Recycling Bins & High Winds

I understand we all have very busy lives, and limited time to perform even the most mundane of tasks. But for the umpteenth time in the 10 years I have lived in Broadlands, some of my neighbors have once again felt it is necessary to place their recycling bins outside the night before pickup -- IN A DRIVING 60 MPH WINDSTORM!?!?!?

There is enough newspaper strewn across my street, in my walkway, in by flowers, and in my landscaping to open my own newstand. If I could find anything at all with an addresss, I would be ringing your doorbell this morning at 0500 to invite you outside to clean it up.

Please, folks, can we use a little common sense here?????

That is all.

 

Amen !!

 

We never put out our bins if it is already windy, as we don't like to contribute to plastic milk jugs and newspapers flying around and we already know bins can end up somehwere further down the road. My house looks across the street at the backyard hill of the Nature center. It is covered with crap that they will mostt likely have to pay the landscapers to clean up.

Now...before anyone starts getting uppity about all our repsonses listen up: Park View HS in sterling has a huge recyling depot. You can get to it off of Church Road.

Personally, I will be taking my bins (already loaded into the back of my car) to the recyling bins located smack next to the old community center off Evergreen Mills Road as you head towards Route 50 - on the left, just past the Richmond American homes - but before the Fire Station.

 

Because that kind of thing really bothers me, I bought some of the Rubbermaid storage bins WITH LIDS. The lids snap on to keep my stuff from flying around and the recycle truck guys have no problem removing the lids when it's time to empty them.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd2935118

 

Does anyone know of a local (to Broadlands) Scout Troop or Pack? This is a GREAT opportunity for those Community Service Hours needed for rank advancement!

 

Yessiree, 'bin' there, done that!! (just to prove I do have a bit of a sense of humor about this whole thing).

These are all great suggestions, and my original intent was hopefully to spur some 'common sense thinking' and courtesy among the neigborhood. Thank you all for spreading the word!

 

Yeah, I almost edited my post to add the "after the bins are emptied they fly" but didn't. In fact, there's one blowing around my street that someone didn't bring inside from our pickup yesterday. And one in my garage that someone didn't pick up after the winds a few weeks ago. It sat on our corner for two weeks and nobody claimed it.

 

I put mine out last night. They're still there, and not a scrap of trash has blown out.
It only takes a wee bit of common sense to secure the recyclables.
When this happens on my street, I go talk to the offending homeowners and remind them of a few simple ways to secure their stuff.

 

My Girl Scout troop is meeting at Mill Run tomorrow after school.. We'll walk along to the Nature Center and clean up anything we see.

 

I agree - we put ours out last night as well....NOTHING has blown out....as you say vacliff....common sense....

 

So what's the secret of not getting things blown away or the empty bin being blown away?

...and I'm not being sarcastic, I really want to know what works. Put a brick in it?

 

Me too. What is the common sense? That storm last night came out of nowhere.

Our bin is actually gone - can't find it anywhere down our street (Milford Dr.). Gonna look towards the trail tomorrow.

 

Actually, the high winds had been forecast at least two days prior to the event via internet, TV, radio, etc. pick your media. They had actually picked up substantially by the late afternoon/early evening, and we had a thunderstorm (in February??).

 

There was bin sitting in the front yard of a house on the corner of Milford and Wingfoot. It was there as of yesterday evening, not sure if it's still there. It might be yours.

 

I wasn't referring to the empty bin being blown. Not much can be done about that.
I have 2 bins, one for paper, one for cans/bottles/plastics.
If you put the papers in vertically instead of horizontally, they won't become so easily dislodged. Also, you can put the papers in a paper, or plastic, grocery bag. This will keep them from flying off. If I do put them in flat, I'll "wedge" a piece of cardboard across the top to provide a sort of lid.

For the cans/bottles: Flatten plastic bottles as much as possible. Crush cans as much as possible. These are the things that tend to catch the wind and fly off. On expected windy days, I rearrange the bins so that heavier things, such as bottles, are on the top weighting down the lighter items below.

Easy things to do that will keep your stuff in the bins. Also, because I use two bins, on days like yesterday they put one empty bin inside the other. This kept them from blowing away.

 

My husband sticks a large rock on top

 

I think yesterday was an extremely windy day and many of the usual ways of preventing everything blowing did not work. I know that I always place all the heavy items on the top of the recycling but, yesterday my entire bin blew upside down and my full trash can blew 20 feet down the road.

I do have my address written on my bins and my can so that I do know which one is mine when I have to track it down in the neighborhood.

 

You also may be in an area where the wind isn't so strong, the street may get some protection from the houses. My grill on my deck with a 1/2 full canister of propane got blown from one end of my deck to the other. If you're getting wind like that not much will keep your trash/recycle bins in front of your house.

 

There is a blue recycle bin on the path in SW next to the doggie station. It's the path that connects to Fieldthorn and Windover (I think). I saw it there this morning. It has a house number written on it but no street.
thanks!