Bin Night

Absolutely agreed on this point and that’s the plan. However the composter break-even point on cost is c. 5 years and there is lots of embedded GHG in the Chinese plastic. I’m not sure if paying the council not to collect it, put it through an anaerobic digester and feed it into the gas grid rather than DIY’ing at home is a better or worse approach. Binsgotallserious.

Is that a hot compost bin? That's our next bin upgrade for next-level home composting.

It is, have had leaking jus du poubelle and swarms of whiteflies over the weekend, but a decision made by my >.5, so just along for the ride.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qfem1TqfNxY2hXd1A

A bit off topic - organised community litter blitz #1 up here "Clearfields" today. We shifted a fair bit of stuff and even had our local MP doing his bit.

Next one will be called Glassgonebury.

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Good work

https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/household-waste-and-recycling/strike-action-affecting-bin-collections

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6 weeks of no bins? Eek!

Accidentally posted this in the jokes thread

https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/household-waste-and-recycling/bin-lorry-names

6 weeks of no bins? Reek!

Nice. I like a good naming scheme.

We have moved to hotdesks at work and are about to number them so we can track issues (eg monitor broken at desk 99 rather than the desk 3rd in in the row second along from the kitchen when walking towards the lifts). Numbers seem a bit disappointing, I suggested disgraced Tory MPs but people don't seem convinced.

Yeah I can see how that works.... broken wheel on chair so feeling rough sliding from behind Edwina Curry.

Not the best example lol

https://www.bintwinning.org/

Last night our brave general waste bin went out for collection. It has not been seen since. It's sacrifice will not be forgotten. #4evainarehearts

#sorry4youreloss

going to jet wash my wheelie today to try and get rid of the #badsmellz

wish me luck!

Last week our recycling bin came back mega-sized. They haven't been delivering new bins (it wasn't box-fresh), none of our neighbours has ever had an outsized bin, and it's not that we have a greater usage than anyone else. Can only assume it was impregnated in the street, saucy little minx.

So glad that the big night went ahead without a hitch.

Missed it last week, with a turbo carcass in situ. Been a stinky week...

Good luck.

We've put posters up on all the local lampposts.

and to you.

bin cleaning now complete, worst of the stink eliminated.

note to self, sliders with bare feet are not appropriate footwear for jet-washing bins.
just off to jet-wash my legs.

As a binman i can tell you it's most likely your bin has been swallowed by the garbage truck. Happens every day. I wonder how many feuds between neighbors started this way.

tldr -
Binmen strike - maggots - East Wickham/Welling - tea tree oil

Something smells !!! Serco should be held accountable for total neglect and not fulfilling their contract which is still in place. They are posing a problem to the health of people by not doing their job. Like children in a playground...if their work conditions and wages are so bad then why don't they find somewhere else to earn a living
Steven Hall • East Wickham
Hi Beverly Webster yes it has got out of hand. I reckon other 'power's have a hand in this!
I suspect the Unite Union assumed that only Serco had placed a bid for the new contract and that this was the perfect time to strike for better pay and conditions.
Obviously Bexley Council had other ideas and awarded the contract to Countrystyle. Serco therefore are unlikely to accept any Union demands given they only have weeks left on the contract.
As such, the Union has stepped up the strike, by apparently extending it to the end of the month, in the hope that Bexley Council will force Serco to give in to Union demands. Again, I doubt Serco will listen to Bexley Council with only weeks left!
Stalemate! Sadly, residents and the striker's are the one's to suffer. There will be NO winners.
It will be interesting to see how the Union will work with a smaller local company like Countrystyle after this strike!
Steven Hall people should be paid fairly and people should have the opportunity to influence what fair means, the bin lorry stinks and I wouldn't do that job unless I was desperate even driving behind the lorry makes me gag, if the bin man drives a Porsche then cool by me, for the rest see how much you pay for private collection, support the bin men and women to help end this, call the council and your mp.
Kilo Whisky whats a fair wage? in an ideal world everyone would earn a decent wage but joe blogs does not want to subsidise it. If you raise the average wage by 50 percent then everything else goes up in price. Petrol, bread, milk etc all raise in price then the increase you get in your wage packet is swallowed up by an increase in the cost of living leaving you no better off.
Kilo Whisky you're obviously read the Union material and chose a side. Please bear in mind the dispute is between Serco and it's Union workforce, but the residents and the strikers are the only ones suffering!
Barry French you are very correct.
Love your empathy 🤦‍♀️
Given the amount of posts relating to missed collections even before the strike empathy is the last thing they deserve, feel free to keep handing out yours like Halloween candy though, I'll save mine for people who actually deserve it.
Totally agree. Everywhere smells and maggots will be a problem next. We pay enough council tax so this should not be allowed to happen
Smothered my bins in tea tree oil and lemon oil, seems to have helped stopped the flies a bit. It’s disgusting in this heat.
Good idea I will be doing this, wish we were under Greenwich, bins are done every week, and council tax is cheaper I’m off over to my daughter with two sacks from the green bin it stinks, tea tree oil and lemon oil are on my shopping list for tomorrow,
Anne Plymstock out of interest what is decomposing in your Green waste bin? The food bin and garden waste should store such waste.
The food bins in East Wickham and West Heath were collected yesterday and today. The garden waste (a paid service) is unlikely to take place until the strike is over.
Steven Hall no idea what’s going on in the bin, there is a bunch of flowers in there, just hoping it’s not dog poo, which’s what happens with my bin being left at the bottom of the drive, some lovely dog Walker has got a habit of dropping it in my bin when passing, would love to catch him/her 😡
Anne Plymstock dog walkers are permitted to put dog poo in green waste bins (ideally their own although trespass is the only issue here), but the poo bags need to be tied i.e. not just shovelled in! Flowers should really go into garden waste.
Your bin may just need a clean and their are plenty of bin cleaning companies out there who will do it for a fee.
Steven Hall yes I know what poo should be in but that’s not been always the case been I slung in on a bit of paper, we clean our own bin, so there normally fresh, but somethings in there and it’s rotten, can’t clean it until it’s empty
Serco has lost contract so I read a few days ago
Countrystyle take over on the 4th October.
Will Serco agree to Union demands in the weeks remaining? Unlikely. Will Bexley Council be able to force Serco to agree to Union demands in the weeks remaining. Very unlikely! Will the strike continue to the Union completion? Likely.
Winners = None Losers = residents and strikers
I’m afraid to admit it but I remember the strikes in the 70/80 ‘s , stinking rubbish piled up in the streets, 3 day week, power cuts, no trains , the world and his wife were on strike, that is when the unions ruled the world
17 hrs ago
Steven Hall
Steven Hall • East Wickham
Roz Callow I remember them too.
My dad was a docker and was always reluctantly on strike. Hard times with very little money!
16 hrs ago
Have you tried finding a job recently!
These guys work 5 days a week clearing your S—-t . They put up with all your smelly waste. All they are asking for is a better standard living. Perhaps volunteer to do just one day with the guys and maybe you will feel different about their situation. During this hot weather they are there emptying your bins in the dead of winter come hail or shine they are there doing their job. Walking the whole time often not even getting a tea break . How about you giving it a go. Bet all of you that complain would be unable to do the job. I applaused our refuse crews and wish them all well . Thanks to all guys doing an excellent job . Hope you get that rise . you are all doing a great job. 👍🏻Keep up the good work . 👏👏👏👏
It’s a thankless job to be honest, they always look so fed up , back in the day when the bin men were employed by the local authority they seemed a lot happier in their work, they were certainly more obliging , often interacting with their customers, totally different from today.
I'd love to still have my job but having cancer and treatment for the disease doesn't give me much opportunity
13 hrs ago
Stephen Grant
Stephen Grant • Falconwood
Don't you just love it when someone plays the cancer card? It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the ill-informed, reactionary vitriol originally posted, but once cornered by Helen's superb argument, out it comes, like a poker cheat producing an ace that we're all expected to fold for.
Stephen Grant didn't like you're reply and has closed her account.
Barry French "Your" NOT "You're". We must never lower our standards of English Language or the Dutch will start correcting us! LOL.
I think that is a very flippant remark. This is typical accept tenders from these companies to save money and the poor employees are on zero contract hours and minimum wages.
Bexley council is a disgrace.
It was an opinion which I think is something we're all entitled to
I agree with the comment about the amount of Council Tax we pay. Something needs to be sorted.
12 hrs ago
Bostall & North Welling
Yes Beverly but it is a very blinkered view but as you rightly said we are all entitled to our opinions.
Maybe we might have to take our own rubbish to the tip ourselves.
12 hrs ago
Hmmmm. Not sure the bus driver would allow me to wheel my bins on and off the bus...........
11 hrs ago
I would love to see their faces!

As if I weren't enough of a misanthrope already.

possibly bin posted before but here goes, let's recycle this one.

No, where's you wheely bin?

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Problems with bin collections as bin lorry drivers with HGV licenses are being poached by logistics companies who can pay much higher wages. Our kitchen waste bin hasn't been collected for 2 weeks and is grim :(

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/21/maggots-and-mayhem-a-day-on-a-bin-round-in-broken-brexit-britain

Got a new bin dropped off this morning. Green lid (for can/bottles) to replace one with a black lid that got broken so finally have a full colour-coded set.
#binwinning

Our bin went missing recently, sometime after a collection. I’ve asked friendly neighbours, and recce’d 200m in each direction: no obvious sign of it.

It’s been a struggle to help my partner process the loss. Such a kind soul, yet unjaded by this world: their first thought when I shared the news was that maybe the binmen had taken it and were sending us a new one. It breaks my heart knowing that one day they’ll realise that is not the kind of world we live in. That’s a fantasy or Norway but it’s not real life, where the person who smiles and waves from their garden every day is perfectly capable of then fly tipping and stealing your bin.