# A second green bin?



## AlbacoreA (17 Nov 2020)

I see a few people now have a 2nd green bin. I thinking of getting one myself. Anyone have one, any thoughts?


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## SparkRite (17 Nov 2020)

Yep, I have two for what seems like yonks now.
6 adults in the house and we fill them each fortnight, does my head in the amount of supermarket packaging.
Twice the price to be lifted obviously.


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## vandriver (17 Nov 2020)

Green bins are free.Is there a charge for the second one?


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## SparkRite (17 Nov 2020)

vandriver said:


> Green bins are free.



Not with Panda, Greyhound, Thorntons, didn't bother checking any others. Used to be free with all but hasn't been for a few years now AFAIK.


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## vandriver (18 Nov 2020)

I suppose it's down to how you define free.Once you pay your monthly fee,there is no charge for whatever amount of green waste you leave out in one bin.Are you saying that a second green bin would attract charges?


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## AlbacoreA (18 Nov 2020)

I think on panda a green bin is €1 or so and black bin the guts of €10 (approx). I'm just finding I'm having to compact the green bin a lot and even then sometimes the overflow goes into the black bin. I also started trying to get more into the green bin in terms of washing more packaging so it could go in the green. Then with lockdown more online stuff means more packaging. 

So it's obviously cheaper and maybe more environmentally friendly to make more use of the green bin.  A neighbour has got a second bin. 

I was even considering some sort of shredder, compactor. But a second bin seemed easier.


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## Steven Barrett (18 Nov 2020)

vandriver said:


> I suppose it's down to how you define free.Once you pay your monthly fee,there is no charge for whatever amount of green waste you leave out in one bin.Are you saying that a second green bin would attract charges?



Panda charge for a lift and weight for their Green bins. It was introduced in 2018 after China stopped accepting recyclables from outside China.


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## Purple (18 Nov 2020)

SBarrett said:


> Panda charge for a lift and weight for their Green bins. It was introduced in 2018 after China stopped accepting recyclables from outside China.


I think it had more to do with people putting so many non recyclable things, including dirty nappies, into their green bin.


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## AlbacoreA (18 Nov 2020)

Why would that make a difference. They fine you if you do that.


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## Cervelo (18 Nov 2020)

Panda used to include the green bin in their yearly service charge but a couple of years ago they started charging for this service
€0.80 for the lift and €0.45 per Kg of green waste giving a rough average of €1.50 per lift
Have to say when this service started it was great, nearly everything went into this bin and it was put out for collection every two weeks 
Now because a lot of packaging material is not recyclable it goes out once a month or once every six weeks 
and we find ourselves going to Ballyogan RC  every quarter with a couple of black bags of waste that can't be put in the green bins anymore


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## AlbacoreA (18 Nov 2020)

I think the amount of packaging, paper, cardboard has really exploded in the last couple of years. Its excessive.  
Ditto with the food shopping. An excess of packaging. 
The local recycling center is always queued at the weekends, so it just takes too long to drop things into it.


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## Steven Barrett (18 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> I think it had more to do with people putting so many non recyclable things, including dirty nappies, into their green bin.



They contacted customers about putting non recycling in the green bin and said they'd be charged and have their lifts refused. 

The introduction of charges is to do with China 









						Waste company Panda introduces green bin charges
					

China’s recent ban on plastics and paper sparks global increase in recycling prices




					www.irishtimes.com
				



.


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## Purple (18 Nov 2020)

SBarrett said:


> They contacted customers about putting non recycling in the green bin and said they'd be charged and have their lifts refused.
> 
> The introduction of charges is to do with China
> 
> ...


I can't find a link but I heard the head of one of the collection companies on the radio saying that the reason was that because of the new regulations they had to employ more people to remove contaminated and unsuitable waste from the green bins. He said if people followed the rules there would be no collectio charge but up to 30% of what went in was not recyclable.


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## Steven Barrett (18 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> I can't find a link but I heard the head of one of the collection companies on the radio saying that the reason was that because of the new regulations they had to employ more people to remove contaminated and unsuitable waste from the green bins. He said if people followed the rules there would be no collectio charge but up to 30% of what went in was not recyclable.



There's loads of links saying that it is because of China, so maybe that's the real reason? 









						Panda to introduce recycling charge for customers
					

The General Manager of Panda Recycling has said charging for green bin collections will help Ireland continue to recycle.




					www.rte.ie
				












						Q&A: What is behind the new Panda recycling charge?
					

Fees for mixed dry recyclables coming for some consumers from middle of next month




					www.irishtimes.com
				




I think this is the link you are looking for, which is not the reason for them introducing charges on the green bin 









						645 Panda customers must pay €9.35 after 'contaminating' bins
					

One in 20 Panda customers in north Dublin have been forced to pay higher charges because they routinely contaminate their recycling bin.




					www.herald.ie


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## Purple (18 Nov 2020)

SBarrett said:


> There's loads of links saying that it is because of China, so maybe that's the real reason?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think that guy was making the point that the Chinese would take the waste if people actually followed the rules. They weren't willing to take contaminated waste any more so they had to employ extra people to sort through it in more detail.


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## Zenith63 (18 Nov 2020)

AlbacoreA said:


> Why would that make a difference. They fine you if you do that.


The instances of people actually being fined must surely be tiny if non existent?  Once the bin is emptied into the truck there is no way of telling who stuck a nappy into the middle of a jammed bin.

I presume it is reliant on the binmen who are actually grabbing people's bins and bringing them up to the truck to be emptied... which is automated so the guy is often looking away or lining up the next bin... and mostly obscured from their view even if they were looking... and they're run off their feet hauling bins and chasing down the truck so don't seem likely to whip out an iPad and document the non-compliance... and it's dark these morning when they're collecting.  Maybe somebody is going to tell me there's a camera that watches each bin being tipped into the truck and associates the video clip with the ID read from the bin?

EDIT: Rant retracted, it seems _we have the technology_ and the bin trucks do indeed take video footage of bins being emptied in and correlate it to the bin lifted.  Colour me impressed!


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## huskerdu (18 Nov 2020)

Actually,  that is exactly what they do. 

I was putting glass in the green bin, unaware that it was no longer allowed. 
I got a letter with the photo informing me that I was putting items in the bin which werent allowed and I would be fined if it happened again. 

The photo was very clear and from the contents, I could tell , it was my green bin.


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## DB74 (18 Nov 2020)

Thorntons charge a once-off €40 for a second green bin


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## SparkRite (18 Nov 2020)

Zenith63 said:


> EDIT: Rant retracted, it seems _we have the technology_ and the bin trucks do indeed take video footage of bins being emptied in and correlate it to the bin lifted. Colour me impressed!



Yep, they've been at that for a while now.


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