janerowena, I sympathise. Mind you, there are NO collections here whatsoever- all rubbish and all recycling have to be taken to the frequently place moloks (huge sunk into the ground bins which are emptied by special truck with lift). None- no-one has bins here. At first, people were horrified, but most people have cars, and neighbours help each other. I totally appreciate that in a ciny area this may wll be very different- absolutely.
Two results: a return to terry nappies - but the modern shaped ones, with a liner- which are great. And also concentrated the mind of young mums who tended to potty-train later and later- to potty train toddler earlier again. People here are amazed to learn how late toddlers are potty-trained in the UK, with many kids not being dry (and not special need children) by the time they start school.
Interesting how people can react with positive changes when faced with a difficult situation, or not.
Often discussed the above with UK friends- and their reaction is that in the UK this would result in more and more rubbish being dumped in countryside- and sadly, having lived near a country lane that led to beautiful countryside from town- I think that is true. Really glad to say this has not happened here. Pheeew.