Recycling

Councils in the UK have delivered bins like those above so pretty soon we will no longer put our rubbish in black bags. For years we had a black bin to put all our waste stuff in but then came the introduction of serious recycling which meant we put glass and metal in a green box and paper in a blue one. We already had a brown wheelie bin for garden waste but everything else went in appropriately coloured boxes plus a simple black plastic bag. The foxes and magpies had a field day when the bags were put out for collection ... and the community at large began to complain.

The introduction of wheelie bins came this year and we are now the ‘proud’ owners of three huge bins on wheels. Collections have not yet started, though ... they’re due in June. And you should see the list of do’s and don’ts we've received with prosecutions in the offing if we don’t obey the rules. Some folk have likened it to living in a concentration camp but then some complain about anything.

So the bins arrived and the ‘housing’ problem presented itself. Where could we put them?  Some folk have used their garage to house them but we can’t do that – we put a car in ours ... mine, actually, since I refuse to leave it in the open in winter.

We live in a modest bungalow which doesn’t have a lot of ground at the front. The back garden is huge but we rejected the idea of keeping bins there, we would never manage to get them out if we did. Even with wheels attached the bins need strength to move when full and us ageing folk find it a difficult task. Not only that but the journey from back to front of the property, up and down steps, and over the door frame one gets with PVC doors, would be arduous. We were, therefore, faced with a problem. WHAT TO DO WITH THE EXTRA BINS?

Our gardener came up with a clever idea – coaxed into fruition by little me who pointed the way (wink). Anyway, he and I discussed the situation and both of us could tell it would work. When the idea was agreed on he began work straight away, working hard for the next two hours cutting bits out of the high hedge that divides our front garden from our neighbours. The hedge being ancient (a mix of small trees and shrubs) the growth was hardy, so he managed to create two spaces without disturbing the neighbour’s side of the hedge. He couldn’t have done it if the hedge had been reasonably new. Here’s what he achieved.

Now we have three bins in situ, the two you see hiding under the hedge, and the other to the right of the door, practically hidden by a bush, and all practically unseen from the road. Nothing impedes our passage down the side path, where the wheelie bins will be taken when full, and the look of the bungalow remains the same. It would have been an eyesore if all three bins were on display on our frontage.

So there you have it. The gardener was clever and we are pleased with the result.