Stanley Knife Blades Disposal

[Bob Williams]

I have had the totally annoying experience of having one of my 3 bins missed by the Waste collection team EIGHT times over the years! I could not understand the reason why they missed only mine: it is always out along the same straight stretch of pavement, in the same straight line, as others. After I involved a local Councillor, it stopped for a while, then another was missed. I took the bin on my lad’s trailer to the local Council HQ and wheeled it up the steps to Reception, opened the lid and let everyone there smell the aroma of my Domestic Waste. Confrontation with a minor Dogsbody produced nothing, them another obviously more (self-) important Suit informed me I was committing Criminal Damage and he would call the police if I didn’t leave with my aromatic offering. Fine, I said, call them, I’ll just wait here. Suit left and came back with a more reasonable Suit, who did what the other two Muppets should have done: asked me what the problem was. I told him and produced printouts of emails I had sent the Council. He called Waste Office and ordered them to collect the bin NOW please, then return it to outside my home address.

Their story, after much measurement and viewing by another Suit at our next Collection Day, that my bin is exactly at the point where the truck parks and constitutes a blind spot. I made no comment, but did inform this particular Suit that my next visit to Council Hall with a bin, would be accompanied by a Media Representative.

They haven’t missed a Collection since, probably because SWMBO glares at them from the lounge window, until they pick up our bin….

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Richard]

Sorry Bob, sometimes direct action is the only way to get through to people, though I have to say that ‘our lot’ are generally a fairly good crowd. The lads on the truck do what they can not to miss or mess things up and I have to say that they appear to have some of the best skilled drivers I have seen at work. They never rush where it would be daft to do so and navigate with skill and finesse. Years back it was not the same as our close is quite tucked away and invariably new crews would manage to miss us out – or drive onto a softer area and expose the lack of load bearing capability of water mains, two days later we had a water feature, that no one wanted!

[Bob Williams]

As I said earlier, my option is to wrap in packing tape, then store in an old treacle tin. At some point when there are enough of them, between Friday and Monday, I take them to the local waste dump and the helpful guys there put them in a special Sharps bin. I usually wait until there is other stuff to dispose of at the dump. So there is no need for me to put them in the black (domestic waste) bin.

As in Ed‘s case, my black bin is usually only 20% full, whilst the recycling bin is always around 70% full. Glass is taken to the Morrison’s car park, which also takes clothes, shoes etc. What amuses me is the division of glass into white, clear, brown and black items. I know someone who works for the company that collects glass from these sites and he says it makes no difference whatsoever: it all goes into the same process. I keep glass in an old cardboard wine box until recycle time, boxes are free from Morrison’s.

Until 15 years ago, I lived in Louth next to a very good neighbour who was a crew chief on the new recycling truck teams at the local council. The Manager decided to recycle glass by crushing it to very fine particles in the truck, which resulted in spillage and the local roads being speckled with tiny bits of glass. The cleanup of all that led to my neighbour taking over as manager and the ex-manager being offered another job, supervising the domestic waste machines. He walked.

Richard, if the waste collection teams here were as good, competent and helpful as the privately employed teams at the waste dump, I could excuse an occasional lapse. But they just seem to go out of their way to be as incompetent and unhelpful as possible. Adding discourteous to that just makes it worse. One day I caught the driver being insulting to a lady of 91. I was joined by several more neighbours in publicly shaming the guy.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

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