Wheelie bin madness

[buzby]

We've got that now - fortnightly collection of 'general' waste, and weekly collection of recycleables, so the 'savings' aspect doesn't apply - the bin lorry still covers the same number of miles.

 

We've been doing this since May 2006, and to be hoest so much now goes in the weekly recycling (including cardboard, glass, tin, paper & plastic) we're hard pressed to even half fill our general bin fortnightly. I dislike the idea, but in practice, it's not been a problem. At Xmas, they even reinstated weekly collections of general waste, but not many felt it was needed.

[seylectric]

Like most council/government run, er, initiatives, the whole thing is a farce. It's not about actually doing something practical but more to do with meeting government/european targets - and we all know how efficient the E.U. policy makers are!

 

e.g. glass, tins and plastic all go in the same bin but have to be seperated later. Why? Only plastic containers like milk cartons are allowed, not other plastics even if they are marked recyclable. Why? Everything has to be washed out even though it is probably melted down later. Why? How much extra water is that wasting, not to mention more use of gas/electricity or both where people use hot water? Aren't areas in the south east still under drought conditions?

 

It's a classic case of being seen to be doing something but in real terms it's probably costing the country a fortune and having real little overall effect, when all they need to do is legislate against overpackaging of products.

 

For example, why does a 4-pack of baked beans need to be in a cardboard holder or plastic strapping? Is it too much trouble for people to pick up 4 cans? Would anybody really complain or even notice if the extra packaging was removed? I'm sure you all could name a hundred other examples. To hell with making packaging that is recycleable, just leave it out, we don't need it, and we certainly don't need the extra hassle and cost of getting rid of it, either on a personal level or as a nation. I have better things to do, so should the rest of the country!

 

I'm with you demon, bring back glass bottles and cut out the crap. We've lost the plot.

 

Incidentally our bins have tracking devices, previously they were covert until somebody discovered them, but the council say that these are to improve efficiency by telling them which route the binmen take when emptying bins so it can be studied to imporve efficiency. Yeah, right! You think they would have worked it out by now, the basic map of the town hasn't changed on the whole since waste collections began, you would think they had worked out the best route by now.

 

Oh, and apparently it helps them return bins to the owners if they are lost - isn't the serial number on the side sufficient to do that, e.g mine has an embossed serial number C14238534 - look it up on the database and bring it back to me or inform me if you find it, how hard can it be? Bolleaux.

[JonCris]

Remove the packing at the checkout..........that'd soon stop them tying everything in bleeding knots

[seylectric]

Remove the packing at the checkout..........that'd soon stop them tying everything in bleeding knots

 

Yes, that's happening more and more, and "refuse the bag". Makes me laugh how Tesco and the rest have this bag recycling policy and "green" clubcard points if you reuse a carrier bag, yet still put your stuff in a bag even if it's just a tin of beans or something!

[pompeyfaith]

Hi im a recycler working for spelthorne council and demon i agree with you there my motto is "help us to help you" spelthorne does have a weekly rubbish collection although a lot of stuff that can be recycled still gets in with the rubbish i.e paper,cans,tins and glass bottles its not rocket science we posted calenders into every household just before xmas explaining what can and what cant be recycled but thats made no diferance in fact i found a lot of the calanders in the recycling bins hhhhmmm its all so simple rinse out tins to keep the smell away pack the recycling boxes correctly i.e make it easier for us so we are not ****ing off other drivers who think we should not be there put paper on bottom of bin then cans,tin and glass on top oh and noooo broken glass in bin yup it does happen loads lost count of the scars.many councils go about it in diferant ways some use hgv 2 lorrys and wheelie bins and you put it all in therebut we at spelthorne use 7.5 ton lorries with 6 stillages on back and sort it onto the lorry one last though please spare a thought for us we dont do one road on my rounds each route consists of 30+ roads

[pompeyfaith]

The reason you are asked to rinse out tins etc is to cut down on cross contamination if i have say half a stillage of clean tins and i then put in a bin of dirty ones that have mold in them that stillage full is contaminated and of no use the steel industry would reject it plus when its melted down there would be a dirty film flotting on top

[seylectric]

Everybody has sympathy I'm sure with the problems that come with your job, but the whole system is complete nonsense.

 

First of all, if the government want to do something serious about the issue, BRING IN LAWS WITH REGARD TO OVERPACKAGING!

 

We don't want it, we don't need it, many of us lead busy lifestyles and sorting out rubbish that we don't want in the first place is just another job to do.

 

I often wonder how much energy is expended in recycling the stuff, much of which isn't wanted or needed in the first place - including the calendars, circulars etc. We got a circular hand delivered by council staff reminding us to recycle (we have three bloody great wheelie bins outside the door, we're hardly likely to forget), next day came a questionnaire about the trading standards service, the day after that a circular about college courses etc. The govenment without a shadow of a doubt PRODUCES most of the waste through unnecceasry leaflets about just about everything! Walk into a hospital or council office, tax office, in fact any government office you care to name and there will be a choice of hundreds of leaflets about just about anything you care to name! WE DON'T NEED IT!

 

As for washing out the cans etc, although the reasons for this are understandable, how much water is being wasted by doing this? How much energy when the combi boiler fires up when you go to wash out that can? How much energy is expended in collecting it and recycling it all, not to mention manufacturing it in the first place, whether it be paper, plastic, cans, glass or whatever.

 

I say again, we don't want it, we certainly don't need it, STOP PRODUCING IT!

 

It's a complete farce, man.

[seylectric]

The reason you are asked to rinse out tins etc is to cut down on cross contamination if i have say half a stillage of clean tins and i then put in a bin of dirty ones that have mold in them that stillage full is contaminated and of no use the steel industry would reject it plus when its melted down there would be a dirty film flotting on top

 

Incidentally I thought the main reason for melting it down was to burn off any impurities? EVERYTHING is contaminated from the moment it is produced, cans have glue on them from the labels that were stuck on them (probably still are), grease from fingerprints having been handled by who knows how many people with who knows what illnesses, and so on.