Do bin men deserve a pension ??!

[PBancroft]

This morning I heard the bin men outside. Bugger thought I. I haven't put my bin out.

I legged it downstairs, getting dressed on the way and pretty much fell out the door to be greeted by the bin man who was in the process of dragging my bin to the lorry. "Oh, uh, cheers mate" I said rather redundantly.

"No worries," he replied. "Have a nice new year."

My point is you got a bad one. I got a good one. If you think the chap was that poor, complain about it to your council and hopefully it will be fed back to them during their annual or monthly reviews, and it will ultimately (hopefully) result in better service in future.

Oh, and for what its worth, I work in the public sector but I also make use of various services. Don't forget that your taxes don't just pay for what you as an individual use. It also funds many necessary things you hopefully will never need. Caring for the vulnerable and needy, for example (and like everything, this isn't always perfectly handled - I have first hand experience of this). The fire service as well, along side many many other things. But you and your family might make use of local schools, or libraries, and rely upon the local road network, or enjoy maintained green spaces. Even if you don't, you're adding to your community at large... and if you don't like the way your local government is handling the way they utilise that public investment, do something about it... its the public sector after all.

Hm... has anyone got a stepladder? This horse I'm on seems to be rather high.

 

[Fran143]

I put my bin on the pavement and if I don't my binman will often come up the drive for it....without a tip.
They do this regularly for the majority of elderly in this area too. My only bugbear is that they are not supposed to lift bins unless the lids are closed which I ensure I do but these numpty neighbours of mine always leave theirs overflowing and the guys lift them...shocking behaviour all that innit?

Edit: I'm not elderly btw.

 

[fatblokish]

If said binmen have paid enough NI contributions, then yes, they deserve a pension.
3 inches seems to have made all the difference here, so next time maybe you will position it properly and the refuse collectors will play ball. I'm confident that if you can drag the bins all the way to the end of the drive you could manage another 3"
Only burgled twice? Perhaps it would be more than that if the police were not paid or the streetlights lit.

 

[brokenflipflop]

Err, Forgot.
That said, It is right there at the end of the drive and only the most mean-spirited individual or council worker would begrudge travelling the extra 2 feet in order to take it. In fact the thought and effort of one of them to bother telling his colleague not to take it probably used more brain cells, time and effort than it did just to empty it. Bloody-mindedness, like I said.

 

[Zoiders]

Err, Forgot.
That said, It is right there at the end of the drive and only the most mean-spirited individual or council worker would begrudge travelling the extra 2 feet in order to take it. In fact the thought and effort of one of them to bother telling his colleague not to take it probably used more brain cells, time and effort than it did just to empty it. Bloody-mindedness, like I said.

Maybe one of them is a forum member.

 

[Lisa21]

I would imagine its all to do with elf & safety. IE; if a binman injures himself moving a bin from the areas they are instructed to collect from they will be able to be off work with pay, if they injure themselves on anyones property they wont be insured. It will no doubt all boil down to something along those lines and to be perfectly honest I would in that case be the same. Why would someone risk their wages for the sake of a stranger-especially one who couldnt be ar$ed putting their bin a further couple of inches into the correct place.
Mind you, on saying that, I cant see their reasoning when they leave the bin because the lid is an inch open....

 

[iLB]

 

[NormanD]

Mine got emptied, then again I did bother to get up early to put them out

 

[User482]

The cost of contracted bin collection is based on householders putting their bin out properly. Why should your laziness be paid for by everyone else?

 

[brokenflipflop]

If said binmen have paid enough NI contributions, then yes, they deserve a pension.
3 inches seems to have made all the difference here, so next time maybe you will position it properly and the refuse collectors will play ball. I'm confident that if you can drag the bins all the way to the end of the drive you could manage another 3"
Only burgled twice? Perhaps it would be more than that if the police were not paid or the streetlights lit.

Yeah, you're right, the Police were useless/uninterested when it came to my house being burgled in the middle of the night with my own 6 inch knife left on the kitchen table by the burglars but I have sold the Police short - they were incredibly efficient, dutiful and eagle-eyed when they caught me without a seatbelt on a few weeks ago. I forgot to allocate a proportion of my council tax for that £30 ticket. Should I subtract or add that to the council tax?

 

[brokenflipflop]

The cost of contracted bin collection is based on householders putting their bin out properly. Why should your laziness be paid for by everyone else?

How would my "laziness" or even forgetfulness be paid for by everyone else when I pay for my bin to be emptied. Pillock.

 

[brokenflipflop]

Sounds like you chose to add it

Police priorities aren't what I think they should be.

Mum the Guardian readers are ganging up again mum.

 

[Noodley]

This could be a late contender for thread of the year...

You don't fancy going on a TV game show do you, brokenflipflop?

 

[Arch]

I'm part with BFF on this one, if they can see it and reach it without too much bother, all other things being equal I can't see why they shouldn't take it. Having said that they are probably having to fit 5 days collections into 4 days this week and applying strict rules to cope. That will be the inherent efficiency of the private sector working for you

I have to say, our tolerance of non-compliance with the rules goes down as the day goes on when the weather is especially crap, or if we've had a particularly high number of setbacks or manky boxes. Sometimes, one is happy to make extra effort, sometimes it all seems like we're making all the extra effort for little thanks and one becomes less inclined to do so.

Actually, our clients are mostly very appreciative of our efforts, and often tell us so, which can make all the difference on a crap day.

We're getting this week off, so next week we'll be collecting double the normal amount, plus of course, the extra stuff associated with Christmas....

 

[fatblokish]

Seems to me that you are caught out by the simplest of omissions; please remember to tie your shoelaces before you next venture out.