New bin collecting

sligoface · 05-02-2014 8:39pm

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Am still yet to see any literature from Greenstar on their charges.

I know, and neither barna or greenstar have the info for domestic customers on their websites. This whole thing is so stereotypically Irish it's almost funny. But anyway greenstar is now 4euro something per month standing charge which is a rise, and the food bin is meant to be six euro which is a joke. When the thirty odd euro I have with greenstar runs out I'll probably switch to barna as their food bin is 2 euro.

But I am really interested to see what happens if you don't put out your food bin as regards your account balances with each company. Since you are 'obliged' to put it out every two weeks, will they just be deducting this automatically regardless of whether the bin is put out. Because I am not putting it out if it is not full or if I am away for a few days, etc. I still maintain that the only way to do this fairly and to get people to cooperate is include the feckin food bin in the standing charge. Simples. It's biodegradable waste anyway, and many households won't even fill them in two weeks. But then again, common sense does not enter into the decisions of the council or EU, with their lovely jobs they won't be burdened by an increase like this.

And as has been said, for people like myself who produce little waste as it is, this is a major increase, but for those who produce a lot of waste, it is much cheaper. Great job EU, great job Co. Council! I think I'll have to start producing more waste somehow to get my money's worth of these standing charges and 'obliged' bin collections.

Henlars67 · 05-02-2014 9:06pm

Does anyone have a link to anywhere that says you have to put out the food bin every two weeks?

Voodoo_rasher · 05-02-2014 9:41pm

AgileMyth: "The state of the Irish public. Complain about every new tax and price hike for about two days then go and queue to sign up for it."

Read somewhere that only 42% of us inform ourselves through on-line newspapers (and I suppose forums also). Pretty telling. But then James Watson , NObel Winner did say lately that the downfall of the Irish is ignorance..

Please read the article below carefully. Jim O'Sullivan dissects these bye-laws, maybe calls their bluff.

Very good comment , opinion follows the article worth a read. People are cottoning on gradually.

www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=29621

had no idea that foreign Risk Capital firms are buying out our waste collectors. V bad for the future - poor service, only the bottom line matters to these quick-buck merchants.

prodsc · 05-02-2014 9:43pm

Henlars67 wrote: »

Does anyone have a link to anywhere that says you have to put out the food bin every two weeks?

http://www.sligococo.ie/media/FAQs_WasteManagment.pdf

page 2, q3.

redarmyblues · 13-02-2014 12:02am

This thread reminds me that Tony Soprano's official job title was waste management consultant, he would have loved this racket.

TequilaMockingBird · 13-02-2014 12:15am

It's an €80 per year tax. That's all.

redarmyblues · 13-02-2014 12:39am

More like a protection racket, pay for a service you don't require or face the consequences.

The upshot its that many people will burn some will dump and the refuse companies make more money for less work, that the important thing, it won't be them picking hazardous rubbish out of split bin liners in inaccessible parts of scenic areas.

another legacy of Hubert's reign of error, surely the worst man to come to Sligo since Sir Frederick Hamilton burnt the town and abbey in Cromwellian times.

tommyamnesia · 16-02-2014 9:20pm

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

It's an €80 per year tax. That's all.

I was told the white bin bags can still be bought in Sligo Town. Anyone know where?

Markiemarkso · 27-02-2014 2:27pm

You don’t actually need to sign up with a waste company.

I rang the environmental section of the council and had a long conversation with the environmental officer.
First off I explained my situation at the moment, I recycle everything I can at the local amenity site, I have a garden composter (they are in Aldi this week for €20) and foods scraps are given to the dog, I put a bin out about four times a year.
I was annoyed at the idea of doing my best to “reduce, reuse recycle” and being forced to sign up with a contractor and pay flat fees before bins are emptied. Also the bye laws stated that the contractors must offer a pay per weigh system which some are not, they are taking up that issue with them.

Anyway she explained that I can continue as I am and instead of putting out a waste bin the few times a year I do, I would have to bring it to the civic amenity site, questioned on where these are, the only one that accepts waste (as opposed to recycling) is on Deepwater Quay, however if there was demand it is possible it could be rolled out in Tubbercurry also.

Doing this I was assured would keep me compliant with the new bye laws and yet I don’t have to sign up with an operator.
Also bin sharing is allowed, you and a neighbour / family member can share a bin, thereby halving the standing charges.

sligoface · 27-02-2014 3:08pm

No sign of any brown bins in town yet, Greenstar haven't delivered any to our house even though we've been signed up with them for over a year and we are supposed to be complying with these new regulations by 4th March, which is middle of next week.

TequilaMockingBird · 27-02-2014 3:24pm

I'm with Barna and we got the brown bins. I'm in town.

I got a 5 litre kitchen caddy and biodegradable liners from Amazon.

tommyamnesia · 27-02-2014 3:30pm

Markiemarkso wrote: »

You don’t actually need to sign up with a waste company.

I rang the environmental section of the council and had a long conversation with the environmental officer.
First off I explained my situation at the moment, I recycle everything I can at the local amenity site, I have a garden composter (they are in Aldi this week for €20) and foods scraps are given to the dog, I put a bin out about four times a year.
I was annoyed at the idea of doing my best to “reduce, reuse recycle” and being forced to sign up with a contractor and pay flat fees before bins are emptied. Also the bye laws stated that the contractors must offer a pay per weigh system which some are not, they are taking up that issue with them.

Anyway she explained that I can continue as I am and instead of putting out a waste bin the few times a year I do, I would have to bring it to the civic amenity site, questioned on where these are, the only one that accepts waste (as opposed to recycling) is on Deepwater Quay, however if there was demand it is possible it could be rolled out in Tubbercurry also.

Doing this I was assured would keep me compliant with the new bye laws and yet I don’t have to sign up with an operator.
Also bin sharing is allowed, you and a neighbour / family member can share a bin, thereby halving the standing charges.

That's correct. I've been telling people that for weeks. Remember, you must keep receipts for 3 years. Evidence for inspector if he ever calls!

TequilaMockingBird · 27-02-2014 3:33pm

It's working out cheaper for me.

tommyamnesia · 27-02-2014 5:32pm

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

It's working out cheaper for me.

Cheaper than what?

TequilaMockingBird · 27-02-2014 5:38pm

tommyamnesia wrote: »

Cheaper than what?

Than what I paid previously.

tommyamnesia · 27-02-2014 5:44pm

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Than what I paid previously.

Oh right, I thought you meant cheaper than not registering.

TequilaMockingBird · 27-02-2014 5:48pm

tommyamnesia wrote: »

Oh right, I thought you meant cheaper than not registering.

No, I want the collections.

It was costing me €36 a month, now it should be €26ish a month.

Mint Sauce · 02-03-2014 4:08pm

Does anyone know if Greenstar in Deepwater Quay has a general waste drop off, or is that the same place as the Civic Amenity Site, and what the costs are.

Cant see anything on the Greenstar website.

rizzodun · 02-03-2014 4:14pm

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Does anyone know if Greenstar in Deepwater Quay has a general waste drop off, or is that the same place as the Civic Amenity Site, and what the costs are.

Cant see anything on the Greenstar website.

They do, its a bit further down from the recycling site AFAIK, no idea on price, someone mentioned here €5 per bag, which sounds expensive.

sari · 02-03-2014 9:13pm

So I'm wondering about this 35kg and how likely it would be to go over it?? 2 adult 1 toddler still in nappies and our ashes from fire need to go in bin.
We would have put our bin out once every 4 weeks and it would be full to the brim, pretty heavy but no idea on weight. Might just go with mc graths if we'd be over the 35kg???

barneyrub · 02-03-2014 10:11pm

sari wrote: »

So I'm wondering about this 35kg and how likely it would be to go over it?? 2 adult 1 toddler still in nappies and our ashes from fire need to go in bin.
We would have put our bin out once every 4 weeks and it would be full to the brim, pretty heavy but no idea on weight. Might just go with mc graths if we'd be over the 35kg???

Wondering the same here. Anyone have a rough idea weight of a regular bin.

All I can see on barna site is a €2.50 surcharge if overweight. Not enough of a charge to make mcgraths cheaper if only going out once a month

TheQ47 · 03-03-2014 11:30am

sari wrote: »

So I'm wondering about this 35kg and how likely it would be to go over it?? 2 adult 1 toddler still in nappies and our ashes from fire need to go in bin.
We would have put our bin out once every 4 weeks and it would be full to the brim, pretty heavy but no idea on weight. Might just go with mc graths if we'd be over the 35kg???

I asked the guy about this when I was signing up. He asked me:

"Do you put ashes in the bin?" Yes.
"Do you compress/ stand on your bin to push it down?" Yes
"How often do you normally put it out?" About every 4 weeks

"Then your bin is DEFINITELY over 35kg." He said they have bins which have been up on 100kg. Ashes are very heavy, and it'd be no problem going over 35kg. I asked how the extra €2.50 will work, he said "For the moment" if your bin is over 35kg, you'll be charged the extra €2.50, but eventually there'll be a charge per extra kg. (I'm on the e-pay option).

I presume if you're there when the bin is being lifted, you can check with the collector what the weight of the bin is, there must be some weighing mechanism on the lorry.

By the way, although I haven't yet got my bin chipped, I left my rubbish out last Friday without a bag, and got it lifted for free

sari · 03-03-2014 12:33pm

Thanks a mil for that seems barna is still cheaper if I put my rubbish out every second week and recycling once a month it's €80 for 3 months. So will sign up for them all out of bags now

barneyrub · 03-03-2014 1:36pm

Anyone else think the brown bins sound small...25l? One cut of grass would easily fill it without adding other waste to it

TheQ47 · 03-03-2014 2:13pm

barneyrub wrote: »

Anyone else think the brown bins sound small...25l? One cut of grass would easily fill it without adding other waste to it

I suppose they're thinking of it in terms of household rather than garden waste, i.e., food scraps, etc. The large 240 litre bin wouldn't do me for grass cuttings.
A word of warning, I don't know where you live, but check here on the county council website to see if you live in an area where brown bins are needed, it's mostly only those living within towns that need them.

barneyrub · 03-03-2014 2:28pm

Ya we are in an area that needs one!

Guess you're right. We have somewhere for our grass cuttings anyway

Thanks

sari · 03-03-2014 10:14pm

So I'm about to sign up to barna online and just wondering how I top up if I don't want to pay by direct debit? It doesn't seem to give me an option to create a username or password to log into the ebilling thing so I can top up online in the future. Any idea how this works

TequilaMockingBird · 03-03-2014 10:57pm

There's no way you'd get any garden waste in the brown bin. I'd prefer a 240l one.

I signed up to Barna maybe a month ago and got the bins, but no paperwork/pin number. I rang and left a message last week but they haven't got back to me yet.

barneyrub · 19-03-2014 8:08pm

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

There's no way you'd get any garden waste in the brown bin. I'd prefer a 240l one.

I signed up to Barna maybe a month ago and got the bins, but no paperwork/pin number. I rang and left a message last week but they haven't got back to me yet.

Did you get anything from them since? Ours were left today with nothing... No leaflets/documents at all.

And the brown bin is v small. How are people doing that have theirs already?

Bebo stunnah · 19-03-2014 9:16pm

What plan is everyone on? I still haven't signed up with everyone as I haven't filled my bin since the start of this thread!
Finally got a look at Greenstars, which to be fair doesn't look too bad. But I noticed in small writing after selecting the 'Standard Plan' (which is €129/year) that it says COST PER KG: €0.255, Obviously this means they're charging per weight and the €129 is just for having the privilege of having GREENSTAR on the side of your bin?

TequilaMockingBird · 20-03-2014 12:01am

barneyrub wrote: »

Did you get anything from them since? Ours were left today with nothing... No leaflets/documents at all.

And the brown bin is v small. How are people doing that have theirs already?

No, still no paperwork/account number from Barna. I put the blue & brown bins out today and they took them. No credit on the account though.

I've a dog and only two of us in the house, so the brown bin is enough for our food waste, but it's pretty small for a bigger family.

Terry Wogans Inner Thigh · 20-03-2014 8:59am

Can I put ashes in the Brown bin?

Seamus1964 · 20-03-2014 9:22am

Items for placing in the Food Waste ( Brown )bin include:

Garden Waste i.e. grass cuttings, hedge clippings, etc
Food scraps (including cooked/uncooked meat, fish and poultry)
Shellfish and Bones
Eggs and Egg Shells
Egg Boxes
Dairy Products (Cheese, Yoghurt, etc)
Soups and Sauces
Table and Plate Scrapings
Fruit peelings
Vegetable peelings
Breads
Cakes and Pastries
Cereals
Pasta, Rice, Dough
Teabags
Coffee Grinds and Paper Filters
Biscuits
Food Soiled Napkins and Paper Towels
Wet Cardboard and Paper
Food Soiled Pizza Boxes
Hair (Human and Pet hair)
Saw Dust
Dog Foul

barneyrub · 20-03-2014 9:50am

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

No, still no paperwork/account number from Barna. I put the blue & brown bins out today and they took them. No credit on the account though.

I've a dog and only two of us in the house, so the brown bin is enough for our food waste, but it's pretty small for a bigger family.

Seems really odd. What if you never top up your account? Which you can't if no account number!

Now have to go looking for my details off them. Why are so many companies incompetent!

Lush Puppy · 20-03-2014 5:35pm

Just wondering do the monthly price options include the price of bin per lift or is this an additional fee every few months on top of what it costs to put each bin out?

quinnthebin · 20-03-2014 10:05pm

Barna are an absolute joke - signed up nearly three weeks ago - got an automated confirmation email but have heard nothing from them since. Have tried to contact them by phone on numerous occasions and each time could only leave a message but they never got back to me. I am left now with bins full of rubbish and recycling and no way of getting rid of them.

Gonna leave bins out tomorrow morning and see what happens. . . .

TheQ47 · 27-03-2014 4:28pm

quinnthebin wrote: »

Barna are an absolute joke - signed up nearly three weeks ago - got an automated confirmation email but have heard nothing from them since. Have tried to contact them by phone on numerous occasions and each time could only leave a message but they never got back to me. I am left now with bins full of rubbish and recycling and no way of getting rid of them.

Gonna leave bins out tomorrow morning and see what happens. . . .

How did you get on, quinnthebin? I've left my old (un-chipped) bins out for the last few weeks and no bother, and left recycling stuff out in black bin bags, and it's all been collected. My wife asked the binmen about it last week, and the guy said he has no idea what's going on, just leave it out and they'll collect.

I got an Easy payment Card from Barna about 4 weeks ago, and I finally got my bins from them yesterday (5 and a half weeks after signing-up with them!), but there's still nothing shown on my account. Like quinnthebin, I rang and left messages and called in to the office in Wine St Car Park, but basically got no-one who could tell me what's happening. I paid them €50, and one person rang me once and left a message, in which they told me there's €44.60 credit on my account. I have no idea where that amount comes from, when they took €5.40 off my account or why, and I haven't been able to get back in touch with them since to find out more (no answers to phone calls or emails).

What a joke of a company!

Mint Sauce · 27-03-2014 4:52pm

Should try that. Have a wheely bin full of pedal bin bags, that I was going to stuff into two heavy duty bin bags and bring down to Greenstar.

In a shared house and none of us want to commit to a standing order or DD at present.

SligoLady · 28-03-2014 5:33pm

quinnthebin wrote: »

Barna are an absolute joke - signed up nearly three weeks ago - got an automated confirmation email but have heard nothing from them since. Have tried to contact them by phone on numerous occasions and each time could only leave a message but they never got back to me. I am left now with bins full of rubbish and recycling and no way of getting rid of them.

Gonna leave bins out tomorrow morning and see what happens. . . .

3 Weeks? Count yourself lucky....I signed up at the start of Feb and still no sign of the new bins.....and having the same luck as you when it comes to getting hold of them.

barneyrub · 28-03-2014 5:43pm

We got our buns from Barna fairly quick....about 10 days after signing up. But no paperwork since even though they said it would be this week!

quinnthebin · 29-03-2014 1:21am

Didn't leave bin out last week in the end. Managed to get in touch with barna yesterday. In fairness the girl i spoke to was lovely and helpful. Gave me a reference number to put on our existing bin. Left it out and it was collected This morning without any problem. 2 new Bins delivered today.
Existing bins will prob be modified to use as compost bins.

sari · 03-04-2014 11:15am

What are people doing with their old bins?? I now have 5 bins here including the compost.

bennyc · 03-04-2014 2:15pm

is anyone's barna balance in order, I spoke to them last week and was told it will be a few days before the correct balance shows up. I topped up 20 and that is my balance even thought I had to pay 40 the first time as a min payment. I got my new bins last week after a 2 and a half week wait. Not too bad considering the amount of people signing up at the moment. I was told once you have an account make sure to leave a note on the bin if you haven't got the new ones yet.

quinnthebin · 03-04-2014 8:26pm

bennyc wrote: »

is anyone's barna balance in order

Do you have to speak to them or is there an online account facility - or is that just wishful thinking?

Roger00 · 10-04-2014 6:36pm

Signed up with greenstar couple of months ago, had a couple of refuse collections & both times inc today I've had to phone greenstar as the truck collects the neighbours but leaves mine, then the driver has the brass neck to say the bin wasn't left out on time, they collect on Thursday my bin is left out Wednesday evening. They're an absolute disgrace& I'm going back to Barna @ least they collect on the day they're suppose too.
Greenstar moto "Setting the Standard", well if greenstar's standard is the norm then we'll be knee deep in rubbish before long. It's a f#@*in joke!

Mint Sauce · 10-04-2014 9:38pm

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Should try that. Have a wheely bin full of pedal bin bags, that I was going to stuff into two heavy duty bin bags and bring down to Greenstar.

In a shared house and none of us want to commit to a standing order or DD at present.

Well I don't know which of them picked it up, but one of them did.

Still hopefully plan though to drop any future bags down to the site though. Not sure you would get away with a free lift to often.

seanoge · 29-04-2014 9:51am

Used to be reliable but having problems lately with them. Had 3 mobile Nr's for them, now nobody answers and the 1890 number - nobody answers. bins still sitting there.

barneyrub · 29-04-2014 2:03pm

Anyone having problems with barna online acc system.

We finally got our account information by post and set up online. I put some money on the account. But today it's changed, tells me I have €x credit left but no information of lifts or what the money deducted was for. Is it a problem or still a work in progress?

prodsc · 29-04-2014 6:36pm

barneyrub wrote: »

Anyone having problems with barna online acc system.

We finally got our account information by post and set up online. I put some money on the account. But today it's changed, tells me I have €x credit left but no information of lifts or what the money deducted was for. Is it a problem or still a work in progress?

Today is the first day I have got past the LOG IN page as they have had problems with their system since day 1. I am showing outstanding when I know that I am not!! I cannot access lift details either but have been promised they will look into it.

I can tell you that they have taken money for Feb/March and put everybody on a start period of 1st April(no joke) so if you are showing a balance of €10.32, for example, it is for this reason.

sligoface · 30-04-2014 1:11am

This is why I didn't want this crap. Once you put your money in the acct they can do what they like with it whether they take your bins or not. And typical of any 'new system' on this island it's a shambles. I want to go back to buying bags or tags. Pay as you go, simple and convenient and no worries about the state of my 'bin balance'.

Still no sign of a brown bin from greenstar. Doesn't seem like this regulation is really going to be enforced. Which is good because it's unnecessary. I'm not a hotel or restaurant, I don't need a whole bin for wasted food.

New bin collecting

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