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.
