Time to sort out recycling

Hi. We do not even get a wheelie bin here (East Cambridgeshire District Council) everybody leaves their bags of rubbish on the street for collection. If your lucky you get black bin bag every now and then lobbed into your garden. All of my recycling is done down at Tesco although I do believe there is the facility to have recycling taken away. It has been badly communicated so nobody really knows what is going on.

I really can't believe the amount of different schemes national councils employ! It's ridiculous.
Then they have the audacity to fine Joe Public, for not understanding what goes where and when.
Some poor saps have 5 different bins/boxes for all their rubbish/recycling.
Most elderly people, just haven't got a clue what to do, what goes where, how often and when.
Why can't they just have two bins nationally?
One for ALL rubbish that can be recycled. One for household waste (peelings/food/etc) for composting - and a bi weekly black bag collection, for the miniscule amount of rubbish that doesn't fit into either of the above (e.g.dog poop, cigarette ends)
Easy.

I was informed once by a binman that because I don't put my green wheelie bin out on the kerb I can get fined. Really? Well let me have one then! I don't have a green wheelie bin so I don't have one to put out. The local council have informed me that one was delivered to my house less than 3 years ago. When I didn't live there. So if I want another one I have to pay for it. As it is I throw out less than half a bag of rubbish a week. yet I am being threatened with additional charges. As I see it they owe me for not having anything to take away.

Recycling is a rip off. We pay council tax to deal with our waste (which includes recycling) then are compelled to sort through it ourselves. This is like Paying a mechanic to fix your car then fix it yourself ! As taxes increase and more & more services generate a surcharge, most of us will be better off becoming unemployed, sit at home and watch Jeremy Kyle all day - knowing someone else is picking up the bill

I live in the Lewisham borough and the facilities are not bad.
The council have sadly decided that they won't supply garden waste bins but they do supply the green plastic wheely bins for your recycling.
This bin will accept all types of recycling; cans, bottles, plastic, cardboard etc etc which is very handy as you don't have to sort it in any way, save sorting out the recycling from the non.
However, as with all good schemes there is always a downside - I recently moved to a new house in the borough which had 2 large non recycling bins and no recycling bin, hence my immediate call to the council to remove one of the bins and replace it with a green one, only to be told: "yeah well.... we might be able to get you one in a few weeks or so" - so much for the government directive, I'm still waiting.

My council is Shrewsbury and Atcham and they imposed the fortnightly recycling scheme despite local opposition - "democracy is broken" - and without any proper consulation as far as I can see. There is a green bin for cardboard boxes and garden waste, and 2 plastic boxes, one for newspapers and the other for glass. Both boxes have no lids - lids can be purchased from the council at extra cost which, of course, I refuse to do considering the high level of council tax I am paying. I live in a very small house with a tiny back garden, and so the boxes have to be kept outside. I made the mistake of filling the paper box full of paper and then it rained, and the whole lot got so saturated that it was impossible to lift it. Since then, I've tried putting a bin bag over the top to prevent the rain getting in, but it that involves placing heavy bricks over it to stop it from blowing away so, with some shame I must say, I've more or less given up and now try to remember to take the newspapers to the local supermarket recycling bin. The plastic box for the bottles I simply refuse to use - I don't particularly want to advertise to all and sundry once a fortnight what my wife and I are drinking, although it is - ironically - a 'sobering' thought to see the number of wine bottles that we can collect.

I'm sure recycling is fine for all those living in large houses, with garages and utility rooms etc. But spare a thought for the rest of use who live in flats and the tiny, crappy little houses that are being built all over the place these days. Recycling becomes a huge burden as to become pretty much impossible.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention the rebate in taxes!!
I am happy to pay taxes I understand that services have to be funded however, like everything, I like to my money at work and currently that is not the case.
I think you should be able to sign up for the services you need and each additional service is an "upgrade" to the basic.
However, knowing this government, they will think that that is a great idea and then keep rates as they are and then remove services and then charge to add more!

Pugs, its a good idea and I agree. But let's have a council tax rebate for processing our own waste!

Local government is a completely hopeless entity and needs abolishing. It is a cost drain on the entire country, delivers hopeless bureaucracy, can't save anything, is thoroughly demoralising and the sooner it is consigned to the dustbin, the recycling bin or better still the incineration plant the better!!!

This country is in the stone ages as regards recycling. Both Spain and Portugal are yonks ahead. We appoint overpaid idiots to run our councils. We need a mayoral system for local government.

I think the French have the best idea, local recyling centres, and local rubbish collection areas, you take your "stuff" to that location and then sort it into the relevant bins.
The council then pays a contractor to remove it when necessary.
Some roadside collections for those that register, e.g. OAPs, infirm etc.

Just to say, I live in the UK and our local council are rubbish, so we actually use the weekly collection service and then we do our own recycling. (Our council won't take lids of bottles, or cartons, or "blister" packing, so you have to thoroughly sort beforehand, however the local recycling centre is contract run and they love all rubbish to be recycled!!