A lot of flats operate a communal system. Probably more common in purpose built blocks than conversions.
It sounds sensible to me, especially if it is introduced nationwide with all councils having the same system and it improves recycling. A few years ago I bought a unit from IKEA which holds 5 orange containers and made myself a mini recycling tower - paper, packaging, non-recyclables, bottles and compostable kitchen waste. This stack lives in the annex, near our most used door. When full the contents then go to the bigger bins in the garage. The council empties our recycling bin and the general waste bin on alternating weeks. We have to take bottles, cardboard and bigger items to the local container park ourselves and can also take garden waste there but we compost most of that along with our kitchen waste and OH has a shredder. The only food waste we have is when I've skinned and boned a fish or we've had chicken or lamb with bones.
All well and good if you have the space. Not everybody does. I'm fortunate, I have room to park 3 wheelies and a small waste food bin. I'm not sure how I'd manage that amount if I didn't have a driveway or yard or garage. There is an unadopted lane nearby, and the binmen don't go up there, so the householders leave ALL their bins permanently along the main road, and that's a lot of bins. Not too much of a problem when they're full, but bl@@dy dangerous in windy weather once they're empty and blow over. One day there will be an accident, it's only a matter of time.
My stack in the annex is 30cms deep, 45cms wide and 145cm high so not a huge amount of space needed. Easy to manage, carry, clean too. It doesn't take a genius to suggest those houses in the unadopted road build a simple shelter to kep their bins form blowing over, similar to what some people in terraced houses are doing to disguise their bins. There's nearly always a work around if you seek solutions instead of seeing problems.
1 green bin for recycle, tis mt'd every 4 week and can go longer(2months) small grey bin for food waste, don't use 1 small green for cardboad, don't use but any cardboard goes into a paper bag black bin bag for waste and i only but 1 out per year What pee's me off if i have to go to the tip (recycling centre) i have to drive 38 miles but have one only 5 miles away but we can't use it as it another council but i have heard that people will use other people car's or even the number plates to use it Also you have to per book, not this guy so i haven't been not since before Covid why can't you just turn up!!! i don't have to per book to go to the fuel station
I agree with @Obelix-Vendée that local councils should be working towards the same system for rubbish and recyclables throughout the UK. Altho in this area we do have a small brown bin for food waste, I never use it for that purpose as raw waste goes in the compost heap and any bones etc. go to the woodburner. However, it is very handy for my sieved seed compost
I use one brown council caddy inside to collect my kitchen waste for the compost bin. And another couple outside to store/carry the completed compost. I have several spares since roaming ones have turned up in my garden a few times!
We use our green bins for food waste. And blue bins for paper, plastic and any other recyclables. We cannot leave them outside overnight or the raccoons distribute the contents far and wide. These are contents are collected every week. Rubbish goes in a separate bin or plastic bags and picked up bi-weekly with a three bag limit. Yard waste goes in large brown bags which are also picked up bi-weekly. Bulk items such as sofas, chairs, anything large and nonmetal are picked up bi-weekly with a limit of three. Fridges, stoves etc are picked up by request. Usually scavengers get to them before the town. Sometimes within hours of putting them out. There are no extra or separate charges for these beyond what is hidden in our property tax. I like the green bins. And because I don't have a shed, I use them for storing fertilizers, winter covers for disassembled patio table , wire cloches, etc. I hang them down the side of the house where it is easy to access their contents and they are there year round. I have a couple more down in the cellar which I shall fill with sterilized potting soil for making blocks over the winter for seed sowing.
Interesting how different areas do garbage collection. My main house, its weekly, same day, One bin for regular trash, and one bin for recycled stuff. For bulk items, its monthly. The house we have in North Carolina, its trash only on Monday, and the recycle bin is not same week, but sort of like every other week, but only if the moon is blue, then it could be every two and half week, has the strangest schedule. They even send out the schedule for recycle, its blocked in colors, certain streets on one week, other streets other weeks. So nuts and they are more expensive than mine up North. So then when we were up in Nova Scotia, at an Airbnb there were like 4 bins of different colors, no clue, they needed to mark the top with something. I was so scared to put my little waste in any of them, we just took it with us and found something reasonable. Recent stay at another airbnb in PA to small bins in the kitchen, not marked, but a letter of small print taped to the wall. Like just tape something on top of the bins.
If there's room to line up the bins @Tinkerton there's room for a panel or posts and bar behind them and on each side to stop them blowing around. Our council owns our bins and we are not allowed to post/stick/paint anything on them @redstar
We have a grey wheelie bin for non-recyclable stuff. A green wheelie bin for garden waste, but only if you pay for it. Then seperate smaller bins, one for glass and other recyclable waste plus a blue bag for paper and cardboard. We also have a brown food waste caddy. Stacking the small binscan be difficult as the council in its wisdom decided to replace solid lids with 'shower caps'. They are a plastic fabric with elastic round the edges. Apart from the problems of stacking, the binmen generally manage to rip off the tab that attaches the 'shower cap' to the bin. Assuming the 'shower cap' is still with the bin it's odds on that it will disappear after the next windy collection day. I feel sorry for people living in terraced housing who have no option but the take wheelie bins through the house. Try leaving them outside the front of the house when you have no front garden and you are liable to be fined by the council.
We have a green wheely bin for household waste, a light brown one (with garden waste printed on the top) for garden waste and a dark brown one for recycling, (paper, cardboard, glass, plastic,etc). I have heard (unofficially) that we will soon be able to put food waste in with the garden waste. At the moment we do not pay to have the garden waste collected, but bulky waste is charged at £35.00 for a maxium of 3 items!!! Household waste and garden waste is collected one week and recycling the next week.
It's not that simple. Who pays for it? Who maintains it? Who owns the land on which it is constructed? Does it need insurance? Who gets the bins out of it for emptying? Where do these go if their original spot is now used by the store? Who puts them away afterwards? Etc. Anything "communal" needs oversight.
