Please sort your recycling, say the darling bin-men

Wed 2 Nov 2011, 17:55

Thank you Glena. Since we last corresponded on this matter things seem to have got a fair bit better but last week was a bad one debris-wise. Hope your "word" does the trick.

Tue 1 Nov 2011, 17:28

Derek and Kat---I did pass on your comments and problems to Trevor Askew (head of street scene) and he had a talk with the manager of May Gurney (who operate the new contract). He specifically mentioned the areas that you think are particularly bad and the manager said they would do it better---not in quite those words but that was what he meant. Hope it works.

Sat 29 Oct 2011, 15:04

Kat and Derek, I have passed on your comments and problems to the head of street scene and will keep you posted.

Sat 29 Oct 2011, 12:09

I will when they start emptying my boxes and not keep changing there minds as to what i can put in it. Must of ends up on the road anyway.

Sat 29 Oct 2011, 01:20

Dear Glena
While it's true that we're not obliged to sort it, the bin men were asking us to do so because they haven't been given enough time or enough vans to actually fulfil the contract they're expected to do. Sorting our rubbish means they can be quicker at their job at the kerbside, and so help them complete their rounds. I think it's a logical request, though not always easy to implement.

Thu 27 Oct 2011, 17:38

You do not have to sort your rubbish. The contract allows for the fact that sorting is voluntary---though, of course, it is helpful if one does. I will pass on your complaints Kat and Derek, about the rubbish left to blow about----though once they have gone they are obviously not responsible for the wind blowing boxes over. It's odd that I don't find the same problem in Enstone Road---and it can't be, as you once said, that it is because I live there and I am a district councillor---they don't know that. And I don't think they do lecture people.

Sun 23 Oct 2011, 00:55

Derek -- I know what you mean! Sometimes I think the streets look cleaner BEFORE the bin men come 'round. I have to say that this week was particularly nasty for knocking my bins over and scattering my rubbish all around my garden, with the wind and all. Honestly, I picked it up twice in about fifteen minutes, even after I thought the things were secure on my porch. I've taken to weighing them down with bricks.

Sat 22 Oct 2011, 15:09

Presumably these "darling bin-men" are totally unrelated to the deeply unskilled, witless numpties who empty my recycling bins in Tanners Court. Yet again this week (and for the umpteenth time this year) I had to go out after they had collected in order to pick up all the cardboard cartons and bits of paper and plastic that they had left blowing around the roads, pavements and grassy areas. When these people can be bothered to do their jobs properly, particularly in relation to emptying the recycling bins fully and picking up all the litter they leave trailing in their wake, then perhaps they will have earned the right to lecture householders on exactly how to sort their recyclate. But not before.

Wed 19 Oct 2011, 12:23

Jon, you're a star. Many thanks for pointing this out to me. I shall contact our fabulous district council, to see if I can get help? I feel a bit silly now, but I'm used to that! I'm going to recycle my bubble wrap, and insulate my single glazed windows for the winter, to save on fuel, again! It really does work, brilliantly. It's really easy too.

Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:24

Aren't we lucky, Charlotte? WODC appears to provide all this. For assistance for the elderly or infirm phone 01993 861025. Their website is full of information too: and see the "Your waste and recycling service - explanatory booklet" which you can download at www.westoxon.gov.uk/environment/refuserecycle.cfm I've discovered that they now recycle bubble wrap. And if you have a lot of green/garden waste, you can have a second (free) bin. Didn't know that either! (Not that I need one!)

Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:27

There is clearly an issue here and any blue sky thoughts are always helpful.

Other district councils assist the elderly and disabled. They have wheeled bins, kitchen caddies, etc. on request. Also, there are assisted waste collection services provided to elderly and disabled residents and those with a medical condition who cannot take their waste and recycling receptacles (wheeled bins or sacks / recycling boxes) to the edge of the property boundary.

Tue 18 Oct 2011, 22:46

In the recently delivered leaflet with the new waste and recycling collection calendar, they give further guidance on what can go in your recycling bins. In particular they ask that "flyaway plastics" be put in a separate plastic bag in your box (carrier bags, food packaging etc.) If you have two boxes, it also helps if you put paper and glass in one box and everything else in the other (this information was gathered on a CAWAG visit to the recycling centre). Further guidance on recycling can be found on the westoxon.gov.uk website.

Tue 18 Oct 2011, 19:36

I watched a Dispatches programme last week about Britain's Rubbish and it finally explained to me in very clear terms why it's preferable to have kerb-side sorting of recycling and not collecting it en masse to be sorted somewhere else.

Then today my binmen asked me again if I could try to sort things as I put them in the boxes. They say that they're running only 20 trucks for a 25-truck job, and are given targets that they can't possibly meet because they're inundated with all the unsorted recycling at the kerb.

So, on behalf of the jolly nice guys, can you pass on the message to sort your recycling at source, and maybe they can actually succeed at something that's rather a good thing.