Its wheely bin kicking off in Enfield

[cornykev]

Yes the old subject of wheelie bins has rose its uglyhead again.
Our lovely council has introduced pilot schemes in different parts of Enfield with three big wheelie bins for recycling. Rubbish, recyclables and greenery/food waste.
The local papers are revelling in it, with the rival papers reporting on different roads in Enfield.
To say it hasn't gone down to well is an understatement, I came home yesterday from work with the neighbours out the front shaking their heads in disbelief.
I can understand the houses opposite us because they have very small gardens and the only place to put them is in front of their windows, which isn't very nice for them, others have to put them on their paths as the front is full of flowers or rockery's or the like.
On the way to and back from picking the kid up from school today I could see other roads having theirs delivered, and the same responce, shaking of heads, eyesore and no room for them, I noticed there was quite a few older ladies and I thought to myself they won't be able to pull them empty let alone full.
I myself think they're an eyesore but can accommodate two of them if I cut my bush back a bit.
The OH rang the council and explained that I compost all my greenery at the lottie and we don't fancy much putting food waste straight into a bin and asked if they supplied liners and they said no, but if we put the food waste only in with the rubbish that would be OK, but could not take the bin back and we would have to keep it. Guess wheres that going.  ;)
We are down to about 3/4 of a black bag of rubbish at the moment, so I  don't see the point in a big bin for the refuse, that is until its picked up every two weeks then every month. :(                     :-\ :-\ :-\

[cornykev]

[small]

We've had wheelie bins for ages and I wouldn't change.  I'm (really!) small and rather feeble but I can wheel a full bin up a long sloping drive, they are very well balanced.  I use my 'compostables' bin for excess grass clippings, woody material, couch grass, and kitchen waste like potato peelings if I can't be bothered to go down the end of the garden to the compost heap.  Having the large rubbish bin means I can dispose of stuff like the odd polystyrene packaging, though mine is often only part full after a fortnight. When they were first introduced here many people had misgivings, but you'll get to like them too!

[Ninnyscrops.]

I really feel for people that don't really have the room for all the different bins and baskets, it does make for a bit of an eyesore for them and others.

I'm fervent recycler so a green cone for cooked waste is residing under a laurel bush, that we've let overgrow a little to hide it, and the green garden waste bin, plus normal bin, paper basket and tins/plastics basket!

There are two more garden wheelies on the way (old recycled ones) for all our kitchen peelings and soft garden waste that I plan to put taps in the base for liquid feed. The "sludge" will go into trenches up at the plots. We're lucky to have a side gate, being on the end of a terrace, so storage isn't a problem. Kitchen peelings seem to attract rats up at the allotment so I can't put them up there (the three composters seem to be able to fill themselves anyway!).

It's difficult for some, but worth it in the end IMHO.

Ninny

[grawrc]

To be honest, aesthetically displeasing and space consuming though they may be, the wheelie bins are better than what we had before. We used to put out black plastic bags once a week which would frequently end up shredded by rats or cats and spread all over the place. This way is more hygienic and better for the folk that have to deal with the rubbish.
I too recycle like mad although I've abandoned composting at home because it attracted rats. Our wheelie bin is rarely more than a quarter full since so much gets recycled.

[ceres]

I've lost the will to live with our bins/boxes.  We have a 'normal' bin, a blue crate, a black crate, a large white bag thing (like a launderette bag), a food waste bin and a matching kitchen caddy.  I live in a close where there are 48 flats and no-one uses any of these because there is nowhere to put them.  I compost my own stuff and walk the recyclables round the corner to a recycling bank.  The only rubbish that goes in the 'normal' bin is plastic.

[saddad]

It could be worse... you could live in Leeds... no collections now for three weeks and in the back-to-backs there really is nowhere to put it... look it up on an online newspaper... brings back memories of the "Winter of Discontent"  :-X

[dtw]

I don't have room for another wheelie bin, I live in a back to back house with a small garden.
The only plus about wheelie bins is that my cats haven't caught any rats (and brought them in) since they were introduced.

[Baaaaaaaa]

I too, love my Wheelies. I try to recycle as much as pos., but I get confused over which plastics are recycled and which arnt.

An eye sore they maybe, but when everyone in the road has them out the front, its kind of just accepted as part of the furniture.   If they can be hidden behind a hedge or some 4ft fence all the better.

[zigzig]

Thankfully the supermarkets have glass and plastic skips still and there is also one for cardboard and clothes in their carparks so we take those bits there when we go. The garden wheely, we only use when we trim back the hedges so most of the year it is empty and makes temporary storage space for items awaiting transport.

The extra bins are very usefull on allotments for storing things like flower pots and plastic (for covering beds over winter) and other uses.

We regularly get people drop their surplus bins in our allotments car park and they are gratefully received.  I have seen them used as water butts too, just needs a bit of initiative and they are still being used to re-cycle things.

[BarriedaleNick]

Lewisham is prety good with this - you can have a green box or a wheely bin for all recycling - your choice.  It all goes in one box so you dont have to have different boxes for card/glass/tins etc.  Collections are always on time for both rubbish and the green bins - so far they seem to be listening to what people want and (gosh!) are actually giving us a choice!

[Fork]

Here we have a wheelie bin,a yellow plastic container for glass and an orange one for tin cans and foil.We also have a blue plastic bag for paper and an orange one for cardboard.

The wheelie bin will be emptied this week and the containers and plastic bags next and so on.

The plastic containers come without lids.They are available but you have to pay for them.

Everyones main gripe is the maggots in hot weather.No amount of "double bagging" will deter the flies.

Obviously I compost my green stuff along with some paper and cardboard but if you want the green stuff taking away thats £35 a year!

[tonybloke]

we got the 2 - bin scheme here, 1 for land-fill, and the other for recycling ( cans, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard) glass is taken to bottle banks. we don't purchase daily papers, or fizzzy drinks, or 'ready' meals, so have very little recycle stuff for bin, the free papers are used to light the fire. Food waste? what's that?? either compost or feed to gulls ( on shed roof for any carcasses and bones) we have a fortnightly collection scheme, 1 every other week. ours often are put out monthly, saves the lads a few minutes in the mornings! how can folk afford to throw so much away? (after all, no one is given stuff to put in their bins, they all pay good money for it)

[1066]

so far they seem to be listening to what people want and (gosh!) are actually giving us a choice!

Now that is a shocker - I can imagine the headlines "Council listens and responds to residents SHOCK"   ;D

[thifasmom]

we got the 2 - bin scheme here, 1 for landfill, and the other for recycling ( cans, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard) glass is taken to bottle banks. we don't purchase daily papers, or fizzzy drinks, or 'ready' meals, so have very little recycle stuff for bin, the free papers are used to light the fire. Food waste? what's that?? either compost or feed to gulls ( on shed roof for any carcasses and bones) we have a fortnightly collection scheme, 1 every other week. ours often are put out monthly, saves the lads a few minutes in the mornings! how can folk afford to throw so much away? (after all, no one is given stuff to put in their bins, they all pay good money for it)

our habits are pretty similar and we are a family of three adults and two children. we also have a two bin system like yours with bottles to go to the bottle bank but i am quite certain most people bin theirs as they would be to lazy to drop it off at the recyclable center less than 3 miles away or even gasp walk 10 minutes to the closet supermarket and put them in the bottle bank containers there.

our recyclables are collected every other week and the landfill stuff weekly (like you we also put our out once a month- i cant quite see the point of dragging my bin out with just one carrier bag full of rubbish in it), and i also wonder how people are able to generate so much rubbish.

[RobinOfTheHood]

Don't know if your bins are the same type as ours (Barnsley) but we have a blue one for paper, a brown one for glass and cans, a green one for green stuff(!) and the usual grey one for landfill, all collected fortnightly.

I didn't believe it when first told, but all bar the (old) grey one were microchipped. Note the use of the word 'were'.  :)

Now I don't know about you, but I find this rather insidious. I don't know if the lorries have the ability to read these chips, but I suspect it's only a matter of time before some european directive comes in forcing councils to keep records of all waste matter and its source.

A small chisel is best.  ;)

[cornykev]

Well most of the neighbours seem to have excepted them, but for those that live on their own or just the two of them they should be given smaller bins. I've cut back my hedge and can get the recyclable and the smaller refuse one in.
We will put the cuttings in the green bin with bread and other dry items, but will put food waste in the refuse as advised, then the bin will probaly end up on the lottie as thats where my old ones have gone as water catchers under the shed roof.    :-\         ;D ;D ;D