Forum Topic

Eurobin collections

Does anyone have any idea what's happened to the collection of large communal Eurobins? I cannot find any information about this on Ealing Council's website and when I've phoned I've received less than useful information saying our landlord needs to take up the matter. Anyone else had a similar experience or can give any insight into the mystery of the now idle albeit colossal Eurobin phenomena?

Joseph Jones ● 3532d9 Comments

...oops that was meant to say something along the lines of free and liberal provision of wheelie bins.  There are a lot of people that never wanted them and there are a lot of people that did!

Philippa Bond ● 3522d

Peter  Thanks for finding that info and posting it.  Although that really sounds like what was on the website absolutely years ago for blocks of flats and houses divided which have space for eurobins.  LBE announced they would be providing recycling facilities for flats years ago now - but it doesn't look as though it has happened in many cases or perhaps in even in most cases in LBE.Communal bins had to be rented and the collection organised. I know that this meant that some landlords/agents just didn't do that and the residents in the house/block and street suffered as a result. Residents Associations are probably more likely to have managed to achieve this.Bassam Mahfouz recently said that flats' collections would remain the same and I wonder whether this is what the intention was at least in the interim with communal collections and the free (costly in many ways) and liberal Council provision of them....Is this a chicken coming home to roost?  It looks like one.   

Philippa Bond ● 3522d

Thanks for the info Peter. I contacted Ealing Council via this exact number in July after the bin wasn't collected and received none too helpful 'advice' from the customer service agent to the effect that the person answering the call didn't know what is happening with Eurobins but that I should contact my landlord instead.

Joseph Jones ● 3522d

The provision of rubbish collection facilities in a block of flats is presumably down to the developer or block management/freeholder and not the landlord of an individual tenanted flat - unless they're one and the same person in this case. Individual landlords (or letting agents managing the property for them) should certainly explain to new tenants what the bin arrangements are and equally, should press the management of the block to deal with any inadequacies a tenant might bring to their attention. At the moment the Ealing Council website has this to say about Eurobins: "If you live in a flat or estate please use your communal rubbish bin/area to dispose of your rubbish. If you do not have a communal rubbish bin please contact customer services on (020) 8825 6000 to find out where your rubbish will be collected from. Residents or estate managers who want to change from sacks to communal bins should contact customer services (020) 8825 6000. The site will be assessed for its suitability to store a communal bin. Communal bins can be bought from the council, and collections will be free of charge. One bin is recommended for six premises."Which is all very well in theory - but the mystery remains as to why your Eurobin is no longer being collected. Block management to sort.  As for tenants in houses or flats without communal bins, if they're paying their council tax they can deal directly with the council and take responsibility for their own bin arrangements. It's their home, after all.

Peter Evans ● 3523d

how are you getting on  you should have much more recycling than residual waste as ealing has such a comprehensive kerbside recycling collectionletting agents and landlords [especially absent ones] should be more proactive  why are they unaware or seem to be unaware of any changes

Philippa Bond ● 3523d

The Council still don't seem to have sorted out flats, do they?  You probably need to be proactive and assess how many wheelies/what sizes you want to reduce the amount of amenity space taken up by them.  Be aware that people in houses divided into two flats were asked if they were willing to share with a neighbour in order to reduce the number of wheelies they were given but then were aghast when they were delivered with enormous wheelie bins. There are several sizes and this is written on the right hand corner of the top of the bin (not the lid).  The larger they are the more difficult they are to manoeuvre when full and they need a turning circle - something that the assessors do not seem to have taken into account.

Philippa Bond ● 3527d

It's quite farcical isn't it. We have now have just a couple of wheelie bins to share between 8 flats and two great big, but seemingly now redundant and uncollected, Eurobins outside the property.The Eurobins have the Ealing Concil logo and phone number on the side so I assume they were rented from the local authority. Our rent hasn't reduced (does it ever?) so we must still paying for a service that the council's contractors aren't providing. Looks like I need to get onto the letting agents to inform them that collections have seemingly been discontinued and someone needs to get the bins removed or service reinstated.

Joseph Jones ● 3527d

Your landlord was probably renting a Eurobin and you were probably paying for this in management fees/rent.  Is your landlord/are you still paying for this?

Philippa Bond ● 3528d

LOL Do you mean that you now have wheelie bins PLUS Eurobins?

Philippa Bond ● 3529d