Some of the streets in Abingdon got their first waste collection under the new regime on Thursday. Thanks to Our Man in Lettings for this picture of his street afterwards.Here in East / West St Helen Street we got our first this Friday morning .
There are three bins: small green for food, large green for recyclable, and black for non-recyclable. The food waste was straight forward. The rest needed thinking about. The only thing we had definitely non-recyclable was polystyrene and crisp packets. Containers and cardboard and paper were definitely recyclable. But that left a grey area between.
Quite a few of our neighbours have exchanged the wheelie bins they were first given for sacks . The delivery company did not get it right in quite a few cases. Pink sacks are non-recyclable. But I notice quite a few put out green sacks instead (recyclable) and they have not been collected.
Not everybody has even realised there has been a regime change. On Lombard Street, some people put out their black bags on Tuesday and their old green boxes on Thursday. These have now got a yellow label with the heading “Verdant – South Oxfordshire District Council – We do not collect household waste from black bags.…”
Our collection was a slick operation, bins were left standing up with lids closed at the end of our property for collection. If the collection is like this every week it’s a welcome change. They might be huge and ungainly and a lot of people don’t like the big wheeled bins but they look a darned sight more attractive than horrible semi-transparent pink bags lying around all over the place.
Recyclables will be collected next week.
Non-recyclables again the following week.
That part of the system is fortnightly.
I have done my home work!
Mary
PS
I DO like the big green bins they take so much of my
recycling. And I am a senior person!
Lots of information on the Vale website here, including a list of what to put in each bin:
http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/rubbish_recycling_waste/New_waste_collection_service/
They said it was for food, so I’ve used the small green one as my lunchbox. It’s in the fridge here at work…
Is that right?
The recyling regime is to be welcomed and I am more than happy to do my bit What my problem is that the green food waste bin is not big enough to take all my food waste. We are a family of four, two of whom are teenage boys, and I love to cook so I have no plastic trays and lots of peelings, bones and all the waste that real cooking creates. I am I the only one having this problem?
According to the Council I am not allowed a second bin to recycle my food waste, what are we all going to do with the Christmas turkey I wonder???
When I lived in the States recycling was something we all did as a matter of course but we were given the right tools for the job, the food waste bin was a sensible size. Can somebody employ common sense at the Council and recognize that one size does not fit all. The Council official told me I don’t fit into their statistical analysis, personally I thought I was a very ordinary person who just fed her family on a regular basis with as little waste and cost as possible, a bit like most other families.
I was told recyling is not the only agenda, we must change the way we live, had I not read the paperwork. Great show me the way to the ready meal section in the supermarket, I am sure it is better to swamp the oceans with more plastic because I can fit it into my recycling bin. Get real people.
Great system if you don’t have a family to feed.
If you could have seen me, had all the refuse in my green box, then read the lists/labels then place some in green and some in Blue (not a lot eventually). I left the blue bin at the top of the drive, and returned home to find it back near my front door in its ‘Parking spot).
My neigbour wasn’t sure so left all the bins out at the top of his drive. I have several of the old boxes so may well leave one of them out with the recycling WB, for re-use.
With regards to food waste, I have seen some houses with two out, I don’t produce any myself. (compost heap and steaks not chops, so no bones to deal with.) Is there any objection if I hand it on to a family who do produce more food waste.
Seems not many noticed the barcode on the back of the WBs, with name and address printed on it. Something I am not in favour of, if they read the bin they know who lives there……
Re Tina’s comments about food waste, Oxfordshire County Council has a lot of useful stuff on its website and links to other sites such as the “Love Food Hate Waste” one. They had a stall in the Market Place recently with recipes for using up leftovers etc; you could try a compost bin or wormery for the peelings but I’m not sure what to suggest about the turkey carcass (after you’ve made the soup)! Will be interested to see what others suggest.
I think the food waste bucket is intended for cooked food waste rather than peelings and bits from food preparation which can easily be composted. If you make stock from your turkey carcass it will be in bits and easily fit in the bin after Christmas 😉
If you can’t fit everything into the green bucket you need a composter in your garden. These are well worth the space they take up and can be purchased for £14 or £17 from http://www.owp.getcomposting.com/
I have got rid of my ordinary kitchen bin and replaced it with the small green food waste bin, a small 30p tesco reuseable bag for real rubbish (grey bin) and a larger tesco reuseable bag for recycling (green bin) I already had an Ikea Fibbe flip top bin for compostable stuff so this is parked with the other three things in the space where I had the big kitchen bin.
Now all I need to do is empty the bags and bins into the bigger bins outside and all is well…..phew.
With two small children I realised that the food waste bin would soon fill up with uneaten bits and pieces – it was pretty full this week and I had a job to shut the lid (and I’m not in the habit of eating their leftovers 🙂 ). So, I ordered a compost bin and this has been in use since the middle of last week.
The only problem I have is that the recycling bin is now almost full, with another 5 days to go…
As already mentioned, if you make stock from the turkey carcass then it pretty much disintegrates, making it easier to put in the food bin.
The only ‘problem’ we have is remembering to think about our rubbish and where it should go – probably something we should already have been doing for a long time.
I think Tina’s remarks about the food waste bin suggests that she believes all the bits and pieces produced when cooking have to go in the food waste bin. It is actually meant to be for any cooked waste left after a meal. Peelings etc really should be put in a compost bin. That way the amount in the food waste bin is relatively small, particularly if you all make clean plates!
So what happens to people whose gardens are concreted or who do not have a garden (but who have the bins)? Not everyone needs compost.
Two weeks into the new regime and yet to have a collection.
Give me the old system any time.
if recycling such a success by councils, making the waste producer the recycler, why do councils not discuss, reveal or provide the “reycling credit” to residents, its value the equivalent perk evaluated to the equivalent tonnage price had the waste been landfilled. Average prices around the UK £81 pounds per tonne disposal, or even better credit it against council tax as benefit reduction of CT charge. Councils have been quick to claim it as their perk yet have not done the separation or recovery of the material. Householders are the efficient recyclers. Watch this space !!!!
Everyone should learn to practice proper waste disposal. Clean environment is a healthy place to live in.