Topic ID 1679
Does anyone else find that their brown bins are not being emptied? I can't recall the last time I saw the bottom of ours.
Reply ID 20645
Ours are emptied every other week.....
Reply ID 20658
Ours wasn't emptied on Tuesday. I rang the council on Wednesday who said there wasn't a reason for it not to be. They told me to leave it out and they would come back. So far they haven't......
Reply ID 20659
It's been about 4 weeks for us; the only reason there's room in there is because it's breaking down (and can smell). I'll be ringing the council on Monday.
Reply ID 20779
I went out to the guys collecting the paper from the green tubs and asked about the brown bins. They said that it would probably be done when the guys could "be bothered to get off their arses". Nice. A neighbour complained as hers hadn't been emptied all year. It was emptied last week.
Reply ID 20782
Ours are emptied once a fortnight - dont think they've ever missed it
Reply ID 20808
quote:I've been told to wait until 19th July (our next designated collection day) and if it's not collected then, they will send an inspector to see what's going wrong. It was suggested that we are not "putting it out for collection" It lives 3ft away from the road!
Originally posted by Ewoowar
I went out to the guys collecting the paper from the green tubs and asked about the brown bins. They said that it would probably be done when the guys could "be bothered to get off their arses". Nice. A neighbour complained as hers hadn't been emptied all year. It was emptied last week.
Reply ID 20815
Our next collection day should be the 18th, see what happens!
Reply ID 20983
I live in a road where no one uses the brown bin, and they sit in a pile all year long. The council never do anything to remove them.
Reply ID 21016
They are very efficient with our they are collected regularly every other Thursday. I would call them and see what they say.
Reply ID 21017
There has never been a problem in my road - unless you count being woken up by early collections of the brown bins as one! Re. Dude's problem of unused bins - you would probably need to call the council and ask them to take them away if you really don't want them, as they wouldn't just 'steal' them back (as I don't have a garden, I informed them I didn't want one). However, I'm sure I read something about plans to increase the range of things that can be put in them in the future, so if it's just that you don't use them for garden rubbish, you might want to hang onto them (I'm regretting have turned the option down!).
Reply ID 23456
Is it correct that we can put cardboard in the brown bins now - as long as it's not waxed?? Thanks
Reply ID 23457
quote:This link SHOULD explain what you can put in your brown bin. http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/recycling/organic_waste_collection/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.htm#1 No cardboard I'm afraid, but it is collected at the household waste sites. If you have a composting bins in your own garden (which you can use for your own food waste) you can put egg cartons in that, but I don't think cardboard will break down. Hope that helps [:)]
Originally posted by ~Sarah~
Is it correct that we can put cardboard in the brown bins now - as long as it's not waxed?? Thanks
Reply ID 23458
Thanks, it must just be North Herts then that except cardboard in the brown bins - shame! [:(]
Reply ID 23459
North Herts accept 25% of the brown bin waste as cardboard (according their website). I visit the sites where they actually do the composting, and I don't think the cardboard can break down if it makes up too much of a proportion of the garden waste, and I've never seen much cardboard then when trapsing over the heaps! The composting sites generate a lot of heat when they are breaking down, and so (and I'm guessing) one of the problems with the cardboard could be the fire hazard.
Reply ID 23461
Wasn't there some publicity from EHDC earlier this year that cardboard and kitchen waste were going to be allowed in brown bins from September, this to coincide with fortnightly collection of brown and black bins. Not heard anything since and cannnot see anything on their website.
Reply ID 23463
Yes I read that and I agree not much else has been said on the matter seeings as September is now only 2 weeks away?! [:o)] Although I don't remember anything about fortnightly collections of black bins.... that's a bit worrying as my black bin is full every week [:0]
Reply ID 23479
During the last two years or so I've felt quite strongly about recycling, and got to the point where I was separating rubbish out into crates each week - aluminium, steel, glass, plastic, cardboard, paper.. I have to say that I only now bother with the aluminium, steel and glass, and *some* paper. Why? Because the facilities don't exist within the area to collect the other stuff. Yes, I can take it to the dump, but I have to drive it there, and I reckon that doing that is wasting more resource, and releasing more pollutants into the environment, than it is saving. If the council organised central collection points for plastic and cardboard on a community level, then took it away en masse, I reckon it might be worth it. And as for paper.. Yes, they have had the paper collection bins for a while now, and I use them. That was until I suffered an identity fraud last autumn, and the fraudsters had apparently got hold of a couple of old utility bills from my paper recycling bin, taken them along to the local sorting office and used them to set up a mail redirection, in the hope that really useful things like bank and credit card information would start arriving. Anyway, we managed to thwart that just in time, and bought a shredder. But the guy who collects the recycling bins just hauls them up at a 45 degree angle, sans lid, and all the shredded paper blows down the street like confetti.. So I've stopped doing that now too. And, (and this one REALLY gets my goat) if our government and councils are so keen on us recycling paper, why does EVERY FLIPPING GOVERNMENT OFFICE, DEPARTMENT, QUANGO, AND ESPECIALLY THAT USELESS, HALF-ARSED, GROSSLY INCOMPETENT, FUNCTIONALLY INEPT ORGANISATION CALLING ITSELF HM INLAND REVENUE AND CUSTOMS, INSIST ON SENDING US STUFF IN BROWN ENVELOPES?? (Brown envelopes are more difficult to recycle and cannot go in the normal recycling bins) So until The Powers That Be take it seriously, I'm just wasting my resources and energy trying to do so.
Reply ID 23492
quote:Stick the shredded paper in your composter (worms seem to love it.)
Originally posted by Pez
But the guy who collects the recycling bins just hauls them up at a 45 degree angle, sans lid, and all the shredded paper blows down the street like confetti.. So I've stopped doing that now too.
Reply ID 23494
Pez, I understand you frustrations, but it is a problem that the Councils take very seriously particularly as Herts landfill is due to run out in 2008! One of the key problems is finding sites to locate recycling facilities on. Whilst preferred areas are identified in local plans, this does not guarantee the grant of planning permission. And whilst we all create waste, no-one wants a recycling facility near them. The machinery is improving, if operators are prepared to invest in it, but generally it is quite a noisy operation. There are now facilities called MRF (materials recycling facilities) whereby all recyclable material could be collected in one box and sorted at source. At this time, I am only aware of two potential sites in the County for this type of facility. The problem of sites is becoming critical, as green belt policies restrict overspill, the pressure is to take brownfield sites which are close to business parks, office and increasingly close to residential properties (rememeber we have to build a load of houses too!). Recent pressure on central government has been for a loosening up of green belt policy to allow these facilities to be built on farms for example, but then you have the highways issues of large HGVs using narrow rural lanes. There isn't a easy solution, but I think the pressure of reduced landfill facilities will force the need for more recycling points, and these may have to come closer to residential areas so there will need to be investment in cleaner solutions. As for the brown envelopes... well I guess it's probably because they're cheaper!
Reply ID 23496
I like the brown bin. Only trouble is, I can never remember whether it's collected this week or next!
Reply ID 23506
quote:Or at all.
Originally posted by shunt
I like the brown bin. Only trouble is, I can never remember whether it's collected this week or next!
Reply ID 23513
quote:For the most part, we consumers most definitely do NOT create waste (except what goes down the loo, and that's not in the scope of this discussion!); the product manufacturers do, with their excessive over-packaging which is merely handed down to us, the consumer to dispose of - with no come-back or responsibility on the manufacturers and producers whatsoever. This is changing to some extent with electronic goods, particularly computers, where under RoHS regulations the manufacturer is responsible for disposal, but there should be some onus on producers in other fields to take some responsibility. My interest in recycling came about when my eldest daughter started senior school and her and then my primary-school son decided they wanted a packed lunch to take to school instead of school dinners, and I started doing that too. I was absolutely shocked and appalled at the sheer volume of rubbish I was having to chuck in the kitchen bin EACH MORNING just to make these lunches. I now deliberately try and shop for products with the minimal amount of packaging (eg, fruit, veg etc) but most of the time there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, and it really is time that changed. In particular, manufacturers seem to LOVE plastic, when in the old days, when I was a kid, paper was used (breakfast cereal packing, even things like Mars Bars etc). Not only is it more difficult to dispose of and break down naturally, plastic also impairs the taste of things in my view.
Originally posted by SMT
And whilst we all create waste, no-one wants a recycling facility near them.
quote:We don't need more recycling facilities, or any closer to the population, we just need more distributed collection points and a better centralised means of collection and transportation from them to the recycling facilities. I was over at my parents' place in Spain at Christmas. No-one has a bin on their premises there. But at the end of each road (or very close by) is a central bin area with those large, roll-top commercial type dumpster things. They are collected most days and the process flows smoothly and is quick. There are bins for different types of waste. I don't see why that couldn't work here.
Originally posted by SMT
The machinery is improving, if operators are prepared to invest in it, but generally it is quite a noisy operation. There are now facilities called MRF (materials recycling facilities) whereby all recyclable material could be collected in one box and sorted at source. At this time, I am only aware of two potential sites in the County for this type of facility. The problem of sites is becoming critical, as green belt policies restrict overspill, the pressure is to take brownfield sites which are close to business parks, office and increasingly close to residential properties (rememeber we have to build a load of houses too!). Recent pressure on central government has been for a loosening up of green belt policy to allow these facilities to be built on farms for example, but then you have the highways issues of large HGVs using narrow rural lanes. There isn't a easy solution, but I think the pressure of reduced landfill facilities will force the need for more recycling points, and these may have to come closer to residential areas so there will need to be investment in cleaner solutions.
quote:So it's ok for the government and related bodies to ignore environmental concerns because it's cheaper, but not for us Joe Average consumers who are expected (soon even legislated) to address it and even bear the higher costs of it as well?
Originally posted by SMT As for the brown envelopes... well I guess it's probably because they're cheaper!
Reply ID 23515
I think maybe some of the points I raised have been misunderstand. My point about the location of recycling facilities INCLUDED the collection centres. As I say, when application are advertised they understandbly receive a lot of objections from local residents. Such facilities are proposed in proximity to residential areas to try to encourage their use. As for the brown envelope, I by no means believe it is right that it should happen, but I tried make a suggestion as to why it occurs. Unfortunately the short term pressure of cost can override the long term objective to increase recycling. This is something that many organisations and individuals can be guilty of, and I include myself in that. I also agree that manufacturers create waste, but we as individuals also need to look at the waste that we generate. I try to buy products with reduced packaging to minimise the waste that I put in the black bin. For example, I consider it better to buy loose potatoes and re-use the thin plastic bag than buy those potatoes in the plastic boxes which at the moment we do not have the facilities to recycle.[:)]
Reply ID 23521
quote:Brown envelopes are usually made from low-grade recycled pulp (very thin cardboard really). This is the final recycle. Paper can't be recycled indefinitely - as paper is recycled, the fibres get shorter and it reaches the stage where it can't be recycled any more. Brown envelopes and cardboard are about as recycled as they can be. White envelopes are more environmentally unfriendly, with more virgin paper or at least more bleaching. My brown paper goes into the composter.
Originally posted by Pez
And, (and this one REALLY gets my goat) if our government and councils are so keen on us recycling paper, why does EVERY FLIPPING GOVERNMENT OFFICE..........INSIST ON SENDING US STUFF IN BROWN ENVELOPES?? (Brown envelopes are more difficult to recycle and cannot go in the normal recycling bins)
Reply ID 23522
Recycling in Bengeo used to be easier when the car park at the White Lion had bins. These went a couple of years ago, I wonder if the new owners would consider their reinstatement?Though doorstep collection would, of course, be even better
Reply ID 23525
I've found the only way I keep up with recyling is to build it into my weekly routine - plastic bags are recyled at Tesco each week when I do the weekly grocery shop, bottles, tins and plastics are recycled at Pearce's when I do the weekly veg shop. I keep stuff to be recyled in the boot of the car so I don't forget to do it. I don't have to make a special trip to do any of this, and I never have masses of stuff to recycle as it's done every week. Easy.
Reply ID 23530
A lot of ours is taken to the bins in the matalan carpark at the same time as the weekly Tesco shop, not that far to go if you have it in the car. Our Brown bins and green boxes are emptied regulary every fortnight and I think it is a great service. We now use 1 black bin between 2 and sometimes 3 houses as so much is recycled, just wish there was somewhere closer that the Westmill tip for plastic bottles.
Reply ID 23547
Like I said earlier, I do that for the glass, steel and aluminium.. But I've stopped doing the plastic and cardboard, because the nearest place is the dump up at Rib Vale or whatever it's called and it must be almost a five-mile round trip to take the stuff up there. There are no plastic, cardboard, or brown paper collection points at the community level. Every supermarket should be made to have an area in its car-park for this purpose, pro-rata for the size of the supermarket. The noise/smell/traffic/inconvenience of having these things cannot possibly be any worse for that than having the supermarket there.
Reply ID 23557
I get really cross when Tesco delivers the shopping in way too many plastic bags - there is almost always a single item in a bag every week! I take some comfort from knowing that at least they are making several drops, often in the same road, at the same time, so at least some fuel is being saved!
Reply ID 23560
quote:Occado take your old bags back. If you are qucik enough and unpack while they are there they will take them back straight away. I don't know if they re-use them though.
Originally posted by ian.ball
I get really cross when Tesco delivers the shopping in way too many plastic bags - there is almost always a single item in a bag every week! I take some comfort from knowing that at least they are making several drops, often in the same road, at the same time, so at least some fuel is being saved!
Reply ID 23561
I think they take the old carrier bags back for recycling.
Reply ID 23562
Tesco do that too, but it would be better if they didn't use so many bags at all. My favourites are a bag containing six bottles of beer each wrapped in its own bag and a large box of cornflakes in its own unshared individual plastic bag
Reply ID 23563
Exactly, it's all very well to recyle stuff and a laudable effort to do so, but it's much better *not* to use it in the first place! For example I bought two individual batteries just yesterday approx 25mm round and 2mm thick. Both were wrapped n cardboard and plastic packaging that was around 100mm square. I'm not saying we don't *need* packaging - in this case how do you know they are not "used" batteries for example - but you really don't need much more than a bit of shrink wrap around them individually and put the whole lot is a pretty box if you want "attractive packaging"
Reply ID 23567
quote:Surely if you feel this strongly about it, you should just ask the checkout person to refrain from placing everything in seperate bags. Alternatively, you can just do your own packing and then you can cram much more in to each bag like I do. Then take the bags back and get "green" clubcard points for re-using them
Originally posted by Andrew
Tesco do that too, but it would be better if they didn't use so many bags at all. My favourites are a bag containing six bottles of beer each wrapped in its own bag and a large box of cornflakes in its own unshared individual plastic bag
Reply ID 23569
quote:Pez - I found out today that in two weeks time, glass and cans will be collected from your house by the council. Off topic I know but you might want to start a new thread for anyone else who has heard this.
Originally posted by Pez
During the last two years or so I've felt quite strongly about recycling, and got to the point where I was separating rubbish out into crates each week - aluminium, steel, glass, plastic, cardboard, paper.. I have to say that I only now bother with the aluminium, steel and glass, and *some* paper. Why? Because the facilities don't exist within the area to collect the other stuff. Yes, I can take it to the dump, but I have to drive it there, and I reckon that doing that is wasting more resource, and releasing more pollutants into the environment, than it is saving. If the council organised central collection points for plastic and cardboard on a community level, then took it away en masse, I reckon it might be worth it. And as for paper.. Yes, they have had the paper collection bins for a while now, and I use them. That was until I suffered an identity fraud last autumn, and the fraudsters had apparently got hold of a couple of old utility bills from my paper recycling bin, taken them along to the local sorting office and used them to set up a mail redirection, in the hope that really useful things like bank and credit card information would start arriving. Anyway, we managed to thwart that just in time, and bought a shredder. But the guy who collects the recycling bins just hauls them up at a 45 degree angle, sans lid, and all the shredded paper blows down the street like confetti.. So I've stopped doing that now too. And, (and this one REALLY gets my goat) if our government and councils are so keen on us recycling paper, why does EVERY FLIPPING GOVERNMENT OFFICE, DEPARTMENT, QUANGO, AND ESPECIALLY THAT USELESS, HALF-ARSED, GROSSLY INCOMPETENT, FUNCTIONALLY INEPT ORGANISATION CALLING ITSELF HM INLAND REVENUE AND CUSTOMS, INSIST ON SENDING US STUFF IN BROWN ENVELOPES?? (Brown envelopes are more difficult to recycle and cannot go in the normal recycling bins) So until The Powers That Be take it seriously, I'm just wasting my resources and energy trying to do so.
Reply ID 23570
quote:See above.
Originally posted by Andrew
Recycling in Bengeo used to be easier when the car park at the White Lion had bins. These went a couple of years ago, I wonder if the new owners would consider their reinstatement?Though doorstep collection would, of course, be even better
Reply ID 23573
quote:think Andrew was referring to the home shopping service.[:p]
Originally posted by thefair1973quote:Surely if you feel this strongly about it, you should just ask the checkout person to refrain from placing everything in seperate bags. Alternatively, you can just do your own packing and then you can cram much more in to each bag like I do. Then take the bags back and get "green" clubcard points for re-using them
Originally posted by Andrew
Tesco do that too, but it would be better if they didn't use so many bags at all. My favourites are a bag containing six bottles of beer each wrapped in its own bag and a large box of cornflakes in its own unshared individual plastic bag
Reply ID 23622
[/quote] think Andrew was referring to the home shopping service.[:p] [/quote] Indeed, I always try to refuse bags at the checkout or in other stores. We keep a few of those "bags for life" and try to remember to take themm whenever we go shopping, though inevitably you forget sometimes. Despite this we always seem to end up with bagful of bags to take back to tesco every 6 weeks or so. Why can't we tax bags as in Ireland, I agther it has been very successful in reucing their use.
Reply ID 23625
We use the bags to line our bins. Cheaper than buying bin liners, less bag to put into landfill - as opposed to supermarket bag *and* bin liner bag - and small enough to ensure a fresh kitchen bin every day.
Reply ID 23688
quote:Packaging is a marketing tool as much as anything else to make that bottle of shampoo or whatever stand out on the supermarket shelf so in that respect its here to stay. However the big issue affecting the recyclability of packaging is the materials used - pretty much everything can be recycled but the prohibitive factor is the cost involved to break down to the component parts to allow the recycling. For example, in the kitchen we have a box of Fairy washing powder - there is the box, the plastic handle and the metal rivets holding the handle on. None of that can be recycled unless its all taken apart which, lets face it, is not going to happen in reality - so instant landfill item. I welcome the day when we get doorstep collection of bottles and cans and have just seen something very surprising in North Devon - there a crate is filled with plastics, bottles and cans and a van comes round to collect door to door. They then physically sort the stuff on the back of the van - meaning there is minimal sorting for the householder to do which well help win around many who can't be ar**d. It must cost a bob or two but it seems to show the council are serious about recycling.
I'm not saying we don't *need* packaging
Reply ID 23728
quote:Or for those of us that live in a flat with no room for additional bins/bags etc for placing the recycling items unless we clutter up the rest of the allready cluttered, storage-free flat[:)]. If we had the room outside our building and without causing an obstruction to our neighbours or pedestrians we'd be able to have bins outside. Then there's the aspect of collection. Our brown bin has remained unemptied for a month now. If the powers that be can't maintain this new service, can they maintain more?[:)]
Originally posted by Leo Densian
...there is minimal sorting for the householder to do which well help win around many who can't be ar**d.