Clatter , clatter bang, oh it's the Brown bin.

Nevyn

It seems that the brown bins have arrived in more of D15.
The collection of the black bin is being scaled back now that it had arrived.

http://www.dublinwaste.ie/the_brown_bin.html

Waste I CAN put in my Brown Bin
Kitchen food scraps
Plate Scrapings,
fruit & veg
Tea bags, Coffee grinds & paper filters
Breads,cakes & biscuits
Soups & sauces
Eggs & dairy products
Out of date food
Paper napkins & paper towels
Food-soiled cardboard or paper
Plant trimmings
Grass clippings & leaves
Cut flowers,old plants, moss & weeds

Waste I CAN'T put in my Brown Bin
NO plastics
NO metal
Tin foil
Sweet & crisp wrappers
Newspaper/cardboard
Light bulbs & batteries
Electrical goods & furniture
NO oils
NO glass
Crockery
Milk/Juice Cartons
Rubber Gloves
Nappies/Sanitary items
Toiletries/Medicines
Clothes/Shoes
Ashes & coal
Rocks, gravel, clay
Pesticide
Pesticide containers
Weed killer & weed sprayed with weed killer

The brown kitchen caddy looks certainly big enough but thankfully small enough that it can be hosed down and stuck in the dishwasher.

DvB

Still havent recieved any in my estate to date, is there a phased timetable for their delivery to different estates etc?

Nevyn

I don't know ours arrive unannounced this morning.
There is brown bin help line which you can ring, they might be able to anwer that.

Brownbin helpline: 018906753
E-mail: brownbins@fingalcoco.ie

DvB

Thaedydal wrote: »

I don't know ours arrive unannounced this morning.
There is brown bin help line which you can ring, they might be able to anwer that.

Brownbin helpline: 018906753
E-mail: brownbins@fingalcoco.ie

Nice one, thanks for that, i'd already contacted Fingal Co Co through that email address (no reply from them either) but hadn't got the phone number, will give them a bell this afternoon.

Nevyn

Your welcome.

Gaspode

Rats! I dont want one, no more than I want to pay €110 for the 'privilege' of getting one.
I already compost so its of no use to me. ;(

CrazyRabbit

"Food and Garden waste makes up one third of the total waste produced in an average household. "

Excuse the pun, but that's rubbish. Food and garden waste makes up about 1% of my household waste. I only make/cook what I'll eat, and my gardening effort averages about 5 minutes per year.

Now, granted that others may be more enthusiastic about gardening, and I know most families prepare more food than they actually eat, but one third seems an excessively high estimate.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to put in the brown bin. It's been in my garden for 3 weeks and I've put one item in it. And yet, I still have to pay for it, and now you mention are reduction in the black bin service!

DvB

Well given the size of my gardens (front & back are quite large) my black bin tends to be half full of grass cuttings every fornight or so at this time of year so the brown bin for me will be a help in that department (used to compost but it became a problem so dont anymore thanks to my 'friendly' neighbour), as for food waste, being honest thats practically zero for me, as mentioned above i tend to only prepare enough to eat & not have alot of leftovers so i reckon i'll get little use of it outside the grass cutting months, knowing my luck though i'll get the brown bin at the end of the summer & not need the thing until next spring though :rolleyes:

dodgyme

DvB wrote: »

used to compost but it became a problem so dont anymore thanks to my 'friendly' neighbour

greatgoal

it takes most of the heavy stuff from the black bin.with the two brown collections and the two greens,i only put the black one out once or maybe twice a month now.

DvB

dodgyme wrote: »

It became a compost heap for two (or more!!), only some of the stuff being lobbed over the wall wasn't entirely suitable for composting and it just wasn't worth the effort after a while, they denied everything when challenged on it into the bargain,despite it being physically impossible for anyone else to carry out the 'dumping'

greatgoal

DvB wrote: »

Well given the size of my gardens (front & back are quite large) my black bin tends to be half full of grass cuttings every fornight or so at this time of year so the brown bin for me will be a help in that department (used to compost but it became a problem so dont anymore thanks to my 'friendly' neighbour), as for food waste, being honest thats practically zero for me, as mentioned above i tend to only prepare enough to eat & not have alot of leftovers so i reckon i'll get little use of it outside the grass cutting months, knowing my luck though i'll get the brown bin at the end of the summer & not need the thing until next spring though :rolleyes:

i thought castaheany had the brown bins a long time now.

DvB

greatgoal wrote: »

i thought castaheany had the brown bins a long time now.

AFAIK it was only the actual Castaheany Estate that has gotten them so far, not the entire Castaheany area which includes some of the surrounding housing developments, one of which is where i live.

gollyitsolly

Fingal are a joke. Another bloody bin. Where the hell are we supposed to put them? We compost practially everything in my house and eat everything else. Which is good because our black bin is only collected every other week because of cars parked in our estate because of no parking at the train station because Fingal wont provide it!:mad:Jeez who are the idiots who run this organization? And dont even get me going on the planning in the area .:mad: Fingal County Council ARE A BUNCH OF F*****G EEGITS.:mad:GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

T-Maxx

We were one of the estates that first got the brown bins, oh, maybe 3 years ago already. I like it, it works ok and it saves one the hassle of composting, or alternatively, saves you money by not having to put it in the black bin.

Besides, and most people don't think of it this way, it's much much better for the environment.

I do think however that the small brown caddy (for inside your pad) is a really stupid design and that FCC should've done some more research into the shape of the thing before they bought 1000's of them. Not that you're forced to use them though...

dodgyme

DvB wrote: »

It became a compost heap for two (or more!!), only some of the stuff being lobbed over the wall wasn't entirely suitable for composting and it just wasn't worth the effort after a while, they denied everything when challenged on it into the bargain,despite it being physically impossible for anyone else to carry out the 'dumping'

That is unbelieveable. What a shower of *****

greatgoal

dodgyme wrote: »

That is unbelieveable. What a shower of *****

thats unreal,some necks.

DvB

dodgyme wrote: »

That is unbelieveable. What a shower of *****

The house was being rented at the time & i kid you not when i tell you there was at least 10-12 people living there, not bad for a 3 bed semi!!!

When i confronted a couple of them about it at their hall door they first tried to fob me off implying they spoke no English, cut through that nonsense & they denied any involvement & proceeded to slam the door in my face, to say i was ready to kill is an understatment, thankfully they moved out soon after, felt sorry for the landlord at the time as the house must have been destroyed given the amount of time the refurbishment took after they'd left.
By then i'd given up the compsting & just cant be arsed starting it up again.

greatgoal

DvB wrote: »

The house was being rented at the time & i kid you not when i tell you there was at least 10-12 people living there, not bad for a 3 bed semi!!!

When i confronted a couple of them about it at their hall door they first tried to fob me off implying they spoke no English, cut through that nonsense & they denied any involvement & proceeded to slam the door in my face, to say i was ready to kill is an understatment, thankfully they moved out soon after, felt sorry for the landlord at the time as the house must have been destroyed given the amount of time the refurbishment took after they'd left.
By then i'd given up the compsting & just cant be arsed starting it up again.

jaysus,i dont blame you.

daymobrew

gollyitsolly wrote: »

Fingal are a joke. Another bloody bin. Where the hell are we supposed to put them? We compost practially everything in my house and eat everything else.

Same here so I told Fingal to take the brown bin back. Problem solved.

Zaph

I presume they still charge the €110 a year though daymo?

CrazyRabbit

Zaph wrote: »

I presume they still charge the €110 a year though daymo?

And probably a collection charge for taking the bin back

daymobrew

Zaph wrote: »

I presume they still charge the €110 a year though daymo?

Unfortunately yes.
I tried to argue the annual charge with the Director of Services (PJ Howell) when I wrote to him last year.
I was suggesting an increase in the bin tag would be more fair for people who compose. He said that they did a survey (no one I've met) and more than 50% preferred the annual charge. He also said that the EPA said that there would be an increase in illegal dumping if the bin tag charge was increased.

greatgoal

daymobrew wrote: »

Unfortunately yes.
I tried to argue the annual charge with the Director of Services (PJ Howell) when I wrote to him last year.
I was suggesting an increase in the bin tag would be more fair for people who compose. He said that they did a survey (no one I've met) and more than 50% preferred the annual charge. He also said that the EPA said that there would be an increase in illegal dumping if the bin tag charge was increased.

but sure as soon as this 110e charge is implemented theres going to be an increase in illegal dumping.

gollyitsolly

Is it true that the brown bin is full of air holes on the bottom? In that case all the yucky smelly liquid would leak onto the ground! I dont want that outside my door. Could you imagine the flies and bluebottles:eek:

gollyitsolly

T-Maxx wrote: »

We were one of the estates that first got the brown bins, oh, maybe 3 years ago already. I like it, it works ok and it saves one the hassle of composting, or alternatively, saves you money by not having to put it in the black bin.

Besides, and most people don't think of it this way, it's much much better for the environment.

I do think however that the small brown caddy (for inside your pad) is a really stupid design and that FCC should've done some more research into the shape of the thing before they bought 1000's of them. Not that you're forced to use them though...

I will refuse to take it.

T-Maxx

gollyitsolly wrote: »

Is it true that the brown bin is full of air holes on the bottom? In that case all the yucky smelly liquid would leak onto the ground! I dont want that outside my door. Could you imagine the flies and bluebottles:eek:

No, it's sealed just like the grey and green bins.

T-Maxx

I think the best solution would simply be to implement bin tags for the other ( ie green and brown) bins as well, and at an appropriate rate.

Example:

Grey tag for grey bin - €8
Green tag for green bin - €3
Brown tag for brown bin - €2

or whatever the powers that be calculate it at. This way there will be a true incentive to reduce/re-use/recycle. And, you'll truly only pay for what you throw away.

gollyitsolly

T-Maxx wrote: »

I think the best solution would simply be to implement bin tags for the other ( ie green and brown) bins as well, and at an appropriate rate.

Example:

Grey tag for grey bin - €8
Green tag for green bin - €3
Brown tag for brown bin - €2

or whatever the powers that be calculate it at. This way there will be a true incentive to reduce/re-use/recycle. And, you'll truly only pay for what you throw away.

Of course it all goes back to manufacturers and suppliers who package everything. But thats another story. God be with the days when you bought loose tea and butter in a bit of paper and you brought your own bag to the shops.....................:)

daymobrew

T-Maxx wrote: »

No, it's sealed just like the grey and green bins.

Actually, I think that there are air holes on the side near the top.

greatgoal wrote:

but sure as soon as this 110e charge is implemented theres going to be an increase in illegal dumping.

I should have mentioned Mr Howell's counter argument - apparently the EPA said that increasing the bin tag charge (e.g. to 15 or so euro) would generate more illegal dumping than the annual charge + unchanged bin tag charge.

santry_goonshow

Someone i met recently from mulhuddart was complaining about the need to fit a third bin in her side entrance. I pointed out that the opportunity to reduce her general waste by putting veg peelings, grass cuttings and teabags into somewhere without a charge would surely help. She quickly retorted by saying "vegetable peelings??? ". Dear oh dear, she thinks that they are manufactured and spray painted by ICELAND.:D

ongarite

Maybe she eats veg like carrots and potatoes with skins on. I do and haven't caught some must peel veg disease.

Anyway I agree with her, its a waste and unnecessary for me and will actually cost me WAY more every year. At the moment I buy, cook and eat just what I need and have little food waste. I recycle papers, cardboard in the green bin and put out my black bin every 7-8 weeks on average.

Now Fingal CC are introducing brown bin but add 110 charge surcharge also, probably more than doubling my waste cost per year.

Jip

ongarite wrote: »

Anyway I agree with her, its a waste and unnecessary for me and will actually cost me WAY more every year. At the moment I buy, cook and eat just what I need and have little food waste. I recycle papers, cardboard in the green bin and put out my black bin every 7-8 weeks on average.

Same as ourselves, myself, wife and 2 dogs. I can understand if you were in a family situation but at the moment we only put out our black bin once every 6 or 7 weeks, don't need to avail of the now fortnightly green bin collection, the monthly suited us perfectly and produce very little waste that would go in the brown bin. With the waste we produce for it we would probably take a year to fill it.
There should be an opt out scheme for those who don't have the need for it.

dodgyme

Jip wrote: »

There should be an opt out scheme for those who don't have the need for it.

it seems to me what happened was the policy "you pay for what you use" worked which meant the Fingal started to put up the price for the bin tags. Then they had the green bins for free so they didnt want to change this because it would encourage people to compact the green bins which is not what is wanted. They dont want green bin stuff compacted. Therefore to justify a flat yearly charge they came up with the brown bin as an excuse.

What they really should have done was to leave green bin collections at once a month or possibly sell a black bin for 7 euro and charge 3 euro for a green bin (have a kinda of combo ticket.) Or else force a 10 euro charge with 7 euro for black and 3 for green bin. Brown bin is unnecessary. Why pay for stuff that is unnecessary?

ongarite

Somebody had the quote up here a while ago but the jist of it was that " You, the Dublin 15 resident are at fault for the increase in charges as you are recycling too much. We have to send out our binmen every week but you don't put the black bin out every week so to re-claim the cost to Fingal CC, we are increasing bin-tag prices and introducing flat-fee also"

PauloMN

People are never happy, it's unreal. The black bin is €8 to put out, so the less you put it out, the less you pay. This is good, both for your pocket and for the environment.

The brown bin saves me putting huge amounts of grass clippings into my black bin. I'm putting hardly anything in the black bin now, so it will only go out once a month or so.

I think the Fingal waste charges are pretty fair TBH and encourage recycling. Thumbs up from me. The €110 charge isn't just to cover the brown bin. Fingal decided to wait until they had a full black/green/brown bin service available to householders before applying the service charge. It's not like the green bin collection and waste recycling has been free all this time - it costs Fingal to provide the green bin service to all of us.

I'm sure you can send the brown bin back if you really don't want it, but hoping to avoid paying the €110 annual charge by not taking the brown bin is a bit much IMO.

As for leaving the green bin at once a month - ours is jam-packed at two weeks now that they take plastics. If you reduce the waste going in the black bin, it ends up somewhere else - in this case the green bin. A monthly collection for the green bin considering what you can now place in it would be ridiculous.

Jip

PauloMN wrote: »

The €110 charge isn't just to cover the brown bin.

This would the annual charge that was never to be brought in ?

I never said a monthly green bin collection is what they should go back to, I said we don't have any need for it, nor did I say I shouldn't have to pay the €110 annual charge because we didn't need it, in fact I never even commented on anything to do with costs.
If you read my post you'll see that we produce very little waste from our household, a back bin every 6 to 7 weeks on average and a green bin once a month so your last comment, if directed ay my post, is null and void.

So by bringing this extra bin in along with the annual charge I am no longer only paying for what I dispose of. I've never had any problem with paying for a bin tag as it meant I was paying for disposing of whatever waste I produced, but this annual charge contradicts that. Rather than this new annual charge and increase of the bin tag would have been preferable to me and others from what I can read on this forum.

dodgyme

PauloMN wrote: »

Fingal decided to wait until they had a full black/green/brown bin service available to householders before applying the service charge. .

stop telling porkies

Fingal had a black and green bin in service. Then needed more money and instead of scaling its services decided to stick in a brown bin to the mix and ask for 110 euro for it.

ongarite

OK its fine for you as you have a garden.
I don't and probably 40-50% of newer delevopments in D15 don't. Now for me this new charge is doubling my annual waste fees.
IMO it discourages recycling for apartment owners. Pay flat fee, then €8 per tag after that. It doesn't matter how little you put out your bin, its still increasing by €110 for little to no gain for me.

greatgoal

i thought that the appartments in ongar and other places in dublin 15 have the communal 1100 ltr bin as they are paying management fees to private companies?

ongarite

If you live in an apartment block with single shared entrance, then they have communal 1100ltr bins.
Apartments with their own entrances have their own 240ltr bins.

PauloMN

dodgyme wrote: »

stop telling porkies

Fingal had a black and green bin in service. Then needed more money and instead of scaling its services decided to stick in a brown bin to the mix and ask for 110 euro for it.

Porkies? Where's the porkies? I haven't paid any annual charge yet, I just got my brown bin. Nobody has had to pay the annual charge without having all 3 bins as far as I'm aware.

I'd be interested to know exactly what "scaling its services" would entail, as an alternative to applying an annual service charge.

The annual charge partially covers provision of all 3 bin collections, it's quite simple. I think it's good value for the services provided, and I cannot see anywhere in the whole country, let alone in Dublin, that has cheaper waste charges.

It also covers upgraded recycling facilities like that at Coolmine. Don't know about you, but I'd prefer to have the collections and facilities we have now with the associated costs than go back to how we were dealing with our waste 10 years ago, when we just dumped anything and everything into a big hole in the ground.

Ongarite - how exactly is recycling discouraged for apartment owners? I'd also question your estimate of 40% to 50% of newer developments in D15 not having a garden, and hence having little/no use for the Fingal brown bin. Most newer D15 properties that I'm aware of without gardens are managed by private property companies rather than Fingal.

Jip - how is my point on the increased frequency of the green bin collection "null and void"? Obviously the majority of people fill or nearly fill their green bin every two weeks now that the green bin can take plastics. Just because you don't doesn't mean that most people don't need their green bin collected every 2 weeks. I don't really see your point unless you feel you should get a reduced annual waste charge. Don't think there's much chance of that, it would be similar to me looking to pay only half of my road tax because I only use the car half as much as someone else.

Nobody likes paying bills and charges, including me, and I'm sure I'll be cursing and swearing when I do get the bill in the post. I do, however, honestly believe that it's good value for money considering what we get. If you want to see a rip off, get down to your local supermarket.

Jip

PauloMN wrote: »

Jip - how is my point on the increased frequency of the green bin collection "null and void"? Obviously the majority of people fill or nearly fill their green bin every two weeks now that the green bin can take plastics. Just because you don't doesn't mean that most people don't need their green bin collected every 2 weeks. I don't really see your point unless you feel you should get a reduced annual waste charge.

My point was in relation to you saying that you now use your green bin twice a week since you can put plastics in it but as I had already pointed out we produce very little of any kind of waste so the fact that Fingal now accept plastic makes no difference to me whatsover.

As I have also said, I'm not looking for any reduction in costs, I'm merely highlighting the fact that all the fanfare about our new brown bins and added green bin collections makes little difference to many people. I know in my block very few, if any put their green bin out for every collection, same goes for the black bin so the brown bin is not going to have any affect on most of these people.

Latchy

They (those sinister people who make decisions on our behalf ,think they are called the goverment :cool:) are thinking of giving us another weelie bin to go with the other 3 we have over here .

This is very disturbing news imo

dodgyme

PauloMN wrote: »

Nobody has had to pay the annual charge without having all 3 bins as far as I'm aware..

nobody had to pay with 2 bins. ? Its a con job, here is another bin (one you probably wont use) and give us 110 euro ...thanks.

Its a reversal of the pay for what you use policy regardless of the point that you still have the tagging system. When any nominal charging occurs, its pure rubbish (no pun intended) and a u-turn.

PauloMN wrote: »

It also covers upgraded recycling facilities like that at Coolmine...

I thought my taxes covered that. I dont use it since I got the green bin.

PauloMN wrote: »

Don't know about you, but I'd prefer to have the collections and facilities we have now with the associated costs than go back to how we were dealing with our waste 10 years ago,

Most of the inroads by the Irish state into recycling have been directed by europe so this is a mute point to me. Anyhow what we now have is a proliferation of companies competing with each other for the trash and multiple collections of multiple bins on different days, hardly environmentally friendly.? and causes litter which is not good for the environment.The charges and constant increases causes fly tipping and this is not good for the environment.?

PauloMN wrote: »

Most newer D15 properties that I'm aware of without gardens are managed by private property companies rather than Fingal..

Where I live is a newer development not managed by private property company. With 3 bins outside terraced houses the place is starting to look like a recycling facility rather then a place to live in.

PauloMN wrote: »

I do, however, honestly believe that it's good value for money considering what we get. If you want to see a rip off, get down to your local supermarket.

when private companies (as opposed to contracted services from the council) get involved in waste collection there is money to be made. I would rather my waste be collected for the right reasons, not to line people pockets.

T-Maxx

I totally agree with PauloMN. The current system works perfectly for us, though I appreciate that other people's circumstances/lifestyles differ. One has to bear in mind that FCC covers a much larger area than just bird cage housing developments and D15. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of detached houses spread throughtout the county, so I guess it works like most other systems, ie. on the basis of cross subsidising.

As a matter of interest, why wouldn't FCC want the green bins compacted?

PauloMN

Jip wrote: »

My point was in relation to you saying that you now use your green bin twice a week since you can put plastics in it but as I had already pointed out we produice very little of any kind of waste so the fact that Fingal now accept plastic makes no difference to me whatsover.

As I have also said, I'm not looking for any reduction in costs, I'm merely highlighting the fact that all the fanfare about our new brown bins and added green bin collections makes little difference to many people. I know in my block very few, if any put their green bin out for every collection, same goes for the black bin so the brown bin is not going to have any affect on most of these people.

Twice a week? I'm not that bad now...

I'd guess that for most people, the extra green bin collection is necessary. Certainly in my area which consists of a lot of families, and houses with multiple tenants, the green bins are outside almost every house every two weeks, and many of them still overflowing :mad: (personal pet hate of mine - close the lids FFS!).

Given that half of my black bin during the summer consists of grass clippings alone, I'm also delighted to have the brown bin now.

So while I appreciate that these new changes may not directly benefit you personally, they do benefit most Fingal households from what I can see.

Jip

PauloMN wrote: »

Twice a week? I'm not that bad now...

Oops

Yeah, I understand your point but I think the annual charge contradicts the point of the pay for what you throw away argument Fingal have been using for the last couple of years. It's not taking different households circumstances into account, such as those between yours and mine being a perfect example.

PauloMN

dodgyme wrote: »

nobody had to pay with 2 bins. ? Its a con job, here is another bin (one you probably wont use) and give us 110 euro ...thanks.

Its a reversal of the pay for what you use policy regardless of the point that you still have the tagging system. When any nominal charging occurs, its pure rubbish (no pun intended) and a u-turn.


I thought my taxes covered that. I dont use it since I got the green bin.


Most of the inroads by the Irish state into recycling have been directed by europe so this is a mute point to me. Anyhow what we now have is a proliferation of companies competing with each other for the trash and multiple collections of multiple bins on different days, hardly environmentally friendly.? and causes litter which is not good for the environment.The charges and constant increases causes fly tipping and this is not good for the environment.?



Where I live is a newer development not managed by private property company. With 3 bins outside terraced houses the place is starting to look like a recycling facility rather then a place to live in.


when private companies (as opposed to contracted services from the council) get involved in waste collection there is money to be made. I would rather my waste be collected for the right reasons, not to line people pockets.

So what about the "scaling of services" you mentioned previously? What's the alternative to the current system and charges?

I do see your point on the terraced house bit. Not nice having 3 bins outside the front - I wouldn't like that. Maybe there should be a different option for terraced houses with some sort of smaller combined bin.

How do you avoid using the recycling centre? I go there to get rid of old batteries, electrical items, when I do a clearout of books/magazines, old wood from DIY projects etc.. Probably go every 3 or 4 months anyway. Bottles I get rid of in the local bottle bank.

dodgyme

T-Maxx wrote: »

I totally agree with PauloMN. The current system works perfectly for us, though I appreciate that other people's circumstances/lifestyles differ?

.

I think that sentences is a contradiction in terms?

T-Maxx wrote: »

One has to bear in mind that FCC covers a much larger area than just bird cage housing developments and D15..... cross subsidising.

Again the small houses with no room for the bins cross subsiding the large houses where there is room? Kinda a odds with most environmental thinking.?

FCC seem not to give a sh&t about the "bird cage"s in dublin 15 which is kinda the problem really. These bird cages are where most people live BTW

dodgyme

PauloMN wrote: »

So what about the "scaling of services" you mentioned previously? What's the alternative to the current system and charges?.

reduce the green bin services to once ever 3 weeks.
keep black bins collection every week
no brown bins (people can compost if the want)
keep cost and charges the same as they are.

PauloMN wrote: »

I do see your point on the terraced house bit. .

but fingal havent!!!!!!!!

PauloMN wrote: »

How do you avoid using the recycling centre? .

bottle bank for bottles, batteries, old laptops etc bring to recycle at work,
green bin and black bin and have composter.