CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh

Bin collections restart

(23 posts)

  1. cb
    Member

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11983166

    "Bin collections have started again in Edinburgh following weeks of disruption to the service by heavy snow."

    Hmm. They've only got a day and a half left until the next big dump of snow.
    Lots of people round are way are just leaving their bins out on the pavement. The article also explains why our neighbour has put the brown bin out - it must have household waste in it.

    We've got loads of space left in our bin, so not too bothered at the moment, but it would be nice to see some collections happening to clear the pavements of wheely bins again.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    It's been three weeks since our last collection. We had a couple of extra bags, but the house opposite is empty so I may have commandeered that bin for today - a couple of the houses have mountains of black bags sitting on the pavement, how they produce so much waste I have NO idea! No sign of them yet (normally by here before 9 on a Tuesday).

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. wingpig
    Member

    Our green landfill-bin was collected as scheduled (for the first time in three weeks, though we still had space for a couple more bags in it) yesterday. The blue recycling box is awaiting pickup today. The red box will probably not be picked up next week but there are a few on-street recycling bins within easy reach.

    Most of the nearby smaller streets' residents (whose tarmac remained covered right up until Saturday) appeared to be suffering from severe over-optimism regarding their bins, which remained at the edge of the pavement throughout the snowy spell.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. kaputnik
    Moderator

    how they produce so much waste I have NO idea

    Well they could come from the school of waste disposal that separates nothing, can't fold a box flat, doesn't take the lid off a plastic bottle, doesn't crush cans etc.

    Some basic education from the council that the only stuff that really "needs" thrown out is any waste that is unsanitary (i.e. bathroom / baby waste) or will rot (food waste).

    People shouldn't have an issue with crushing or folding down their cardboard / paper / metal / plastic / polystyrene and storing it somewhere for a few weeks - it's not like it's going to smell or go mouldy or rancid (anyway, they should be recycling most of the latter to begin with!)

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. spitfire
    Member

    Saw the binmen going around Caledonian Place etc and Dalry yesterday
    It scares me how much recycling I do sometimes, have big green bags we got from tesco 1 for paper, 1 glass, 2 for cans+cardboard+plastic

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. cb
    Member

    We don't put our blue/red bin out all that often. I always wait until they are full before putting them out as I reckon it makes the whole system slightly more efficient.

    Our green bin often doesn't go out becuase there's nothing in it.

    Like Anth, I'm amazed at how some people produce so much rubbish. I don't think we're all that careful about what we buy/throw out etc. but I reckon we throw out between 1/4 and 1/2 of what our neighbour does (they put out more recycling than us too it seems).

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. wingpig
    Member

    Our left-hand neighbours always have a lid-bulging landfill bin (I was slightly surprised they didn't try and sneak a few bags into ours over the snowy period, but they probably just drove to a nearby on-street bin in their Range Rover - they like driving, especially for very short trips) and appear not to know about recycling, even though the boxes deal with everything except plastic bottles for which there are on-street facilities within a few hundred metres. I'm quite tempted to order a pair of recycling boxes in their name from the council website but they'd probably suspect it was us and relations with them are already slightly strained.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. SRD
    Moderator

    Our recycling now overflowing everywhere can only hope they collect soon as on street also dire...black bins also bad - mainly because the terraced houses across the street put all their stuff in them too..sigh.

    I've given up being appalled by seeing people stuff arm-loads of cardboard in the bins right next to recycling bins. How the council manages to reach the proportion of recycling that it does is beyond me.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  9. spitfire
    Member

    @SRD always some space in the recylcing bins beside the W. Bryson Rd Napier students, so at least they are good for something (they take mixed glass there too)
    I am now confused by glass recycling, having seen a How Do They Do That TV thing with Robert Llewellyn saying all that was made from glass was loft insulation... So no new glass then? Then one time seeing the glass lorry pick up the green brown white bins and dump them into the same container?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    So no new glass then?

    I think depending on wholesale glass prices it depends what they do with it.

    It can also be crushed and then rolled into very small spheres that are added to the paint in road markings, which makes them harder wearing and more reflective. Also can be added to tarmac, concrete, ceramics, bricks and various other building materials to bulk them out and increase their durability. So no, not always back into "glass" (although it's still glass, it's just in other things).

    Posted 13 years ago #

  11. Arellcat
    Moderator

    It's only the red box for cardboard that's begun to overflow in my house, and that's only because I've haven't hauled myself to the Community Recycling Centre (or rather, made time to).

    Too Good To Waste is still the bible and Sort It has a useful search for 'where can I recycle what?' Recycling is all very well but of course the trick is buying less in the first place and trying to use less packaging in the process.

    Taking plastic bottles to the tip is great, because you can stuff your panniers and rucksack and rackbag full to bursting to look like a full-blown kitchen-sink cycle tourer, and looking super hard by spinning along the road thanks to barely any weight increase.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    "Temporary bin skips location map"

    http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/718/emergency_planning_and_information/1167/severe_winter_weather_information/8

    Posted 13 years ago #

  13. SRD
    Moderator

    To the council's credit, we rang up late this afternoon about a downpipe that came away from the back tenement wall and they had a guy there looking at it before 6, and promises of a crew and scaffolding tomorrow.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  14. Claggy Cog
    Member

    None of the public skips would be any good to me in any case, but things could certainly have been helped had the recycling bins in the carpark in Cameron Toll been emptied over the weekend and really I cannot fathom why they weren't.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  15. Claggy Cog
    Member

    I am going to put my bin out even though it is only half full, if that, because you never know when it might get emptied next!! That is if the weather forecasting is right.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  16. Smudge
    Member

    @Arrelcat; "Taking plastic bottles to the tip is great, because you can stuff your panniers and rucksack and rackbag full to bursting to look like a full-blown kitchen-sink cycle tourer, and looking super hard by spinning along the road thanks to barely any weight increase. "

    Lol, I now have to clean my drink of my keyboard, loving your style :-))

    Posted 13 years ago #

  17. chdot
    Admin

    "£600,000 is 'hidden' cost of bin dispute"

    http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/600000-is-39hidden39-cost-of.6661351.jp

    Posted 13 years ago #

  18. Kirst
    Member

    People shouldn't have an issue with crushing or folding down their cardboard / paper / metal / plastic / polystyrene and storing it somewhere for a few weeks - it's not like it's going to smell or go mouldy or rancid (anyway, they should be recycling most of the latter to begin with!)
    Depends where you live. I'm in a tiny flat with very little storage space and I have really struggled to find space to keep my recycling until the bins are emptied again. I have three large cardboard boxes, full to bursting, stacked on top of each other in the kitchen, taking up valuable space.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  19. SRD
    Moderator

    Depends where you live

    No kidding! and how many people in your family!

    Posted 13 years ago #

  20. chdot
    Admin

    "Extra staff to clear backlog of rubbish from city streets"

    http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Extra-staff-to-clear-backlog.6667357.jp

    Posted 13 years ago #

  21. cb
    Member

    Got the bumf through the door yesterday regarding the new plastic bottle pick up.

    It's really good that the council are now going to collect these but did they have to make such a poor job of the leaflet?

    We are told to put our bottles in the opaque bag - but the bag they have supplied is transparent.
    Then then we are told to leave the bag out with our red box, but the picture on the same leaflet shows plastic bottles and cardboard items all unbagged in the same red box.

    It's all made clear on the council website at least:

    http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/1055/recycling/429/kerbside_recycling_service/2

    ...so you do put plastic bottles in the red box, and just use the clear bag if you don't have enough space.
    (The further info section on the back of the leaflet also suggests that this is probably the case).

    Anyhow, ultimately I'd rather avoid sounding too much like Richard Littlejohn so can I just say how wonderful I think the council's refuse and recycling services are!

    Posted 13 years ago #

  22. SRD
    Moderator

    bags a good idea (although I noticed the odd use of 'opaque' as well) - we had two boxes full out last week, but won't they just blow away? one really blowy day in Nov. we put out our box with a tonne of overflow cardboard and it blew away, and spread 'rubbish' all over the neighbour's yards....and bashed up the box. can just imagine the bag full of milk jugs sailing down the street...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  23. cb
    Member

    Yeah, if it's windy I don't bother putting the boxes out!

    Posted 13 years ago #

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