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Wheelie Bins
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Morriorl


Posts: 28
Joined: Jul 2012
Post: #1
25-09-2013 07:33 AM

Can somebody please let me know why everybody has started putting their bins out onto the paths? The letter I received from Lewisham said that I should place my bin on the edge of my boundary if I wish to have them collected. Therefore, I place my bin just inside my gate and they have been emptied by the council.

I am very sensitive to clutter on the pavement as our house contains a guide dog and they are trained to walk alongside their person, so if the guide dog and the person can't fit in the space between the bin and the edge of the pavement the dog stops as it is unsafe to proceed and he isn't allowed to take his person onto the road. Then that person is at the mercy of a kind passer by to help him through the space, and kind passers by don't always come along when you need them.

I would also think the much more frequent users of the pavements with buggys would also appreciate being able to use the pavements safely and without obstruction.

But maybe it is just me?

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #2
25-09-2013 07:53 AM

I put my bins out on the pavement because that's how I interpreted that letter. But I am very careful to place them so the path is not obstructed. There is a sign post just outside my house and I place the bins beyond that where the path is wider.

I will try putting them just inside my gate next week - it's a good point that you raise about the pavements being blocked.

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nitoda


Posts: 43
Joined: Oct 2008
Post: #3
25-09-2013 08:31 AM

I could leave my bins inside my gate, but was concerned that this might not be classed as on the boundary so took the option of placing them on the pavement next to the garden wall. I don't want the council to have any excuse to say that people only want their black bins emptied every few weeks, which I'm sure is what they are aiming at after the last letter. I think the binmen make far more obstructions by where they leave the emptied bins, but in either case, I do see your point and will try leaving them just inside the gate in future. I'll also try to be more prompt in reclaiming the empty bins.

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markusorrillius


Posts: 18
Joined: Nov 2012
Post: #4
25-09-2013 09:00 AM

I put my bins just inside the boundary of my property before I go to work at about 8am. Thing is, after the truck has done it's rounds, the bins are left on the pavement - usually in the middle. I don't get home until after 7pm so the bins are on the pavement all day.

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Triangle


Posts: 133
Joined: May 2007
Post: #5
25-09-2013 01:23 PM

Wheelie bins on pavements are just one of the hazards that the blind may encounter. My dad had several guide dogs and although they always performed well he would still come home battered and bruised after working his way around objects left on the pavement. Cars, vans, motorcycles, kids buggies, bikes and trikes all took their toll - then there was overhanging hedges and brambles which would knock off his shades and scratch his face etc.

But what amazes me is that there was a time when a dustman would walk onto your property, (which could entail going up/down steps or down the side of the house/flat) pickup a potentially heavy metal dustbin full of rubbish, carry it out to the truck and then return the empty bin back to where it was picked up.

Now, the bins are on wheels, the trucks are equipped with hydraulic bin lifters/emptiers and you have to leave your bin at the boundary for them, because otherwise it doesn't get emptied... and STILL they can't return the bins to where they found them.

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PJT


Posts: 19
Joined: Sep 2011
Post: #6
25-09-2013 02:34 PM

I too read the letter from Lewisham Council carefully and concluded that all the bins at my property (along with the neighbours below me) were ok to be left just inside the front gate. Sadly, the following Wednesday morning, neither of our black bins were retrieved or emptied by the bin men. I therefore immediately placed the recycling bins outside the gate on the pavement and they were duly emptied around lunchtime.

Since then on Tuesday evenings I have placed all our bins on the pavement directly outside our gate, taking care to ensure they are not obstructing the pavement.

I totally agree with Nitoda on not giving the Council any excuse to cut back on the refuse service, which we pay for through our Council Tax.

As an aside I work from home on a Wednesdays so I always take the opportunity to place the emptied bins of all the neighbours to my right and left back inside their gates, neatly by the front of the properties – 7 properties in total – this takes me only 5 minutes and it ensures that the pavement area is completely clear for mums & prams, skateboards, school-children on scooters, bicycles, mobility scooters and “Joe Public” of every description.

On a rare occasion the binmen have managed to place the bins on completely the wrong side of the road – between that and the fact that they seem to find it necessary to leave the empty bins spewed all over the pavement – I agree that at the times the pavements are like an obstacle course.

Triangle - I too remember the days, where I was brought up, when the “scaffy” (Scottish word for binmen!) would walk round the back of the property to collect the heavy tin bins. It was not unknown for them to sweep the snow off the path on their way round. Ah the good old days!

Having said all this the Lewisham binmen I’ve met on occasion outside my property have always been mannerly and helpful, especially when I’ve occasionally dashed outside with some last minute recycling – so I have no complaints there.

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Snazy


Posts: 1,516
Joined: Jan 2008
Post: #7
25-09-2013 02:44 PM

Mine go out on the pavement where they, and the rest of the streets have gone since we had wheelie bins. They cant be left on the border of the property as it blocks the drive way.

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