A Bin for All Occasions

I consider myself environmentally friendly. I used reusable cloth nappies (diapers) with my son, much to the bemusement of my neighbours. I love to reuse where I can. I am careful about food waste, and I recycle where possible. I was prompted to write this post when sharing a video of my son playing in the snow and Jane asked what all the bins were for!

The recycle cycle

In my garden, provided by the council I have four huge wheelie bins. ( they look like curbside Daleks)

Blue: Glass and plastic bottles

Green: Paper and cardboard

Brown: non compostable food waste and garden waste

Grey: Anything that doesn’t fit in the above categories.

We also have a compost bin that was provided by a grant from the council, along with two inside caddy bins, one for compostable food waste, the other for non compostable food waste.

There have been many complaints from people in our borough that this is bin overkill. These four bins take up a lot of space, and whist small, our garden is larger than most in our area, some only have tiny little yards.

Our council is also under fire for providing iPads to bin men.  Bury Council issues… I presume that the main purpose of this is to keep track of who is currently recycling and who isn’t. Whilst at the moment I think the council is primarily trying to educate people, fixed penalty notices can be handed out.

In the neighbouring borough they are now installing communal bins at the end of most streets. I have to say I much prefer this option. Not everyone has room for all these bins. We struggle in our small garden, and they restrict the amount of room my small son has to play, particularly riding his bike. Also our main waste bin is collected fortnightly. The food bin is only collected once a month, so can get smelly.

My preference would be for the grey every day bin to be collected weekly and to utilise a communal depot for the remaining waste.

Community is very important to me, and in our area there are few opportunities to meet. We have no corner shop, no pub, nothing really nearby, even though just a small thing, it would be nice to have a point where folk can meet up and chat.

I am more than willing to do my bit to recycle and am passionate about doing what we can to be gentler on the environment. I don’t run a car, I walk and use public transport where I can and  use the metro tram system over buses wherever possible.

I am sure that having the bins in each garden is good in terms of compliance, but at what cost? Surely the administration of the scheme is expensive, and to have communal recycling would be cheaper?

I have to say, that I do love the convenience, and I dare say my own compliance is better because it’s so easy, just sort as you go and pop it in the bins.

I’d love to know more about recycling where you are.

And ‘Curbside’ or ‘Kerbside’?