Wheelie Bin Roundup 17th July

Wheelie Bin Roundup 17^th July

A thief posing as a workman made off with a wheelie bin full of stolen goods from a sheltered housing complex in Dundee.

Police said that the man forced entry into the complex, before stealing items from the building’s communal areas. He wore a white workman’s hat, which made him appear as if he was entitled to legitimate entry into the premises. The man then left the complex with stolen items in a wheelie bin. Police are appealing for witnesses as they say that this occurred on a fairly busy road in the city and the man would more than likely have been witnessed leaving the premises.

There appears to be a black market for council wheelie bins emerging on Facebook.

12,000 homes in Colchester were given new wheelie bins last month in preparation for the start of a new recycling scheme. But some residents have taken to social media to sell bins to people who don’t have one.

The council said that anyone who did not put their rubbish out for collection in an approved bin would not have access to a collection. They added that anyone who loses or sells their bin will have to pay for a replacement or would face not having their rubbish collected. Residents will not have to pay to have a stolen bin replaced, as long as they have a crime number from the police.

One resident said that she sold her bin online for £20 because she had no use or space for it. She said that she recycles everything, and uses the food and garden waste bins as advised.

A wheelie bin fire has damaged a house in Thame in Oxfordshire. The fire brigade attended the incident and found 3 wheelie bins on fire. The fire had also spread to a wooden fence and had damaged the exterior of the property.

The resident of the house heard a noise and on investigating the fire, had managed to stop it spreading by using a garden hose on it. This meant that the fire brigade could extinguish it far more easily. Fire officers used a thermal imaging camera to check that the fire had not spread to the roof of the house.

The fire was caused by hot ash from a bonfire being deposited in the bin, where it has smouldered, before igniting and setting fire to rubbish in the bin.

Residents in Brighton and Hove have complained that new recycling bins are spoiling the look of their streets. They have also claimed that the bins are an obstacle in that they block space on pavements.

Some other residents are big fans of the bins however, and say that they can hold more recycling so it doesn’t end up strewn all over the streets. They add that the bins are a big improvement on having several black boxes.

The council said that they want to make it easier for everyone to recycle waste, and that the feedback they had from most residents was that the bins were a welcome improvement.