recycle boxes

[chambers]

A EDF member asked if anyone knew ? What would be happening to the disused recycle boxes?.....My suggestion...Use them as planters to brighten up your street. Buy a dag of daffodils and share them with your neighbours

[Nero]

Ring 7525 2000 and ask for the environmental people to come and collect them.

[James Barber]

020 7525 2000 option 5 - and many thanks to this thread for finally inspiring me to do this.

Once you've made the call it takes upto 5 days for them to be collected.

[ianr]

Are they definitely not going to be usable, even if the amount of recyclable stuff one has may be well less than half a boxful?

[redjam]

Yes you can carry on using your blue boxes (even your blue bag too, though they won't be able to replace it if you lose it as they are phasing these out). I've just phoned the council and they are taking away my huge new blue bin because there's no way I'll fill it, even with fortnightly collections, so I will carry on using my stackable blue boxes which fit much more neatly behind our hedge. I am also getting a smaller brown bin, hooray! Hopefully the view from my front window won't be quite so dominated by huge plastic bins in a couple of weeks. (Unfortunately I couldn't get a smaller green bin, but two out of three aint bad.)

[The Minkey]

Redjam: There is a 160 litre smaller green bin which you should be able to get. Like you I'm sticking with my blue boxes.

[Sue]

The Minkey Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Redjam: There is a 160 litre smaller green bin

> which you should be able to get. Like you I'm

> sticking with my blue boxes.

xxxxxxx

Same here.

I've ordered the smaller green bin but they couldn't tell me when the old one would be exchanged for the new one.

So I'll have a small(er) green bin, a small brown bin for food waste, blue boxes for paper, glass, metal etc and bags for garden waste as needed.

Which will hopefully all fit neatly in my relatively newly built bin recess :)

[Amanda1979]

Oooo I didn't realise we could get smaller green bins and smaller blue bins, I shall have to ask. I have already asked for my blue boxes to be picked up.

[Sue]

Can't get smaller blue bins, only the blue boxes.

[redjam]

Redjam: There is a 160 litre smaller green bin which you should be able to get.

Yeah, I specifically requested a 160 l smaller green bin, as mentioned elsewhere on the forum, but the message didn't seem to have got through to the guy at the council, who said they didn't exist. But he was friendly and otherwise helpful, so I mustn't moan.

In any case, I'm now worrying that my new smaller brown bin (when it arrives) will be too small - I've just seen a neighbour's and it does look smaller than I'd realised. The two options seem to be an unnecessarily huge brown bin or this miniature caddy. Sigh. But oh yes, I've just remembered, I mustn't moan...

[Willard]

Small brown bins should be fine as they get emptied weekly. If you have the occasional garden waste too you can collect paper bags from the library. Or ask a neighbour with a large brown bin...

[Sue]

redjam Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

>

> In any case, I'm now worrying that my new smaller

> brown bin (when it arrives) will be too small -

> I've just seen a neighbour's and it does look

> smaller than I'd realised.

xxxxxxxx

There are two sizes of the "small" brown bins - the one which goes into the kitchen and just holds one of the little green bags, and the larger one which goes outside and holds more.

They are both a lot smaller than the large brown bin, but unless you have vast quantities of food waste the larger "small" brown bin should be OK :)

[ed_pete]

Does it really matter what colour the bins are ? If the council only offer 160 litre green bins then why not request three and use one as a green bin and the other two as blue and brown bins. So long as its made clear which bin contains what I'm sure the collection staff would be able to work it out !

[Cassius]

The actual food bags are quite small - I don't eat meat but imagine that a decent sized chicken carcass would completely fill it up.

[Salsaboy]

So are the unwanted re-cycling boxes going to be re-cycled?

[23e Heure]

I don't have enough space to fit the large blue wheelie bins in front of my house.

So I am considering spray painting one of my two small size green wheelie bins blue.

No, really I am. :))

[jam_log]

how do you get the small brown bins, my block of flats hasnt been delivered them?

Thanks

[Renata Hamvas]

jam_log, call 02075252000 and request them.

[James Barber]

And jam_log if you find the cal centre doesn't work - and the Enviroment Director has told me it's failing - escalate to a councillor for help.

[Evie]

Are all these bins really necesarry? I really dislike them, they are always left on the pavements and look a real mess, even if people have space allocated for them they rarely put them back, also I thought we were trying to use less plastics, so what will happen to the boxes now?........all that plastic! What was wrong with the old metal bins?, whilst I am having a rant, I also dislike upv windows and doors, they are so ugly......more plastic!!!!!! how will we dispose of all this plastic? please, please, please use wood

[bawdy-nan]

RE the call centre not working - I'd persevere. I had to make 3 calls and send 2 emails before we got a blue bin and before our street got any brown bins and caddies. Really, I'm not surprised they're busy and a bit overwhelemed.

It's a big change.

[catgirl]

James, where did you get 5 days from? I emailed to request collection of my old boxes, it took a week to get a reply and was told they'll be collected within 3 weeks!

And don't even get me started on the ridiculous inefficiency of everyone needing to contact southwark individually to request for old boxes to be picked up. Why did they not do the leafleting a few days ahead of delivering the new bins rather than at the same time? They could have then asked people to leave old containers outside for collection as the new bins were delivered (teams delivering bins could transfer any recycling into new bin and take old box away)

People not wanting new bin could have left a note saying so and team misses them out. Would have saved half the borough contacting to remove old boxes and the other half contacting to remove new bins, not to mention all the journeys made to carry out these collections.

)

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Hello called the council 0207 525 2000 took a while to get through but very nice once sorted, 3 days later took away the 2 small blue bins and brown bin and replaced with small brown caddy. Front of house so much better with just the 2 bins . So hang on in there and they will get round to it...

[intexasatthe moment]

leave old containers outside for collection as the new bins were delivered (teams delivering bins could transfer any recycling into new bin and take old box away)

When I saw the blue bins being delivered they were being dropped off from a white van type vehicle .

Looked like a completely seperate operation from recycling collection with no facility to collect recycling or old containers .

[catgirl]

I wasn't suggesting they collected the actual recycling, just took the old containers away (presumably as they unloaded blue bins would then have room to stack the much smaller boxes.)

I just meant if old containers already had recycling in they could transfer. Or in fact why not just follow recycle trucks on their rounds and change over once recycling taken and all containers empty.

Just seems ludicrous that they've created a situation where everyone has to call individually to arrange collection of old boxes. Must create huge problem dealing with calls and emails, not to mention the logistics and van miles when going out again to collect them all.