Garden waste wheelie bin woes

When I didn't pay for the collection last year @Thevictorian , I did the same - filled it and let it drop a bit, and filled it a bit more. By the time I paid for this year, and put it out the first time, I was really loaded, and I realised it was very heavy, and wondered if they'd tell me to sling my hook!
It was no problem though. There might have been a bit of swearing when the boys shifted it to the lorry, but there was onviously no issue with the actual emptying process.

In the past, we didn't have a collection over winter, but that changed at least 15 years ago. It's only recently the charge has happened, but it was inevitable.

 

Our council states no soil too but I'm damned if I'm going to wash the roots of the plants I'm binning. Even the contents of hanging baskets go in whole. I just make sure the illegal stuff is towards the bottom of the bin so that if the bin police do a search they won't get down that far.

 

Our council says no veg or fruit. I'm sure I've put a rotten orange in. What's wrong with veg? We don't have separate food collection either. It goes in general waste.

 

That seems utterly bonkers @cactus_girl - surely that's exactly what folk are supposed to put in! Our bin [brown] is for all food and garden waste, but no soil, as said earlier. The reasons given in @gks 's explanation is helpful though, as I always wondered why that was the case.
However, our council doesn't sell the compost that's made, as far as I know, so I don't know what they do with it. I presume a lot goes to the various displays etc - there's always a lot of summer planting on the large roundabout about a mile away from us, and I suppose some will be used in the various parks etc.
I tried looking at the website a while ago, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps they sell it onto other outlets though, hence the 'no soil' thing.
The fact that your council takes bones/meat @shiney shows that they all have different conditions, and a lot of that will be down to where the waste goes, and the eventual distribution. I expect many won't have suitable resources nearby for composting it appropriately etc.

 

I know - it should definitely be a standard across the board @shiney, but as you say- unlikely to ever happen! The problem would be getting suitable recycling centres in enough places. It isn't always that easy either.
A lot of material would have to be transported a very long way, which kind of defeats the purpose....

 

@fairygirl also "used tea bags" and pet bedding are not allowed! I expect the council finds allsorts in the green waste. I never put grass cuttings in as they go so stinky! I leave them on the lawn. The bin men do check and you get a yellow naughty sticker if you put the wrong stuff in.

 

I never knowingly put soil into the bin, I do usually knock off as much as possible from roots but I'm never going to go as far as washing the roots.
We have a new company taking our waste this year and the collections have been all over the place.
I think it's settling down now but all types are now on separate days so it's nightmare trying to remember what bin when.

 

One recent proposal for standardising waste collections would have meant every household having a minimum of 7 bins. Thankfully that idea rapidly disappeared. We currently have 6 - non-recyclable, garden, plastic, paper, glass and food. Bad enough when you have a house with side access but a nightmare for those living in older terraced properties with no front garden. They have no option but to wheel/carry bins through the house every time.

 

I've got 4 bins, one for recycle, one for non recycle, a garden waste bin(optional) and small food waste bin.
I keep the food waste one in the garage the others stay outside.

 

We have 3 bins. 1 for garden waste 1 for anything that can be recycled kerbside and 1 for household. Household collected one week and garden and recycling the next. They will take a "reasonable" amount of recycling that won't fit in the bin if they can see it is recycling. I often collapse any large cardboard boxes and put them out between the bin and my hedge and they have always taken them.

 

2 bins here - household one week, recycling the next. Green bin is extra, and collected on a different day to either of the others. Used to be on the same day as the recycling one, but as more and more people got green bins, they couldn't complete both rounds on the same day.

 

I'm told that when the new operating company around here took over they bought smaller trucks so that they could get down the roads that are littered with parked cars.
Consequentially they have to go and empty it more often.