Do bin men deserve a pension ??!

[brokenflipflop]

[QUOTE 1660426, member: 45"]See, this is the best bit.

You see some competitive spat.

The binman didn't. He saw a bin in the wrong place so he ignored it. Then he saw a bin in the right place and emptied it, and in the bargain he'd made you correct your error. Without even realising.[/quote]
I've a feeling that the bin man wouldn't have regarded my number 51 bin being in the right place on another street, outside number 2. I assume either a: he can't read or b: he can't concentrate on numbers at the same time that he's concentrating on the demarcation points between drives and pavements.

Also he didn't make me correct my error, I chose to correct it (I don't respond well to orders, especially off council workers)

 

[mcshroom]

Ok so it was forgetfulness, my apologies.

If I forget to put my bin out I don't expect it to be emptied (although I did and it was recently, and it lives about 3ft off the pavement). I may be angry but that is more to do with myself than the person doing their job. On the other hand, just like a driver that cuts you up, the first thing people tend to do when they know they are at fault is lash out at someone else.

I agree it would be nice if they'd emptied it, but it is not their fault that the bin was not where it was supposed to be, and if they routinely pulled bins from drives to empty them then it would take a significant extra time to complete the round, which would reappear as a higher charge for rubbish collection.

PS: I'm not a guardian reader (Indy's more my style)

 

[Dan B]

It takes no effort to make a bed....really.

It's not exactly an ordeal to put the bin on the pavement either

 

[brokenflipflop]

My window was ajar (it always is) and both me and the wife heard one of them tell a colleague not to take the bin. The way he said it sounded like the bloke he was talking to was actually about to empty it, probably because it was as easy to take than not. That to me is just being arsey for the hell of it. If my bin was 10 feet away, fair enough but he knew I'd have to put up with a full bin for another week, he knows I pay council tax, he knew it was virtually no effort to empty it, he knew it was Christmas. In my opinion he was just being bloody minded. Technically he was within his rights to leave it but it wasn't really necessary.

 

[col]

[QUOTE 1660435, member: 45"]I know. But rather than taking it on the chin he's blaming a whole section of society for his memory problems.[/quote]
Other than the whole micky taking banter thats been going on, he does have a point. How many people who forgot to move their bin or bags a few inches and are left with them because the bin man decides not to take it? We are looking at the elderly and others with conditions of memory problems. Lets say a pensioner forgot, and there could be a large number, they dont go out for it not knowing its been left. the following week a fine comes through the door for leaving rubbish out on the wrong days. Which by the way is what our council is doing now. Then they go through all the upset and worry, and you know how the elderly worry about keeping things right, especially if they cant afford said fine. Then there is all the red tape of trying to sort it ect. seems an awful lot of trouble and upset because the bin man just didnt get on with it for the sake of a silly distance involved.

 

[mcshroom]

From my understanding, you can actually apply for assistance if you struggle to put your bin out. I'm not sure how they mark it but it is possible. There is also a contact at our council for a missed collection, which is normally for mistakes by the bin men, but I'm sure in the cases you describe it would be appropriate.

 

[brokenflipflop]

AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A BED IS A CONSTANT ONE, IF ONE FORGETS TO PUT THE BIN OUT, IT'S OVER FOR A WEEK. MY BIN WAS APPROX 2-3 FEET FURTHER BACK FROM THE OTHERS ON THE STREET.

 

[lukesdad]

It's not exactly an ordeal to put the bin on the pavement either

Neither is it to collect it from a few feet off the pavement.

 

[mcshroom]

Neither is it to collect it from a few feet off the pavement.

So how far from the pavement does it have to be before leaving it is acceptable?

 

[Ajay]

Name that post?

Err, the whole thread!
He generously set it up so we (myself included) could all have a pop. Worryingly, not everyone can see the joke.

 

[lukesdad]

So how far from the pavement does it have to be before leaving it is acceptable?

I think its probably a moving target depending on the binmen.

 

[mcshroom]

I think its probably a moving target depending on the binmen.

Or whether it's your bin or not

 

[lukesdad]

Or whether it's your bin or not

Sounds like a good street party game.

 

[brokenflipflop]

1. I accept he was within his rights not to empty the bin
2. It sounded like they were about to take it until a jobsworth piped up and said leave it because it's not on the pavement.
3. My beef is with the mean-spiritedness of this action and not the technicalities of it.

Andy rang up before to see if I wanted a pint but I'm far too busy trying to sort this mess out.

 

[mcshroom]

This thread is nowhere near as important as a pint