Selfsufficientish.com

I have been refusing carrier bags from shops for some time now and i always have a few bags in my pocket just incase i need them.

My problem is with black plastic bin bags my local council will not empty the wheely bin if the contents is not in black plastic bin liners.
we have been told on two occasions that us using carrier bags tied up instead of bin bags will not be acceptable.

so what can i do instead of buying black plastic bin bags just for them to end up in land fill?

I think that's a ridiculous situation. If your council is insisting on these plastic bags then they ought to provide them. I would question them as to why they need to be in bags in the first place though.

Biodegradeable bags are creeping in, they are obviously needed now in black bin liners. Any out there?

John

You can buy biodegradable bin bags... but do they breakdown in landfill conditions??

what a ridiculour requirement. think I'd be inclined to use carriers and then put a bin bag of rubbish on top so they don't notice when they open the bin to put it on the lorry. though that's only going to work if you have that much rubbish in a week because we have hardly any food waste I often don't bother with bags for my kitchen bin so rubbish is just loose in my wheelie bin. I haven't bought black bags in years so can't help with whether there are any biodegradable ones, my OH 'aquirred' a load of rubbish bags from where he used to work, there bin bag sized but see through

paradox wrote:my local council will not empty the wheely bin if the contents is not in black plastic bin liners.

Wha..!?! That sounds extraordinary to me. Isn't that the whole point of a wheelie-bin - the operative doesn't come into contact with the contents; it's just up-ended into the wagon. Black bin liners are intended for the old-style bins, they're no good in a wheelie-bin.

I'd get in touch with the council for definitive guidence on this (in writing), and if this is really the case, then take it up with your local councillors.

well im due to move house soon so i will see what the local council say im hoping that in the new area they may have a differant policy

Bristol Council collect our rubbish straight from the wheelie bin - I have one of those bins that lifts out like a big bucket.

I never asked the council if they would or would not collect the rubbish when not in a bin bag just went ahead and did it.

There are some biodegradable bin bags out there made by d2w. You can order online

My problem, if I had to use fully degradable bags would be that we don't produce enough rubbish sometimes the bins don't go out in 4 weeks. In this time I assume that the bags would start to degrade.

A bit late replying to this one, but only a newbie!! I'm totally amazed that you only need to put out the bin every 4 weeks!! We are now in the situation in our area that the rubbish is in a small wheelie bin and the recyclable waste is in larger bin, but still need to have it collected on a weekly basis!!! WELL DONE YOU!!! Must try to reduce waste further. I think in Oz we are trying to recycle more and have less in landfill but it's still hard to balance... Maybe I need to look into COMPOSTING!!! Never tried it, but the more exposure to this forum the more I am convinced it's the way to go....!

It`s the way to go all right
If you take out all your recyclables and re-usables you`ll find that you`re left with mainly compostables!
Everything (almost) that came from the earth can be returned to it, including paper and card etc.
This forum has some serious composters who can give you loads of advice!

Once I have separated my recyclables and compostables I am mostly left with plastic waste. So now I am trying to reduce the amount of plastic I bring into the house so I don't have to dispose of it. But it is remarkably difficult to do.