If we had an elderly relatives house to clear following their death, we could hire a van and get the job done.
The vast majority of us recognise that recycling has become more important, and we are perfectly willing to do some basic sorting at home. We know that special care needs to be taken with materials like asbestos, or with used engine oil.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance, over the last 20 years the average council tax bill has risen by 57% in real terms, ie by 57% more than inflation over the same period. During this period councils have outsourced significant parts of their waste management processes to specialist companies that have the expertise and resources to generate economies of scale, and to maximise the value recovered from recyclable materials. We would like to believe that outsourcing of this nature has resulted in increased efficiency and cost savings alongside environmental benefits.
The bottom line is that we feel we are paying and doing more but receiving less in terms of service, hence the dissatisfaction we see expressed by many posters in this thread.
I don’t know what the answer is, but my sense is that it is time to start asking harder questions of the decision makers responsible.
What you'll find in reality is that whilst some of us realise that recycling is important, most of us think it's someone else's job to do it.The vast majority of us recognise that recycling has become more important, and we are perfectly willing to do some basic sorting at home. We know that special care needs to be taken with materials like asbestos, or with used engine oil.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance, over the last 20 years the average council tax bill has risen by 57% in real terms, ie by 57% more than inflation over the same period. During this period councils have outsourced significant parts of their waste management processes to specialist companies that have the expertise and resources to generate economies of scale, and to maximise the value recovered from recyclable materials. We would like to believe that outsourcing of this nature has resulted in increased efficiency and cost savings alongside environmental benefits.
The bottom line is that we feel we are paying and doing more but receiving less in terms of service, hence the dissatisfaction we see expressed by many posters in this thread.
I don’t know what the answer is, but my sense is that it is time to start asking harder questions of the decision makers responsible.
Edited by WindyCommon on Monday 30th December 23:21
2gins said:
Sonie said:
this is the charges for dumping in a Bucks Council refuse centre
https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/4514355/non-house...
£10 to dump a toilet or £20 a boiler. Take a shed and that will be £17.50
Well, there's the true cost of grammar schools.https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/4514355/non-house...
£10 to dump a toilet or £20 a boiler. Take a shed and that will be £17.50
I've never heard of councils having a price list, at my local tip you just take your waste to the designated bins and it's free.
I took them a hundred bricks last year and nobody cared.
Edited by EarlofDrift on Tuesday 31st December 00:50
227bhp said:
What you'll find in reality is that whilst some of us realise that recycling is important, most of us think it's someone else's job to do it.
Not really.I think the need to recycle is pretty much accepted across the board.
It’s the fact it now comes with more strings attached than the cast of Thunderbirds that puts people off.
So I went to my local tip today, and I have to say what a much more pleasant experience it was than last year.
A couple of days ago I was quite frustrated to find we now have to register our vehicles, and book a slot, and turn up in the car we've booked and not be late.
But I'll take back all that frustration now. It was so much more relaxed; the parking bays are distanced out, there is more walking space, the number of Joe Public is less than half it used to be at any one time.
Slots seem to be available a couple of days ahead now, and the web site works quite well.
So well done guys.
A couple of days ago I was quite frustrated to find we now have to register our vehicles, and book a slot, and turn up in the car we've booked and not be late.
But I'll take back all that frustration now. It was so much more relaxed; the parking bays are distanced out, there is more walking space, the number of Joe Public is less than half it used to be at any one time.
Slots seem to be available a couple of days ahead now, and the web site works quite well.
So well done guys.
M4cruiser said:
So I went to my local tip today, and I have to say what a much more pleasant experience it was than last year.
A couple of days ago I was quite frustrated to find we now have to register our vehicles, and book a slot, and turn up in the car we've booked and not be late.
But I'll take back all that frustration now. It was so much more relaxed; the parking bays are distanced out, there is more walking space, the number of Joe Public is less than half it used to be at any one time.
Slots seem to be available a couple of days ahead now, and the web site works quite well.
So well done guys.
I see we live in the same council - and yes, West Berks have done a great job. Although at Padworth tip it fill over when I visited because people were taking for ever to unload, which causes a backlog. In one case someone in a van apparently took 45 mins to unload - the booking system allows an average of 7min each.A couple of days ago I was quite frustrated to find we now have to register our vehicles, and book a slot, and turn up in the car we've booked and not be late.
But I'll take back all that frustration now. It was so much more relaxed; the parking bays are distanced out, there is more walking space, the number of Joe Public is less than half it used to be at any one time.
Slots seem to be available a couple of days ahead now, and the web site works quite well.
So well done guys.
WindyCommon said:
I think that what we see in this thread is irritation with the reality that dealing with household waste has become a significant ball-ache in recent years. Like the proverbial frog in boiling water we are starting to the feel acutely the effects of changes that have been implemented gradually. Dealing with our household waste has become more time consuming, beauracratic and expensive than it was. Not so many years ago we used to have our domestic refuse (all of it!) collected weekly. If we wanted to dispose of a larger item like an old sofa, we could take it to our local facility. If we had an elderly relatives house to clear following their death, we could hire a van and get the job done.
The vast majority of us recognise that recycling has become more important, and we are perfectly willing to do some basic sorting at home. We know that special care needs to be taken with materials like asbestos, or with used engine oil.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance, over the last 20 years the average council tax bill has risen by 57% in real terms, ie by 57% more than inflation over the same period. During this period councils have outsourced significant parts of their waste management processes to specialist companies that have the expertise and resources to generate economies of scale, and to maximise the value recovered from recyclable materials. We would like to believe that outsourcing of this nature has resulted in increased efficiency and cost savings alongside environmental benefits.
The bottom line is that we feel we are paying and doing more but receiving less in terms of service, hence the dissatisfaction we see expressed by many posters in this thread.
I don’t know what the answer is, but my sense is that it is time to start asking harder questions of the decision makers responsible.
Not far off the mark but a little more complex that you suggest. The factors that have influenced how we deal with household waste are numerous but the principle ones are:The vast majority of us recognise that recycling has become more important, and we are perfectly willing to do some basic sorting at home. We know that special care needs to be taken with materials like asbestos, or with used engine oil.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance, over the last 20 years the average council tax bill has risen by 57% in real terms, ie by 57% more than inflation over the same period. During this period councils have outsourced significant parts of their waste management processes to specialist companies that have the expertise and resources to generate economies of scale, and to maximise the value recovered from recyclable materials. We would like to believe that outsourcing of this nature has resulted in increased efficiency and cost savings alongside environmental benefits.
The bottom line is that we feel we are paying and doing more but receiving less in terms of service, hence the dissatisfaction we see expressed by many posters in this thread.
I don’t know what the answer is, but my sense is that it is time to start asking harder questions of the decision makers responsible.
Edited by WindyCommon on Monday 30th December 23:21
Economic – consumerism has risen and with this comes increased amounts of waste.
A poorly regulated packaging industry – producers of packaging waste do not contribute financially (to any meaningful amount) for the recovery of that material, instead we as taxpayers do.
Logistical – landfill capacity is dwindling and no one want’s an incinerator / composting plant / treatment facility / anything to do with waste build near them.
Your point about paying more for less is understandable – but the reverse is the case. On average, each home contributes between £60 and £80 a year for waste services (which also includes things like street sweeping, parks, crematoriums, etc). The combined operational and landfill tax cost for tipping a tonne of waste into landfill ranges from £100 to £220 (Each home produces around a tonne of waste each year).
This is the principle driver for recycling. Either way, local authority waste management is and has been for some time, under-funded.
Crossflow Kid said:
^ And the answer will always come back “Yurr but.....th’environment, innit?”
It’s part of it. And why shouldn’t it be? The punitive measures many refer to here are as a result of poorly thought out policies influenced by local politics.
M4cruiser said:
So I went to my local tip today, and I have to say what a much more pleasant experience it was than last year.
A couple of days ago I was quite frustrated to find we now have to register our vehicles, and book a slot, and turn up in the car we've booked and not be late.
But I'll take back all that frustration now. It was so much more relaxed; the parking bays are distanced out, there is more walking space, the number of Joe Public is less than half it used to be at any one time.
Slots seem to be available a couple of days ahead now, and the web site works quite well.
I'll echo that.A couple of days ago I was quite frustrated to find we now have to register our vehicles, and book a slot, and turn up in the car we've booked and not be late.
But I'll take back all that frustration now. It was so much more relaxed; the parking bays are distanced out, there is more walking space, the number of Joe Public is less than half it used to be at any one time.
Slots seem to be available a couple of days ahead now, and the web site works quite well.
It used to be frustrating to load the van up, only to discover a 30 minute queue at the tip. Invariably, I used to wait it out rather than returning home and unloading everything.
Now, rock up at your pre-booked time and it's straight in.
Also, our T5 has a sliding side door which meant you couldn't get a grab bag of garden waste out if there was a vehicle parked alongside. That's no longer a problem since they removed every other bay.
As much as I feel for those who can only visit on weekends (when slots are often booked up 2 weeks in advance), I really quite like the new system.
Devon is still open for "essential use only". Vans under 6m in length are now allowed in but this must be booked online beforehand. Weekends are usually booked up a week in advance as I last found out. Cars are free to go in without registering and fortunately no ANPR limiting visits!
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