Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Trying to request a small wheelie bin for recycling
Following the flyers informing us of the new waste collection regime, I wrote to Veolia requesting a small recycling wheelie bin, rather than the mammoth 240L ones. I've just received this reply:
Thank you for your enquiry regarding your preference for a 120 litre recycling wheelie bin. We fully appreciate that residents have differing requirements and are more than happy to accommodate such requirements subject to completing a home visit to ensure that we can rule out the possibility of a 240 litre wheelie bin.
I can confirm that I have now booked a general enquiry and a site visit will be carried out in due course. Can you kindly email us your telephone number so that we can arrange a visit for you please? [emphasis mine]
Why on earth should it matter how big my front yard is? I recycle what I can, I don't generate much waste, and so a 120L bin is plenty big enough, so why should someone have to come round to my house to tell me that my garden is big enough for a large bin therefore that's what I should have? Why do I need arrange to be in for someone to take a look?
I've responded to say something similar and I'll feed back here when I get a response. Has anyone else tried this yet?
Tags for Forum Posts: fortnightly waste collections, new recycling bins, rubbish, veolia, waste collection
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I made the same request to Veolia, only I did it verbally at the Area Forum. I was not told I needed a visit. Mind you, I'm not convinced that they'll remember my request either (although it was written down). It should surely be down to us to decide the size of the bins we need. Will be following your thread with interest.
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Permalink Reply by ant on
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I emailed asking for a small one last week and got a similar reply, they would be "...more than happy to accommodate such requirements subject to completing an investigation to ensure that we can rule out the possibility of a 240 litre bin.", and wanted my address to come have a look, they didn't want my phone number though.
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After all the discussion here I phoned up to see what was happening with my request. Expected i'd have to spend ages on hold but got through right away and they said someone had already been around to have a look and it was fine i could get the smaller ones.
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Permalink Reply by Isabelle on
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I'd try phoning them to get a better explanation as to why they're pushing for the biggie.
I did call them when they told us about the big wheelies, as they were planning to give us 3 (1 per flat) on top of the 2 black wheelies we already had! our front space is so tiny that I wanted us to keep the green boxes instead. They refused but settled for only 2 big wheelies, as 3 wouldn't fit. We had to demolish a concrete slab to accommodate their new policy, but luckily the 'garden' actually looks better now and it turns out that 2 big wheelies is plenty enough for our needs. My feeling was that they're instructed to enforce maximum recycling and think that plenty of big bins will get us there.What you're getting is a standard reply for their procedure. Tell them you live alone and anything that sounds like the household is not a big consumer and never will be. Or perhaps barricade the garden bit where the bin sits to make it very small, in case they do visit (I don't think they ever visited our house, though they said they would), sounds extreme but hey as long as it works! Or threaten to make an official complaint? but I'd ask about how to do this by phone first and find out your rights (surely they must be able to tell you what these are).
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Permalink Reply by DrWhams on
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I can understand them wanting to encourage recycling. I've specifically said to them that I do recycle but I don't generate much waste (rather than 'I think recycling is a waste of time, I don't want one of your bins'), so I'll see what response I get.
Another factor is that there may be space at the moment, but I plan to install a bike shed at some point, and having a second large bin will make that very difficult.
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Tell them you're about to install that shed (not at some point). They're implementing something big (changing bins throughout the borough) and perhaps don't have much time to consider individual requests, unless absolutely necessary.
Also they have little experience of how much recycling one person produces on average... especially as they're pushing to reduce the main waste and increase the recycling (even if you're already good at it, you can surely do better, is how they think – they told me on the phone when I was pleading my case that hardly nothing needed to go to general waste). Perhaps they fear that, if the bins aren't big enough, they'll have to change them again.
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Permalink Reply by michaela rourke on
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They are very protective of their small bins, it's a bit ridiculous. I had to have a home visit too and was honoured to be approved for one on the grounds that I'm a single person. Their argument is that they are encouraging you to recycle more by giving people bigger bins... but it's not the sort of thing you can magic out of thin air if you just don't have it. The smaller ones are much neater, and I fill mine about three-quarters full each week. My next battle is to get a smaller general waste bin which is pretty much empty each week now. Does seem like a waste of resources to have to send people out to assess you though, surely smaller homes could have had a small bin by default and then requested a bigger one if necessary? The whole thing is a bit of a grand palaver.
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Permalink Reply by NedC on
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I contacted them because I want both bins to be small and I got the standard reply as above about garden size. Then on Saturday a charming woman appeared on my doorstep, made sure she understood what I wanted and gave the impression that it wasn't a problem. She made appropriate notes on her clipboard and went on her way. Very impressed.
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Permalink Reply by Gill on
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I haven't received a flyer yet - I got my info from HOL. However, I had a few questions, so I sent an email.
And yes I got a reply asking for my phone number.
Does anyone know if there has been any mention of fining householders for mixing the waste? I ask because I live in a house which is divided into 3 flats, two of which are for short-term emergency housing and I do not want to be responsible for others waste.
Is the small green waste bin the same size as a normal black one ?
I will try to email them again as where I work at the moment, I am not allowed to have a phone on me!! Don't ask!
If I get a reply which is useful for others I will post it.
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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I've received the same reply - I recycle as much as poss (including things I'm not sure they take like lids) and pretty much fill the green box every week. As long as they keep the collection weekly, I can't see why I need a much bigger bin.
My worry is they'll want to swap my small neat rubbish wheelie, which I acquired a couple of years ago, for a larger one as they'll be done fortnightly. The big wheelies don't fit in my garden properly because of raised flower beds, and end up blocking the path. I'm sure I can manage with a small one, as most weeks I only put out a less than full black bag.
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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Am trying to get my head around the sizes. How does 240/120 litres compare to the current wheelie bins? We have one of the smaller waste wheelie bins and I am sure that a recycling bin of that size would be large enough for us, even if you could technically fit one of the massive ones into our front garden. I don't see why I should have to justify that to anyone!
Like Maddy I want to hang on to our smaller waste bin as it will fine for 2 weeks waste.
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