Cardboard Recycling made me think

Our cardboard recycling has to go in a wheelie bin, so you pretty much have to flatten it, unless you only have one or two small boxes. It has to be flattened if you take it to the recycling centre, too.

Our cardboard has to go in a green recycling bag or it won’t be taken. Therefore anything big has to be taken to the recycling centre.

I’ve a recycling bin for metal, plastic, cardboard and paper (glass goes in a separate box). Here, the men are happy to take flattened big boxes, if left up against the bin.

What part of the UK has cardboard recycling that isn’t contained in some way?

I can't imagine the binmen taking boxes from the garden. Ours only take what is in the bin. If you only have a couple of shoeboxes or similar you don't have to flatten them, but as we only get a collection every two weeks the bin is usually full. Anything strewn about would be left.

Here they only take what is in the bin unless it is packaged and tied up next to the general waste bin. Luckily I have never had to do this.

Our bin men won’t pick up anything lying around, boxes have to flattened and put in a wheelie bin. If not they just leave it.

Which btw I think us reasonable, people should contain their rubbish.

Our cardboard and paper goes in one bag, plastic and tinfoil, tins, in another (woe betide you if you put any soft plastic in there!), glass in a box etc etc.
You just get used to sorting it.

I could weep when I've seen the huge sums of rubbish in the countryside in the past week. I know it happens but these two dumps were extraordinary.

I can’t understand people who have bins overflowing, but you can see it has never occurred to them to flatten boxes.

Our bin men are only supposed to take what’s in the bin, but often see stuff piled up next to it. Not sure if it gets taken.

Our refuse collectors are brilliant. If they ‘spill’ any bins they’ll clean up but anything and everything has to be in the bins although we can use a rubbish bag during Christmas collection if the bins are full.
They also collect and return bins for some of us who have mobility issues. And that reminds me, I must buy them some treats for Christmas!

If it’s not in the bin it won’t be taken for us they are strict about it and so they should be most people abide well certainly in my area there’s only one house that is overflowing but it’s because the bins aren’t packed properly Our back alley is clean and tidy and we have a guy on a cleaning machine up and down every so often
Anything I don’t want I place neatly next to my back gate and I can guarantee it ll be gone by the next day ( not by bin men but folks walking past) I got rid of a whole gym set, bench, rowing machine, weights, the lot, my sons, it had sat in my attic for 27 years I took it to pieces and bit by bit I put it by my back gate, daily, it all went piece by piece … someone has a great set to put together and build and use I couldn’t sell it as no idea if it was all there or usable after so long
Obviously if it had gone I d have paid to have it taken away but a real win/ win situation for me

Last sentence ..hadn’t gone….sorry I proof read all the rest dah

Our bin men will take flattened cardboard if it is left next to the bin on recycling day - unless it is wet. It doesn't have to be in the bin.

We have a box for recycling paper and cardboard, and we always flatten it. To my mind, it would make life easier if all councils throughout the UK adopted exactly the same recycling/refuse collection arrangements.

MrJ takes pleasure in flatting and logically filling our green bin, if we have extra cardboard and it’s left tidily next to the bin it’s taken, worth their Christmas box every year.

I never give a Christmas gift I don’t ever see them, don’t know if it’s one couple of workers or different ones. They do their job as many do it’s neither heavy or particularly dirty work nowadays .

I agree- before wheely bins you saw the bin men regularly. Off topic but I used to tip my milkman and window cleaner too.

I totally understand what you're saying, you have the right to have a grump. The householders sound totally two-faced, being they have an eco house! I think the collectors are doing brilliantly.

There's a recycling centre just down the road from me, so I and a lot of others just take things down ourselves, making sure the cardboard is folded as best we can, but officially they have to be put in the green bins.

Yes kitty I often wonder what happens to the recycling in our area as everything seems to get put in the same bin. Some of our neighbours put out extra plastic bags of recyclable waste and the bin men take it.
I have to say our bin men are wonderful and have been known to take the bin from the side of the house when I have forgotten to put it out!

I sort my recycling out very carefully .
I find it boring and tedious .
But our local reuse collectors won't collect rubbish ,which has been thoughtlessly strewn around the garden - in fact if it's not inside the appropriate bin they won't take it .

Esmay

I sort my recycling out very carefully .
I find it boring and tedious .
But our local reuse collectors won't collect rubbish ,which has been thoughtlessly strewn around the garden - in fact if it's not inside the appropriate bin they won't take it .

Oh, I don’t think of it as tedious.

I have a ceramic container in the porch (recycled bread bin) and any recycling, envelopes, washed cans, bottles etc go in there, then I pop them in the relevant bin every time I go outside. The bins are opposite the back door.

I can’t understand folk who make such heavy weather of it, and make out it’s so time consuming, though I realise if you haven’t much outside space, the bins take up a lot of room.

One thing that is evident from this thread is that every Local Authority seems to have different methods for recycling and waste disposal.

I really don’t have enough to do with my life. I take off sellotape, any plastic patches used to seal a box etc.
It actually doesn't seem to take me very long but im probably wasting my time.