Local council

[krw]

The brown bin (grass cuttings and similar) has not been collected.
Cannot phone before 16:00 which of course means they cannot send the
lorry back today.

Strange conversation ensues when I phone council customer services:
- we have a woman who lives there.
Yes - wife and daughter - but I have lived here for 33 years, the
council tax bill is in my name and I am on the voters list.
What is your wife's name?
Refuse to say - after all why do they want to know?
Have you paid the separate brown bill (because our council has found out
another way to extort money and charge separately to not collect the
brown bin)? Yes - in my name.
What is your first name again please?
I did not give it. Initials are KR.
What is your email address?
Why? So we can send you a copy of the ticket.
I don't want a copy of the ticket, I want my bin collecting.

Put it out on Monday, they have 48 hours to collect it and do not work
weekends.

I also think that it was not collected two weeks ago - but as we were on
holiday I doubt the daughter did anything about it.

What are these people on?

[Jenny M Benson]

Post by krw
The brown bin (grass cuttings and similar) has not been collected.
Cannot phone before 16:00 which of course means they cannot send the
lorry back today.
- we have a woman who lives there.
Yes - wife and daughter - but I have lived here for 33 years, the
council tax bill is in my name and I am on the voters list.
What is your wife's name?
Refuse to say - after all why do they want to know?
Have you paid the separate brown bill (because our council has found out
another way to extort money and charge separately to not collect the
brown bin)?  Yes - in my name.
What is your first name again please?
I did not give it.  Initials are KR.
What is your email address?
Why?  So we can send you a copy of the ticket.
I don't want a copy of the ticket, I want my bin collecting.
Put it out on Monday, they have 48 hours to collect it and do not work
weekends.
I also think that it was not collected two weeks ago - but as we were on
holiday I doubt the daughter did anything about it.
What are these people on?

My "brown bin" (which is actually, an appropriately) green (1) kept
getting missed but I didn't have that much difficulty. The first e-mail
got a reply that they'd send the again again but they didn't so I sent
another e-mail saying I would have to put all my garden waste in my
general waste bin (which is black) and that prodded them into action.

The neighbouring county of Flintshire has already introduced a yearly
charge for emptying the garden waste bins and now there are rumours ours
is going to. I think it is a very bad idea. Lots of people won't pay
and will either put green waste in with general or will fly-tip,
possibly even put their waste in others' bins. I do endeavour to be
green and to recycle where possible but I object to this charge on
principal, not to mention my lack of funds.

And another little rant - why on earth can't all Councils agree on the
colour of bins and boxes?, then people wouldn't get confused about what
goes in where when they move from one area to another.

[Vicky Ayech]

On Fri, 9 Aug 2019 17:12:39 +0100, Jenny M Benson

Post by Jenny M Benson
My "brown bin" (which is actually, an appropriately) green (1) kept
getting missed but I didn't have that much difficulty. The first e-mail
got a reply that they'd send the again again but they didn't so I sent
another e-mail saying I would have to put all my garden waste in my
general waste bin (which is black) and that prodded them into action.
The neighbouring county of Flintshire has already introduced a yearly
charge for emptying the garden waste bins and now there are rumours ours
is going to. I think it is a very bad idea. Lots of people won't pay
and will either put green waste in with general or will fly-tip,
possibly even put their waste in others' bins. I do endeavour to be

We no longer leave our bins outside the back gate as people were
putting their rubbish, not what should go in them, in there. The bins
now stand in the garden :(

Post by Jenny M Benson
green and to recycle where possible but I object to this charge on
principal, not to mention my lack of funds.
And another little rant - why on earth can't all Councils agree on the
colour of bins and boxes?, then people wouldn't get confused about what
goes in where when they move from one area to another.

YES!

[Joe Kerr]

Post by Jenny M Benson
And another little rant - why on earth can't all Councils agree on the
colour of bins and boxes?, then people wouldn't get confused about what
goes in where when they move from one area to another.

And actually recycle recyclable material. It's ridiculous (and probably
contrary to some rule or other) that I have to cart most of my recycling
up the motorway to my parent's, largely because it is the wrong _shape_
to recycle locally.

[Penny]

On Fri, 9 Aug 2019 17:12:39 +0100, Jenny M Benson <***@hotmail.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Jenny M Benson
My "brown bin" (which is actually, an appropriately) green (1) kept
getting missed but I didn't have that much difficulty. The first e-mail
got a reply that they'd send the again again but they didn't so I sent
another e-mail saying I would have to put all my garden waste in my
general waste bin (which is black) and that prodded them into action.
The neighbouring county of Flintshire has already introduced a yearly
charge for emptying the garden waste bins and now there are rumours ours
is going to. I think it is a very bad idea. Lots of people won't pay
and will either put green waste in with general or will fly-tip,
possibly even put their waste in others' bins. I do endeavour to be
green and to recycle where possible but I object to this charge on
principal, not to mention my lack of funds.

Powys only introduced green garden waste bins this year - previously you
had to pay £13 for 10 flimsy plastic sacks (I still have a few) which were
then collected as general waste. I have paid £35 for a large green bin
which is emptied fortnightly from May to November.

Our other recycling is collected every week, including the food waste.
General waste is 3-weekly; I use a plastic sack but neighbours on the
uphill side of out little road* have wheelie bins (and no steps).

It can all get quite confusing but there's just me so nothing gets full in
the allotted time and I don't put them all out at once. Last week it was
garden waste, general waste and the food bin. That's three separate trucks.
Our general waste was not collected so I went to the website to get the
number to phone (in the past they have sent a truck by the end of the day
after I phoned). You can now report on a form - it took ages to register
and fill in the form. I expected some email acknowledgement - none came.

Two days later I got an email acknowledgement of my request and was told I
could see progress on 'My requests' page of website - nothing there. The
bins were emptied later that day.

Another email telling me they'd done as I asked and asking me to fill in a
feedback survey. As usual with these things, the questions were silly but
there was a freeform box where I gave them the feedback I thought they
deserved.

*It's a small unadopted road and often gets missed by one crew or another
during 'holiday' times.

[Fenny]

Post by Penny
Powys only introduced green garden waste bins this year - previously you
had to pay £13 for 10 flimsy plastic sacks (I still have a few) which were
then collected as general waste. I have paid £35 for a large green bin
which is emptied fortnightly from May to November.
Our other recycling is collected every week, including the food waste.
General waste is 3-weekly; I use a plastic sack but neighbours on the
uphill side of out little road* have wheelie bins (and no steps).

Our council uses the same rotation, but we have a bin for each.

We introduced charges for garden waste recycling last year and uptake
was well above the anticipated level. This year some people have
decided not to renew their green bin permits and have gone back to
putting any necessary garden waste in the black bins or taking it to
the tip.

There is no requirement for councils to collect garden waste. Not
charging for it means that the cost is spread over all residents,
rather than just those who use the service. Charging for it means that
the council tax can be used for more services.

Now I have a smaller car, the charge for garden waste collection is
more than a trade off for not trying to cram stuff into the car to
take it to the tip.

[Fenny]

On Fri, 9 Aug 2019 17:12:39 +0100, Jenny M Benson

Post by Jenny M Benson
And another little rant - why on earth can't all Councils agree on the
colour of bins and boxes?, then people wouldn't get confused about what
goes in where when they move from one area to another.

Because councils can't agree what to collect in each of their bins.

[Chris J Dixon]

Post by Jenny M Benson
And another little rant - why on earth can't all Councils agree on the
colour of bins and boxes?, then people wouldn't get confused about what
goes in where when they move from one area to another.

Because it is not only the colours that vary. Much depends upon
whoever has got the contract (ours is a PFI) and how they chose
to arrange matters. What goes where seems to be pretty much down
to them.

Chris

[Vicky Ayech]

Post by krw
The brown bin (grass cuttings and similar) has not been collected.
Cannot phone before 16:00 which of course means they cannot send the
lorry back today.
- we have a woman who lives there.
Yes - wife and daughter - but I have lived here for 33 years, the
council tax bill is in my name and I am on the voters list.
What is your wife's name?
Refuse to say - after all why do they want to know?
Have you paid the separate brown bill (because our council has found out
another way to extort money and charge separately to not collect the
brown bin)? Yes - in my name.
What is your first name again please?
I did not give it. Initials are KR.
What is your email address?
Why? So we can send you a copy of the ticket.
I don't want a copy of the ticket, I want my bin collecting.
Put it out on Monday, they have 48 hours to collect it and do not work
weekends.
I also think that it was not collected two weeks ago - but as we were on
holiday I doubt the daughter did anything about it.
What are these people on?

That happened a month or so ago. Green bin not collected. The one with
food etc in. Oh more than a month. I thought near bank holidays so a
blip. Not collected week after. I went to website and you need to
report it within 48 hours or no way to do it no phone etc. Web menus
go round in circles. It was collected on the next due date but is
normally every 2 weeks so that was 4 weeks. next time due not
collected and I left it too late but then got the complaint in time
and found how to online, not an easy route. Wonder why they make it
hard? Then after complaining I went out and they'd collected it! I had
managed to put in the notes though that they missed twice when they
should have and as only every 2 weeks anyway and food it stank. This
morning due again and collected :).

[krw]

Post by krw
The brown bin (grass cuttings and similar) has not been collected.
Cannot phone before 16:00 which of course means they cannot send the
lorry back today.
- we have a woman who lives there.
Yes - wife and daughter - but I have lived here for 33 years, the
council tax bill is in my name and I am on the voters list.
What is your wife's name?
Refuse to say - after all why do they want to know?
Have you paid the separate brown bill (because our council has found out
another way to extort money and charge separately to not collect the
brown bin)?  Yes - in my name.
What is your first name again please?
I did not give it.  Initials are KR.
What is your email address?
Why?  So we can send you a copy of the ticket.
I don't want a copy of the ticket, I want my bin collecting.
Put it out on Monday, they have 48 hours to collect it and do not work
weekends.
I also think that it was not collected two weeks ago - but as we were on
holiday I doubt the daughter did anything about it.
What are these people on?

So it is left out for 48 hours and therefore after 4pm yesterday I phone
them to say it has not been collected.

Oh yes their systems says the bin could not be found. And they could
not contact me because I refused to give a telephone number. I pointed
out that there has been someone in and they could have knocked the door
if their eyesight is that bad and offered to send them a picture of it.

So a new complaint and a new reference number.

Meanwhile the man called to read the meter(s) (not sure I was out).
There are two large white boxes which are obviously meter boxes - one in
the wall next to the front door and the other just around the corner -
where in accordance with the arrangements made when the extension was
built the details were entered on the system for identifying the
location of meter boxes. What happened to that system when it was all
sold off and why has the information not been passed on to all concerned
- or is this an unintended consequence of GDPR that the location of
meter boxes is an international secret?

[Mike]

Post by krw

Post by krw
The brown bin (grass cuttings and similar) has not been collected.
Cannot phone before 16:00 which of course means they cannot send the
lorry back today.
- we have a woman who lives there.
Yes - wife and daughter - but I have lived here for 33 years, the
council tax bill is in my name and I am on the voters list.
What is your wife's name?
Refuse to say - after all why do they want to know?
Have you paid the separate brown bill (because our council has found out
another way to extort money and charge separately to not collect the
brown bin)?  Yes - in my name.
What is your first name again please?
I did not give it.  Initials are KR.
What is your email address?
Why?  So we can send you a copy of the ticket.
I don't want a copy of the ticket, I want my bin collecting.
Put it out on Monday, they have 48 hours to collect it and do not work
weekends.
I also think that it was not collected two weeks ago - but as we were on
holiday I doubt the daughter did anything about it.
What are these people on?

So it is left out for 48 hours and therefore after 4pm yesterday I phone
them to say it has not been collected.
Oh yes their systems says the bin could not be found. And they could
not contact me because I refused to give a telephone number. I pointed
out that there has been someone in and they could have knocked the door
if their eyesight is that bad and offered to send them a picture of it.
So a new complaint and a new reference number.
Meanwhile the man called to read the meter(s) (not sure I was out).
There are two large white boxes which are obviously meter boxes - one in
the wall next to the front door and the other just around the corner -
where in accordance with the arrangements made when the extension was
built the details were entered on the system for identifying the
location of meter boxes. What happened to that system when it was all
sold off and why has the information not been passed on to all concerned
- or is this an unintended consequence of GDPR that the location of
meter boxes is an international secret?

I expect that, on Trump’s instruction, the CIA are ‘re-purposing’ a
satellite to scan your environs to note not just your energy metering
apparatus but also your weekly habits with your waste materials re-cycling
regimen. ;-)

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <95W4F.2995$***@fx05.am4>, Mike
<***@ntlworld.com> writes:
[]

Post by Mike
I expect that, on Trump’s instruction, the CIA are ‘re-purposing’ a
satellite to scan your environs to note not just your energy metering
apparatus but also your weekly habits with your waste materials re-cycling
regimen. ;-)

I'm sure they've got round it, but I'm going to keep the patterned glass
in my loo/shower room window, thank you very much!

[Mike]

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
[]

Post by Mike
I expect that, on Trump’s instruction, the CIA are ‘re-purposing’ a
satellite to scan your environs to note not just your energy metering
apparatus but also your weekly habits with your waste materials re-cycling
regimen. ;-)

I'm sure they've got round it, but I'm going to keep the patterned glass
in my loo/shower room window, thank you very much!

They have the technology now to de-fragment the scattered image from your
patterned glass and reconstitute the image from the inside to a resolution
of 1024 components for every 0.0001 mm I expect! (Not that we are paranoid
or anything, of course.) ;-)