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| Not exactly the same as '60s bins, but similar |
Remember when exterior refuse bins (or dustbins as they were called) were made of metal, and the racket the bin men (who weren't made of metal) would make when uplifting them every week? Then, sometime around 1969 or '70 (I think - anyone know for sure?), metal bins were replaced with double-layered brown paper bag ones, which sat behind a curved wire-mesh frame. The bag was held in place to the wall by a metal attachment, with a lid, which lifted to drop household refuse into. At some point (late '70s, early '80s perhaps) the paper bags were replaced with black plastic bags, and nowadays it's wheelie bins into which we drop our household waste. The various councils of our fair land have even managed to con householders into taking the bins out for the bin men to collect, so we're doing part of their job for them. No doubt a few jobs were lost in the process, but that's 'progress' so they claim.
At one time, only one bin was needed per house, now it's four - five counting the internal food waste bin - and once again, we have to do part of the job on the various councils' behalf. I have a plastic bag in the kitchen into which all the rubbish is dumped - I then have to stand outside for several minutes when time comes to empty it, because I have to sift through it in order to put the 'correct' waste into the appropriate bins. What annoys me though, is the fact that, apparently, despite our efforts, only a small percentage of that waste is actually recycled - the rest is buried in landfill sites or incinerated. So much for me freezing my @ss of in Caledonia's inclement weather, doing my bit for the environment when the council isn't fulfilling their part of the process.
Anyone else miss the old 'tin' (or whatever they were) bins of the olden days (which only seems like yesterday to me), or do you prefer the unsightly spectacle of numerous plastic wheelie bins parked outside your house? If so (and even if not), feel free to leave a comment if you so desire.
A bit of a circle really. From bins to bags and back to bins. My Old mans no longer a dustman they replaced him with a modern day truck cor blimey
ReplyDeleteIt was better when one bin was all that was needed, LH. There are rows of houses in my town where the bins are stored at the front - and they're a ruddy eyesore, especially when there's four of them per house.
DeleteSame with me...A line up of wheelie bins which smell and attract blowflies..I can remember back in the 60s at Christmas seeing the old dustbin out on the kerb with a full bottle of beer beside it for the dustmen. Could you imagine that today. Nooo.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that annoys me is that people don't put their bins out in an orderly or sensible way, but in a haphazard manner which blocks the pavement. And the bin men put them back in the same manner once they've emptied them. I used to have a near neighbour who seldom took her bins in, sometimes leaving them out in the street between collections. She'd simply drop her refuse into it as she passed on the way out. (Lazy cow.)
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