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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

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Permalink Reply by Gill on May 15, 2012 at 23:48

I received a reply from my email which I sent asking some questions. They gave me 'cut and paste' answers which needlessly to say didn't answer my specific ones. I had already read a copy of the leaflet which was posted on here (I still haven't had one delivered).

I have replied stressing that I should not be responsible for educating other tenants or for their rubbish! I have said that if I get more bins than the two we already use I will put them on the street.

At present I allow the communal bins to live in my front garden, so I am not taking up more space in my garden for these bins.

I have also, once again, asked for a leaflet/poster which can be displayed in the communal stairwell explaining, in a variety of languages, what items can be placed in which bins. 

I have been asked for my postcode, so they will probably come to look at my front garden and make an assessment.

Yes I am angry, mainly because I am not getting replies to questions which apply specifically to me (maybe others too??) and my property which is a shared one.

Permalink Reply by Salsa on May 16, 2012 at 14:17

Hi all

I am a bit worried as I have been looking forward to planting stuff out in the front garden - i have bought roses and other shrubs and everything in preparation! :)

I live in a house converted into 3 flats (but there are only 4 of us living in the whole block). Does this mean we are going to get 3 recycling bins on top of our 2 black wheely bins? We really won't need all of that.

I really don't want 5 bins to take up our whole front garden! What can I do?

Permalink Reply by Alison P on May 16, 2012 at 21:01
I emailed about this on Monday and just got a reply saying I needed a visit from an outreach officer! I'm sure we could fit two humungous bins in our garden but I don't want to because we don't need to.

This seems daft to me. How many people are going to go the bother of asking for a smaller bin than they really need (which seems to be their concern)?
Permalink Reply by Anette on May 16, 2012 at 22:03

I'm confused. It seems like requesting a small bin is on par with trying to adopt an anmial. Do they check that you have someone to care for your bin if you go on holiday, that you will have enough time to exercise the bin, and that the ickle bin will get enough love and attention in your home? Or are they just being complete jobsworth morons? I am betting on the latter.

Permalink Reply by Lucy Fielding on May 16, 2012 at 22:08

lol  I will never look at a wheelie bin in the same way from now on!  hahaha 

Permalink Reply by DrWhams on May 17, 2012 at 15:38

UPDATE: I just called Veolia and they have approved a 120L recycling bin, which is a relief.  So I would advise anyone else wanting the same to email enquiries.haringey@veolia.co.uk or call them on 0208 885 7700 and politely explain your reasons (lack of space, small household, very little waste, etc)

Permalink Reply by Alison P on May 18, 2012 at 11:52

I'm getting very narky about this.

I've been having an email exchange with Haringey about wanting a smaller recycling bin and wanting to keep my existing smaller (120) rubbish bin. I got an initial email saying I needed a site visit so I replied saying that I was completely clear that I do not need a 240 litre bin, and I went into the detail as to why this was the case. So this is the reply I got.

  • 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 site visit to ensure the approval for the right containers.

Hand hits head .. Honestly, if someone tells me I need to have one of the bigger bins I will go mad.

Permalink Reply by DrWhams on May 18, 2012 at 11:55

That was the same cut and paste reply I received initially. I would suggest calling them though. When I did it turned out that they'd already put me down for the smaller one.

Permalink Reply by Alison P on May 18, 2012 at 12:22

Thanks Paul. So I just had a long chat with Veola... I ended up speaking to a supervisor because what the operator was saying bore no relation to what I'd heard on here.

The basic headline is that the new bins arrive on MONDAY!! According to her notes, our address was down for a 240 one, and that is what we will get on Monday. However, she eventually relented on me needing a visit to discuss whether I recycle enough and has booked a 120 litre bin for us, to be delivered in mid June.

I really understand that Haringey needs to push this, and that bigger bins will be needed for many homes. But the fact that this has taken 3 emails and over 10 minutes on the phone suggests that this approach is too inflexible and runs the risk of alienating people who would otherwise be pretty supporitve of the overall objective.

By the way, it was quite clear from our discussion that simply having an aesthetic objection to having a huge grey bin in your front garden isn't going to cut it - you have to be clear that you don't need a bigger one. I did ask her why she thought someone would go to the trouble of asking for a smaller bin if they weren't sure it would be big enough for their needs .. but she didn't respond to that!

Permalink Reply by matt on May 18, 2012 at 12:44

Just a thought, maybe the 240 litre bins are an investment in planning for a possible move over to 2 weekly recycling collections in future. Could possibly explain their resistance to offering other size options.

Permalink Reply by DrWhams on May 18, 2012 at 12:58

Yes, that was my thought too.

Permalink Reply by Lucy Fielding on May 18, 2012 at 12:17
  • "We fully appreciate that residents have differing requirements and are more than happy to accommodate such requirements subject to completing a site visit to ensure the approval for the right containers." (my emphasis)


This is the bit that really narks me! 

What is this saying about how they view and treat the voting public? Why is our word and our judgement not good enough?   It's a waste of public money that could be better spent elsewhere. 


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