General Chat

Today a letter dropped through my letter box,It was from our local council to say they were doing a recycling scheme. Good I thought about time so carried on reading the letter.This is what it said .The collections will take place form a blue box (no lid) and a red reusable bag. The box is for food and drink cans, glass jars and bottles the bag for newspapers. Now the problem is where to put these. The dustman collects our bins from the rear of our property so they would have to be kept in the back garden....This is where I find these blue boxes...no lid is provided, totally unexceptable. I have a garden which is child proof for my 5 young grandchildren, but would I put them at risk with playing with the tins etc while out there ...NOT ON YOUR NELLIE. Not to mention my cat and dog who may also end up at the vets. I telephoned the council to voice my opinion and mentioned that an earlier scheme that was started in another area (still with the same council) had these blue boxes to collect newspaper in, but these had a lid and I wouldn't object to having a blue box for jars and tins if it also had a lid...as I could tie it up with a length of rope to safeguard the children. She replied "Oh no Madam the old blue boxes for newspaper had lids on so that the dustmen didn't have to run after any paper that blew away".........So to me a running dustman takes priority over any safety issue. Am I being silly?

We have had the same recycling arrangement that you mentioned for at least 10 years. I keep the blue box in the pantry, along with the blue and yellow thick plastic bags. The blue box (no lid) accepts tin cans, glass jars, plastic containers - all washed out. The blue bag is for newsprint. The yellow bag is for glossy paper magazines junk mail and cardboard. No corrigated accepted. It is now a force of habit to recycle. We put it out weekly (this morning as it happens) along with the garbage. There are two sets of trucks one for garbage followed by the recycler. It keeps a lot out of the landfill.

It would all be ok if I had somewhere indoors to keep it but having no large pantry..............personally I think that you should at least be offered a lid if like me you worry over the safety issue, and how many times have you seen on tv programs with small animals/cats with their heads stuck inside tin cans. Lynn

We have a slightly different (and very successful) scheme here. We have pink bags into whick we put plastics, cans and paper, and a blue box in which we put glass. Still takes up space though - we have an extra Bin outside in which we keep the pink recycling bag till it's collected, and the blue box sits on the porch.

Paul...does your blue box have a lid...

Hi Lynne, I'm in Herts. We have brown boxes -3- one for paper, one for glass and one for plastic. ALL have lids!!!! (and no plastic bags) Debbie

I'm in Oz and we have the same system throughout each state. One bin for general rubbish and another for recycled. Both are green but the recycle bin has a yellow lid. The recycle truck has a fork lift and simply tips the stuff into the back of the truck in the same way as the general rubbish. Sometimes theres a spill of paper but it gets picked up by the residents when they bring their bins in. We place all recycle items in the one bin and it gets sorted back at base. Also we can't place garden waste in the bins but we make a fortnightly trip to the tip where it can be dumped for free in a greens recycle tip. Mel.

Our Council are getting very 'hot' on all this re-cycling, they are talking about bringing in fines!. Apparently they have targets to meet, and Cambs. falls below in the tables!. Hate those open boxes, went and bought one from B&Q, with a lid on!.

Here in Somerset (where else?) we have a scheme where we have a large black box - no lid. It is for all recyclable goods - and we have to separate them into carrier bags!!! Bottles in one bag, paper in another bag, tins in another bag. This is apparently to save the collection people from having to sort through the stuff - but what happens to all those carrier bags? And they won't take newspapers on a wet day either. The only good thing is that I have a door leading from my utility room into the garage, so I'm able to store the box at the back of the garage and still have access to it. But I wouldn't be happy if I had young children, or nowhere safe to keep it, etc. I still can't believe that you have to put all your recyclable goods into plastic carrier bags lol !! Mandy :)

Don't get me wrong I am all for recycling but I have nowhere except outside in the garden to keep this box so I feel very strongly that a lid should be provided for those people who are in a simlar situation but would rather it be for everyone. If they can provide lids for the old scheme that was for newspapers then why not for tins and glass. My Daughters and her friends also feel the same as their childrens safty is paramount. As one said they could go visiting and the box just be left outside without a lid in the persons garden and whats to stop their children having a nasty accident.

Lynn I agree with you about the safety aspect, having young grandchildren of my own. Epsom council provides us (in some parts of the borough) with a blue bag for newspapers and magazines and a green lidded box for tins and glass and these are collected fortnightly. My daughter, who lives in a different part of the Borough, bought a lidded box from Wilkinsons for her paper as she wasn't supplied with a bag. We have to remove the lids before we put the boxes out though, otherwise the contents will not be taken! My mother-in-law, aged 87, lives in Worthing and has a box without a lid. She has to separate cardboard, paper, glass, tins and plastic and put them in this box (which measures about 24x12x15 inches). The rest of her rubbish is put in a lidded dustbin, but the bin men go through it and if they find any recyclable stuff they refuse to empty the dustbin! All garden refuse, grass cuttings etc, have to be put in a brown paper sack (available to buy from the Council) which of course is very suitable especially when it rains! Sue

I always thought we were behind the times in the north east, but we are provided with 2 wheelie bins, a black one for refuse and a blue one for recycling. We can put paper,plastic bottles, tins and glass into the recycling and it doesnt need to be bagged as long as the tins etc are rinsed out and clean. They are collected and emptied on alternate weeks so its not a prob recycling here.

In our area, we have to lift everything to the front of the house by 7.30 a.m., these boxes for tins and glassware have a lid, but can be quite heavy for elderly or disabled people to lift, but no consideration is given to that by the local council.

My husband hates me recycling, as he says it makes the garden look a mess. We have a blue box no lid for newspapers, tins, plastic bottles, no glass though, and a large wheelie bin with lid for garden rubbish, these are collected on alternate weeks, my problem is my husband and son don't drink tea or coffee and get through loads of bottles of fizzy drinks and we get quite a build up of these over 2 weeks, you have to use your own white bin liners to place any extra rubbish in, they won't accept black bin bags with recycling in, and as I have a small garden it always looks messy, but I must say I have much more recycling than ordinary rubbish now, but why can't they just give you 2 wheelie bins. Belle.

We've got three wheelie bins. Black, green and brown. Green is for all plastic containers, cans, paper and cardboard. The black bin is for all other rubbish. Bottles and glass jars have to be disposed of in council provided containers at local supermarkets car parks. The brown bin is for garden stuff and other vegetation. Black bin collected weekly. Green and brown alternate weeks. Have to be out on the pavement: the "refuse operative" will not come down your path for it. Seems to work OK. :-))

I come under Tewkesbury Borough Council here in Glos. At the moment we have a wheelie bin plus a green recycling box collected fortnightly, it has a lid and into this box we put cans, newspapers and glass jars/bottles. We don't have to separate them the collectors do that into different compartments in the recycling vehicle. They are supposed to be bringing in an extra wheelie bit for garden refuse next year. Our daughter in hampshire has two wheelie bins, household rubbish in one and recyclables - glass, cans, plastic bottles (not sure about newspapers) in the other and it doesn't have to be separated. Ann Glos Paul, I think MK had one of the first ever recycling schemes quite a few years ago.

We get one very slim and small wheelie bin (not like the ones in the 70's)and one black box with a lid which we have to have by the curbside on rubbish day

We have just a normal wheelie bin for rubbish and a black open box for all recycling. I keep mine in the hall so it doesn't get wet - I recycle papers, glass, tinfoil and sometimes clothes/shoes that are not good enough for the charity shop. I don't put tins in since I cut my hand rinsing one. They go straight in the bin unfortunately. Our tip used to accept plastic bottles, but now there is nowhere local to recycle them. Box is emptied every 2 weeks - I leave mine on the front step so it can be seen from the road. Would love to have a separate bin for plastic and for garden waste. Maz. XX

Here we have all wheelie bins! One for regular waste, one for garden waste and one for papers. How many more we are gonna get I don't know! I just want to know where we are supposed to put them all?? They don't look very attractive all lined up in the garden! And on collection day the street is lined with them! Joanne