New Brown Bin - questions

caz33

I came home from work and found a new brown bin deliver to my driveway with no instructions. Got some info from the Dublin waste website but still need to know when it will be collected? What is the small bin within the big bin for? I assume it is a little bin for my kitchen. I am in Dublin 13 - City Council area.

donaghs

I think it is for compost-type waste (kitchen and some garden). Not much use for me as I don't produce enough of it to be taken away every week or 2. How do you prevent this bin from filling with hardened sticky waste which gradually keeps building up?

I had this problem when I moved house. The previous inhabitants were a tad filthy, and a tenth of a my black bin space at the bottom was taken up by a smelly hard organic substance (probably food waste originally). The weekly bin lift was unable to shake it out. With a face mask, a water hose and a bamboo stick I was eventually able to remove this filthy residue.

humanji

Actually, I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone know a good way to keep the bins a bit more sanitary without having to wash them out continuously?

carveone

caz33 wrote: »

I came home from work and found a new brown bin deliver to my driveway with no instructions. Got some info from the Dublin waste website but still need to know when it will be collected? What is the small bin within the big bin for? I assume it is a little bin for my kitchen. I am in Dublin 13 - City Council area.

Mine was delivered at the same time, same area. They put a note in the door about what was happening (guess not in your case - probably ran out). There was also a colourful leaflet in the brown bin along with the little bin which is indeed for your kitchen. Quite a neat little bin too so it is.

I have two issues though:

One - the leaflet says that meat/fish waste is allowed. I would seriously advise against this unless you want the smell from hell in the summer along with maggots and rats. I'm sure everyone knows what the normal bin in your kitchen is like 3 or 4 days after someone puts meat in it. What fun...

Two - people are idiots. It's all we could do to stop morons putting glass and plastic in the green bin in our (very small) apartment complex. People would stand under the big sign saying "paper only" and say "I didn't know. It's recyclable innit...". I dread to see what will happen with the brown bins...

Conor.

carveone

humanji wrote: »

Actually, I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone know a good way to keep the bins a bit more sanitary without having to wash them out continuously?

Well, you bag the waste in the black bin right??? That's normally good enough unless you use cheap shopping bags which quite often have holes in them. Some people put a little disinfectant (like, dettol I suppose) in the bin when it's emptied. Drops the smell down...

Mellor

humanji wrote: »

Actually, I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone know a good way to keep the bins a bit more sanitary without having to wash them out continuously?

Are you puting waste directly into the bin? No waste touches my bin directly, its all in bin liner bags from the kitchen bin

bill_ashmount

I put the waste directly in. Have done for over a year and a half. Just cleaned it last week with a hose. Took about 10 minutes. Good as new.

donaghs

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I thought you were not supposed to put any plastics into this brown bin? Organic waste in plastic bags would be handy, but even I can see the issues in trying to separate compost material from battered non-biodegradable plastic.

carveone

donaghs wrote: »

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I thought you were not supposed to put any plastics into this brown bin? Organic waste in plastic bags would be handy, but even I can see the issues in trying to separate compost material from battered non-biodegradable plastic.

We were talking about the normal black bin. But yes, no plastic bags are allowed in the brown bin. Which means that idiots will do it anyway, just like they do with the green bin

Conor.

purplegeko

The instructions i got with my brown bin (Louth Area) said you could wrap up food waste in newspaper. My neighbour had put unused food in the brown bin still in the plastic bags they came in which really got up my nose.

carveone

purplegeko wrote: »

My neighbour had put unused food in the brown bin still in the plastic bags they came in which really got up my nose.

See?! That didn't take long. If they had random inspections followed by putting them in the stocks, um, I mean fines or something... Anyway...

donaghs

Was curious about giving back the brown bin. Didn't see much use for it as the waste would have turned into a smelly brick before it was ready for them to collect it. Still thinking about getting a composter for the garden though. According to DCC website you have to write into them before they'll consider taking it back.

But guess what else I saw! The weekly black (gray) bin collection is no more! Its now alternates with the brown bin every week. Bi-weekly collection by stealth!

I've no problem with that, except right-now I have a full bin awaiting collection, next week. Generally I put the black bin out every 3 weeks. However, most of my neighbours put out out an overflowing black bin every week. I wonder how this will play out...

microgirl

Mellor wrote: »

Are you puting waste directly into the bin? No waste touches my bin directly, its all in bin liner bags from the kitchen bin

Except plastic bin liners aren's compostable, which rather defeats the purpose, don't you think? Hmm?

Official word, and word from friends of mine who've been composting for years, is line the bin with clean paper (both small kitchen one and big brown one). Put it out every week whether you've loads of stuff or not (pain in the ass with you've to pay for each bin-lift, so we've been leaving it 2 weeks), and then give it a quick squirt of a hose after each time it's emptied. If it's emptied regularly and lined with paper then it literally is only a quick squirt with a hose that's needed, not a big cleaning job.

dimejinky99

This is actually disgraceful.
We called about this bin this morning, 'cos we basically didn't want it. So, we have to write a letter to the dept. of environment stating we don't want it and we understand and agree our black bin can therefore only be collected every second week???wtf??? Does it not upset anyone to know that Oxigen collects our bins, recycles the stuff & then sends the bulk recycled produce on TO CHINA! for profit? why are we having to pay if theyre making money both ends??

This brown bin is a disgusting sham, we're basically organising our rubbish for them in order to save them the hassle of having to do it initially and improve the quality of their product ultimately! it's a ****in disgrace. And it's freaky that people are just doing it!
We're simply not putting it out & hoping they then don't send us a lift charge 'cos we're fighting it if they do.

Anyone else think we're having the complete piss taken out of us?

carveone

microgirl wrote:

Except plastic bin liners aren's compostable, which rather defeats the purpose, don't you think? Hmm?

We were all talking about different bins which became confusing so we'll stick with the brown bins

line the bin with clean paper (both small kitchen one and big brown one).

Good advice there. That's what my parents have done for 20 years too. Even a bit of newspaper at the bottom (there's plenty of free ones all over the DARTs), will stop the stuff sticking.

The weekly black (gray) bin collection is no more! Its now alternates with the brown bin every week. Bi-weekly collection by stealth!

Yeah I agree. It's interesting the way they say that you don't pay a yearly charge for the brown bin - isn't that nice. But you pay the same for the same number of pickups so in fact you save nothing.

dimejinky99 wrote:

Anyone else think we're having the complete piss taken out of us?

Yes and no. The green bin and recycling centres generally save us a pile of pickups and frankly, given the standard Dublin attitude to the green bin of piling any old crap in it, we're taking the piss out of them.

But... I intensely dislike the way this was sprung on us (wasn't it?) - suddenly there were brown bins all over the gaff. I'm trying to get a meeting of our apartment's owners assoc together and discuss the issue because it's just crazy - our small complex has turned into bin city - 22 apartments, 44 bins. It's simply not going to remain like that - it's a damn mess.

My mother gave me an idea of compost volume - when all the kids were at home (that was 6 people total), we emptied the compost bin (down the garden) once every 3 weeks. This bin was 1/3rd of the size of the brown bin. That means the average family will put out a full brown bin once every 12 weeks. Um. This isn't going to work.

Frankly, there's 4 of us (renting) in my current gaff and we get to about 3/4 of a small black bin every week. This puts me in a head-scratching position

Conor.

dimejinky99

its a pure money making scam and id be gently confused but follow suit had i not heard that its a rather clever initiative by them to further break down the types of rubbish for them thus making the actual recycling easier and more productuive all round, the product is cleaner & the chinese buy more of it. Its baffling!! (watch now well find out the recycled stuff is flown in bulk to china on planes-thus negating the positive recycle factor by creating pollution to get there.) haha! nwould you be surprised..

Its beyond mental & its even more scary to me that people are just doing it..they have us sooo trained! scary..

cp251

They've had this brown bin nonsense in Galway for years. Every house has three separate bins inside and outside. The sweetner is that it's cheaper to fill the brown bin than the others because it's pay by weight. Oh and get used to the bi-weekly thing. This has been inflicted on the provinces for ages. They were scared to bring it into Dublin because of the anti bin campaign. But that revolt has been put down. It's becoming the norm now.

You can buy bio-degradeable bin liners for your waste food. So they can go straight in the bin. But wrapping it in newspaper works just as well. There is not getting away from it though. The bin is a smelly mess with fllies always hanging around it in the summer. If you use a bin in the kitchen for the food waste. That always develops a sickening smell too. Another problem is if you forget to put it out on bin day. The smell becomes atrocious after a month.

I just filled my brown bin with garden waste. At least it's good for that. Often it is suggested that instead of using the bin. We should just buy a composter. Great idea, if you are gardener. Pointless if you're not.

It's remarkable how much we have failed to progress over the years. We now pay ridiculous money for a worse service all in the name of ecology.

hugh green 100

As i said i supply compostable liners to the market but have not got to Galway yet as it is quite a nw company. as far as I'm aware the bags on sale are small and for use in the kitchen caddy I now have full size wheelie bin liners which also helps keep the bin nice and clean even with grass waste. Can you tell me if you have seen that size before or am I right in thinking this is the first of it's kind for that size. Thanks

cp251

Never saw them. Only the small ones which tend to be only available in bigger stores. Even with the bags in them the smaller bins still smell badly. Good idea though with the bigger bags for wheelie bins. I think the would sell well in Galway. The brown bin has been in service there for years and everyone know the problems that arise. Dublin is new to the problem.

donaghs

How are all the new brown bin users getting on? I haven't bothered with it yet for all the reasons stated above. I see the exact same problems are mentioned previously on boards when other areas got their bins.

dvpower

Does anyonw know if its allowed / acceptable / correct to dispose of vegatable oil (from a deep fat fryer) in the brown bin?

ebmma

dvpower wrote: »

Does anyonw know if its allowed / acceptable / correct to dispose of vegatable oil (from a deep fat fryer) in the brown bin?

I would say probably not a good idea. Some recycling centres take used cooking and motor oil (separately, of course).

just don't pour it down the drain :-)

dvpower

ebmma wrote: »

I would say probably not a good idea. Some recycling centres take used cooking and motor oil (separately, of course).

just don't pour it down the drain :-)

Its not mentioned on Dublin City Council's list. So I guess that's a No.
I bet most people just pout it down the drain.

ebmma

dvpower wrote: »

Its not mentioned on Dublin City Council's list. So I guess that's a No.
I bet most people just pout it down the drain.

My local recycling centre accepts oil (Murrough in Wicklow). Its is quite large though, haven't seen small centres accepting it.

Green&Red

Anyone know if i can put bio degradeable bags intot he brown bin? Having this argument with my housemate, i reckon you can but obviously dont want to be one of those idiots that throws anything into the bins

Sleipnir

Green&Red wrote: »

Anyone know if i can put bio degradeable bags intot he brown bin? Having this argument with my housemate, i reckon you can but obviously dont want to be one of those idiots that throws anything into the bins

No, you can't put bio-degradable bags in but you can use compostable bags. Two different things. The bags should be "EN 134132" compliant.

The council actually sent around a letter saying they would be doing spot checks regarding this.

Pembily

The brown bin is great, have it in Galway for years now, I eat alot of fruit and veg and thinks it's a disgrace that some people just put in waste when it is a very good fertiliser! At home in Quin we have had our own composter for as long as I am alive (25 years) and my mum puts it in the garden!!

There are little "plastic" bags that are compostable that can be put in the little bin you use for the food waste. I would line the big brown bin with paper, it keeps it clean and I clean the one in Galway out montly with dettol and a couple of kettles of water!!

On the rats issue, in two weeks for rats to be attracted to food it would need to be very hot. The food waste is broken down with special bugs / enzymes. If you are doing your own food waster recycling at home then you can only put in raw fruit and veg, garden waste, tea bags, ashes from the fire, no meat or bread can go in as the normal compostable bins can't break them down!!

Do think it is a bit big and cold be half the weight but then if people are moving their lawns and gardening they would need a bigger one!!

dudara

Sleipnir wrote: »

No, you can't put bio-degradable bags in but you can use compostable bags. Two different things. The bags should be "EN 134132" compliant.

The council actually sent around a letter saying they would be doing spot checks regarding this.

Don't they realise that that level of detail will go right over most people's heads? Most people are still getting to grips with the concept of the green bin.

suey71

I think the brown bins are bloody unheathy. We have ours over a year now and have put all the rubbish into the correct bins but its the brown bin that bugs me. I've been putting paper at the end of this bin since the start but it just gets compressed and then sticks to the bottom of the bin and doesn't fall into the lorry when it comes. Then it gets soggy with filth, attracting Flies,Maggots and Bluebottles not to mention the SMELL.
I tried to wash it out a couple of times with the hose and it splashed PUTRID FILTH all over me. No amount of Dettol or Jayse fuid will make this germ free.
It might be environmentally friendly in theory to use these seperate bins but if they're being sent to bloody China of all places to get recycled then what is the carbon footprint like? as if China will recycle this rubbish. They'll just bury it like they do with the truth over there. China is like the worlds carpet and we are just putting rubbish under it.

Back to the Brown bins.. I cant even open my windows any more, even in the summer months. If I do then the house is filled with Bluebottles landing on food in the kitchen and the is stench. Its just unhealthy and we're all going to get sick because of it.

This morning my 5 year old daughter was running around the house screaming because she's afraid of Bluebottles and there was nowhere to hide because they where every where and still are. She's asleep now. Cried herself to sleep, and the bloody things are still getting in.

And when you clean the bin out with a splash of dettol and a hose down where do you empty the fithy juice and [EMAIL="cr@p"]cr@p[/EMAIL] from the bottom. Do you empty it onto the ground or down the drain, how can you manhandle a bin this size and direct the filthy "water" down the drain, you'd break your back and I'm a 6 foot man and I cant do it.

This brown bin is unhealthy and no amount of tree hugging will prove other wise and I hug trees myself so don't say I don't want to recycle. Recycle and stay healthy at the same time but as usual this Government just wants to save a bit of money and make some too while looking Green.
I'm surprised they don't start dumping at Tara.

No excuses. Its a filthy harbinger of sickness waiting to happen.
bye.

Sleipnir

suey71 wrote: »

I think the brown bins are bloody unheathy. We have ours over a year now and have put all the rubbish into the correct bins but its the brown bin that bugs me. I've been putting paper at the end of this bin since the start but it just gets compressed and then sticks to the bottom of the bin and doesn't fall into the lorry when it comes. Then it gets soggy with filth, attracting Flies,Maggots and Bluebottles not to mention the SMELL.
I tried to wash it out a couple of times with the hose and it splashed PUTRID FILTH all over me. No amount of Dettol or Jayse fuid will make this germ free.
It might be environmentally friendly in theory to use these seperate bins but if they're being sent to bloody China of all places to get recycled then what is the carbon footprint like? as if China will recycle this rubbish. They'll just bury it like they do with the truth over there. China is like the worlds carpet and we are just putting rubbish under it.

Back to the Brown bins.. I cant even open my windows any more, even in the summer months. If I do then the house is filled with Bluebottles landing on food in the kitchen and the is stench. Its just unhealthy and we're all going to get sick because of it.

This morning my 5 year old daughter was running around the house screaming because she's afraid of Bluebottles and there was nowhere to hide because they where every where and still are. She's asleep now. Cried herself to sleep, and the bloody things are still getting in.

And when you clean the bin out with a splash of dettol and a hose down where do you empty the fithy juice and [EMAIL="cr@p"]cr@p[/EMAIL] from the bottom. Do you empty it onto the ground or down the drain, how can you manhandle a bin this size and direct the filthy "water" down the drain, you'd break your back and I'm a 6 foot man and I cant do it.

This brown bin is unhealthy and no amount of tree hugging will prove other wise and I hug trees myself so don't say I don't want to recycle. Recycle and stay healthy at the same time but as usual this Government just wants to save a bit of money and make some too while looking Green.
I'm surprised they don't start dumping at Tara.

No excuses. Its a filthy harbinger of sickness waiting to happen.
bye.

Why don't you just use compostible bin liners?
You can get small ones for the kitchen and you can get large ones for the brown bin itself.

djpbarry

suey71 wrote: »

I think the brown bins are bloody unheathy. We have ours over a year now and have put all the rubbish into the correct bins but its the brown bin that bugs me. I've been putting paper at the end of this bin since the start but it just gets compressed and then sticks to the bottom of the bin and doesn't fall into the lorry when it comes. Then it gets soggy with filth, attracting Flies,Maggots and Bluebottles not to mention the SMELL.
I tried to wash it out a couple of times with the hose and it splashed PUTRID FILTH all over me. No amount of Dettol or Jayse fuid will make this germ free.
It might be environmentally friendly in theory to use these seperate bins but if they're being sent to bloody China of all places to get recycled then what is the carbon footprint like? as if China will recycle this rubbish. They'll just bury it like they do with the truth over there. China is like the worlds carpet and we are just putting rubbish under it.

Back to the Brown bins.. I cant even open my windows any more, even in the summer months. If I do then the house is filled with Bluebottles landing on food in the kitchen and the is stench. Its just unhealthy and we're all going to get sick because of it.

This morning my 5 year old daughter was running around the house screaming because she's afraid of Bluebottles and there was nowhere to hide because they where every where and still are. She's asleep now. Cried herself to sleep, and the bloody things are still getting in.

And when you clean the bin out with a splash of dettol and a hose down where do you empty the fithy juice and [EMAIL="cr@p"]cr@p[/EMAIL] from the bottom. Do you empty it onto the ground or down the drain, how can you manhandle a bin this size and direct the filthy "water" down the drain, you'd break your back and I'm a 6 foot man and I cant do it.

This brown bin is unhealthy and no amount of tree hugging will prove other wise and I hug trees myself so don't say I don't want to recycle. Recycle and stay healthy at the same time but as usual this Government just wants to save a bit of money and make some too while looking Green.
I'm surprised they don't start dumping at Tara.

No excuses. Its a filthy harbinger of sickness waiting to happen.
bye.

That's what a relevant contribution would have looked like.

Orion

carveone wrote: »

We were talking about the normal black bin. But yes, no plastic bags are allowed in the brown bin. Which means that idiots will do it anyway, just like they do with the green bin

Conor.

When we got our brown bin last year (Kildare) we were given 26 plastic bin liners for it ( a year's worth). All organic waste goes in it - veg peelings, cooked foods - inc. meat, garden waste etc (not grass as I have a mulching mower). No smell from the bin due to the liners. Together with our green bin we have bugger all landfill waste. Thursday was our bi-weekly black bin collection and I didn't even put it out as there was only one small shopping bag in it.

Orion

dimejinky99 wrote: »

stuff and more stuff

You're missing the point. It's not about making money - it's about reducing landfill. TBH I don't care where the send the usable produce - I do care about not filling up good land with non-biodegradable ****e. That's what the brown and green bins are for. Green bin = recyclable, brown bin = compostable, black bin = LANDFILL IN IRELAND. Try looking at it that way instead of acting like a victim and fighting the man.

zynaps

Macros42 wrote: »

You're missing the point. It's not about making money - it's about reducing landfill. TBH I don't care where the send the usable produce - I do care about not filling up good land with non-biodegradable ****e. That's what the brown and green bins are for. Green bin = recyclable, brown bin = compostable, black bin = LANDFILL IN IRELAND. Try looking at it that way instead of acting like a victim and fighting the man.

He's not missing the point. I don't think anyone disagrees with the potential goodness of having our food waste composted rather than stuck in a growing landfill.
But the fact is that this service is badly designed as far as the end-users (ourselves) are concerned. In our household there are only three of us, and after 2 weeks the brown bin is less than 10% full, and we're careful to save our food waste - it never goes in the black bin.

We're not going to pay a lift charge for a 10% full bin, because that would be stupid. But it starts to get stinky and fly-ridden, and for the greater good (i.e. a bit of respect for ourselves, neighbours and passers-by) we've ended up putting it out after 4-6 weeks. It's always about 20% full when it eventually gets put out. We're probably a bit more frugal than most, but it's probably a similar story with most other households (the ones that don't have 5 kids who dump full plates of dinner into the brown bin on a daily basis, at least :pac:).
I've spoken to the council about this, and they acknowledged that it's not perfect, but it sounds like nothing's going to be done.

It seems to me that a) they should collect a tiny bin like the small kitchen one provided inside the brown bin, every week or bi-weekly, and b) the service should be free, since they're making use of the resulting compost and we're paying a standing charge which covers the brown bin. At the very least, we should have a much smaller bin and a proportionally smaller lift charge.
This would be much more hygienic, usable, realistic and attractive for householders. In the current scheme of things, it feels like a joke having to pay a full lift charge for a bin that's at most a fifth full - I know two euro a pop isn't that much, but it's the principle of the thing.

Also, regarding the "doesn't matter where it goes as long as it's not to Irish landfills" argument, what if it's going to a Chinese landfill? Would you be happy with that? I wouldn't. I'd like a bit more transparency in the process - where the material from the green and brown bins goes, what's done with it, and whether and how much the receivers pay for it.
We're not all nodding passive sheep here, accepting any deal that's put on our plate without questions. It has nothing to do with being a victim or "fighting the man".

jos28

We have decided to send our brown bin back. We have tried, we gave it our best shot but we cannot stand the flies and the maggots any longer. I keep a clean house, I wash the bins out after emptying, I use biodegradable liners(sorry ,compostable liners), I wrap all household waster in newspapers before placing them in the brown bin but still the blue bottles plague us. Finding maggots on the car parked near the bin was the last 'organic' straw. Even if we use it for garden waste, it would still take about 6 weeks to fill it. So it is going back the next time it is empty.

djpbarry

As this subject relates to a service offered by Dublin City Council, it's probably more suited to the Dublin City forum.

But, mods, feel free to return (to Green Issues).

dubtom

We've had the brown about 1 year now. I finally found the bin liners to use in it. Although I support the scheme, the guys who collect are some shower of lazy feckers. My last collection was the first time in one year that the bin was completely emptied, all for the want of a little shake. Every time they collected it was left ¼ to ½ still full. If nothing else the liners will insure they empty it completely.

Ste.phen

Where did you get the liners for the brown bin?
Can't say ours smells too bad, but it could definitely use a clean, and liners to prevent recurrence of the problem!

gillo_100

Brown bins have been around in parts of Fingal for a year or so now, and I think they work pretty well, a couple of points i'll deal with.

The waste from the brown bins is not shipped off to china it is in fact composted in various locations in Dublin and then sold on as compost to the public, so you buy back your own rubbish. I'm not exactly sure of the locations where it can be bought back I think rathmines and possibly coolock.

Slighty aside, the reason you can put meat in whereas can't in a normal compost heap is becasue they basically cook it to kill off harmful pathogens. Also on of the biggest costs to the process is apparently getting rid of the plastic bags that are thrown in.

The second thing I was going to say is with regards to charges, because of the way charges work in Fingal, we pay an ammount for each collection no yearly charge, the brown bins mean a saving in money as black bin use is reduced, also there is no charge for brown bins.

Finally just with regards to using it, a newspaper or two scrunched up and thrown in at the bottom can do wonders soaking up mess. We don't put everything in as it does tend to get smelly, but is very handy for garden waste, this won't smell.

dubtom

Ste.phen wrote: »

Where did you get the liners for the brown bin?
Can't say ours smells too bad, but it could definitely use a clean, and liners to prevent recurrence of the problem!

In my local spar.My sis claims that woodies sell em too.

coopersgreen

Can you send them back? I've used mine once and it was filthy. I don't want it anymore. They stink and they're just a magnet for flies and maggots.

Around where I am a lot of people have just left them outside their houses permanently.

Beta Bill

I have something to add to all this. When we first got our brown we used to put our waste directly into it. We soon learnt that was a mistake. Walking past it one day noticed dozens of crawly maggots wriggling around on the ground near the bin. Discovered that even with the lid completely shut there are small "breather holes" in the top of the bin and the feckers were crawling up the inside of the bin and out these small openings! So I taped them up with Duck tape. That stopped that. Only last week or so I noticed a fly crawl into the bin (lid shut) as there is a tiny gap between the lid and the top of the bin - even when the lid is shut!!! So obviously whoever designed these did not do any R&D because no matter what you do the flies can get in there. We now use the large green biodegradable liners and the small ones in the kitchen caddy, this helps for sure but just imagine the billions of flies these bins are hosting in the neighbouring households around you that don't use any liners! Last word I pity the binmen who have to endure the stench - you can smell that brown bin lorry a mile off not to mention the gunge that drips out of it when the turn corners etc.!

samb

I work for a company that carries out composting of 'brown bin' waste

It is a big cost for councils and private operators (we don't do collections ourselves) to carry out collections and they still have to pay composting operators to treat the material. This is why there is such a reluctance to introduce the scheme, and having weekly collections is even more expensive.
I agree howver that a small receptical collected weekly would be best.

The bottom line here is that because of the environmental impacts of sending the stuff to landfill (which are significant) we have to segregate our food waste or we will be fined by the EU.

The composting produced is very high quality and nutrient rich but the problem is no real markets exist so the material is essentially given away to farmers at present. The operating costs for composting is also quite high. Contamination can also be a problem but most contaminants can be screened out of the compost. This material then has to be disposed of to landfill however and it all adds to the costs.

I think if people want there waste managed in an environmentallly sound way then in this case they are going to have to accept slightly higher waste charges and must put in the effort to segregate the waste

wush06

i know this one is a bit old.
But just got one of these brown bins to the door today in dublin.
And from reading some posts on this looks like i might look to send it back, as for the flys and stuff im sorry but its not for me.

John Mason

buy yourself the special bags - no smell no flies.

i wouldnt be without mine, brilliant for the garden waste

PaulieC

you have to write to the council to have it returned. not an email, but a letter. don't expect a coherent response though

suey71

Since last years horrible Bluebottle infestation we infested in having the Brown bin professionally cleaned. We then infested in recyclable bin liners. We also infested in some small bin liners for daily recyclable waste, guess what?

The Blue bottles and maggots are still there and the smell is awful.

The brown bin lorry came this morning and before it took the bin away I went arount the neighbours bins and inspected them. They all stank and they all had swarms of Blue bottles on them.

I have tried everything, and I have had it up to here with the smell, maggots and flies.


What I put in the Brown Bin.
*Recyclable bin liner.
*Left overs from dinner - put in small recyclable bag.
*Veg. peelings " " " "
*Paper and cardboard " " ".
*Grass cuttings " " ".

ollaetta

wush06 wrote: »

looks like i might look to send it back

Found one delivered outside the door myself yesterday. Don't particularly want it but reading the bumph (South Dublin Co. Co.) it says that householders must accept a Brown Bin when one is delivered to them. Checking on the SDCC website for further info they say that this is because "it is a requirement under EU legislation that all Countries in the EU stop sending organic waste to Landfill."

On this basis I can't see them taking the bins back too easily.

John Mason

suey71 wrote: »

Since last years horrible Bluebottle infestation we infested in having the Brown bin professionally cleaned. We then infested in recyclable bin liners. We also infested in some small bin liners for daily recyclable waste, guess what?

Really :eek: i washed mine out with a garden hose a bit of bleach.

got those small bags for the kitchen bin - no flies, no smell, no maggots.

i didnt bother with a bag for the big bin and i just lash the garden waste straight in :pac:

so i put the small kitchen bag on sealed tight - that has peelings, left over dinner and some gone off food. it goes straight in the brown bin and the garden waste gets thrown on top.

are your bags tied tight?

starviewadams

We had maggots and flies all over the brown bin when we started using it(we were just wrapping waste food in newspaper).

Now I wash the bin out with the hose and a bit of jeyes fluid after each collection,and we wrap our waste food up in newspaper first and then put that in the decompostable small bags and tie them tightly.

Now there's no more smell and no more disgusting maggots or flies.Happy days!

sambuka41

We missed the days to get the bin out for about a month and after that the bin was disgusting, flies and the like. But after we kept on top of getting it out for each collection it was grand.

Between that and the green bin its saved us a fortune on the bin charges, we seen what the people before us were paying for bins in comparison to what we are paying,its less than half.