The National Refuse Championships is a competition where refuse vehicles take part in games such as lifting challenges and manoeuvring skills.  This event is run by the Alzheimers society and this year raised over £12000.  

This weeks headlines from around the UK features a new recycling scheme in Dundee which has allocated new communal 'Eurobins' for residents who live in tower blocks.  

Despite moving from metal to all plastic, emptying, moving or even opening and closing the lid is still a noisy business.  Take a look at your wheelie bin and see if there is a number followed by dB, for example 99dB, this is your decibel level.  

Could you afford to pay £30 for a new wheelie bin if yours is stolen or damaged, this is just one of the stories that is appearing in the news this week, where this has originated from residents could possibly have to pay £90 if their bins go missing, residents are arguing that this should be free because they pay council tax.

We use wheelie bins every day and after prolonged periods of time they start to leave odours even after the bin is emptied, but should you use a professional bin cleaning service?  Many use bio degradeable cleaning products which is a far better option than the regular household detergent.  As with most things you may have to weigh up the pros and conos of having your bin professionally cleaned.  

Waste collections are changing in Colchester, due to the budget cuts, the council have had to introduce changes to services to save money.  Residents have now had 180 litre wheelie bins delivered alongside brown wheelie bins for garden waste, they have been informed that if they recycle the correct items they should have space in their general waste wheelie bin.  

A row is erupting in Bath regarding the councils decision to issue residents with a wheelie bin instead of the refuse sacks that they are currently using.  One of the decisions surround this was the amount of litter left on streets due to seagulls attacking the bags when they are left out for collection.  

This month in our wheelie bin headlines features a woman from Leeds who tried to evade arrest by hiding in a wheelie bin, more wheelie bin fires and a safety concern over a new recycling scheme.  

Most food waste which is not available for kerbside collections end up going to landfill via your normal waste bin, Devon have now introducted the food waste caddy for their residents to go alongside their regular recycling collections, this is part of their 'recycle more' project which aims to help reduce council costs by £340,000 per year.

Despite being sturdy, wheelie bins are not fire resistant and there are many stories on which wheelie bins have caught fire and caused serious damage, so try and be safe when it comes to disposable bbq's and the disposal of them.