Bins advice for windy days

It’s that time of year when wind can cause mischief and disruptions for the county’s bin collections.

Here’s some frequently asked questions we get about bin collections during windy weather – and some answers and advice so you can be prepared:

Top tips:

• If it’s a really windy day use your judgment - if your bins can last until the next collection consider not putting them out.
• If you’re using a weight to keep your bin lid shut, please use a stone no bigger than a house brick – and no heavier than 2kg (so no breeze blocks).
• We can’t empty bins secured with bungee cords - if you use a bungee cord to keep lids down or secure them in place during the week, remove the cords on collection day.
• You don’t need to buy a special clip to keep your bin lid closed – you can continue using a small weight if needed.
• But if you do want to look into clips, we recommend the Schafer clip.
• Schafer bin clips are preferred by our crews – they are very quick to release, which helps us keep to schedule, and are made to fit all sizes of bins. Schafer clips can be bought, at cost price, from the Council’s customer services in School Place, Kirkwall or Warehouse Buildings, Stromness.
• We’ve also previously approved ‘Caithness Beach Clean’ clips for use by households to help keep their bin lids closed. This uses a cord that runs between the two handles of the bin, with a reclaimed creel hook attached which simply hooks under the rim of the bin. If folks have these, they can continue to use them. We would ask though that folks don’t attempt to replicate the Caithness clip – the fit is very important. Loose, ill-fitting clips can become caught in the lorry mechanism which usually ends in a lorry being taken off the route and the rest of the collection abandoned. Tight cords and clips slow crews down and pose a risk of injury.
• To find out more about these two clips, visit www.orkney.gov.uk/binclips

Frequently Asked Questions

It’s a really windy day – should I be putting my bins out at all?

We ask folk to use their judgement in severe weather. Lighter recycling bins (plastics, cans) or half full bins might blow over in the wind. If you can keep your bins til the next collection, do so.

That said - if you hold onto your waste for so long that you cannot shut your bin lid, then it is overloaded and will not be emptied by crews. Remember, we provide Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) for your convenience if you are running out of capacity at home. Black bag waste and recycling can be taken to Hatston, Garson or Bossack whilst recycling only can be taken to Cursiter and St Margaret’s Hope. Be neighbourly – check in on folks you know might struggle to get to a waste facility during collection disruptions and offer to help out.

Holding on to my recycling from one week makes it difficult to fit all my recycling in the bin for the next collection – what can I do about that?

If you need additional green bins to help you manage that – so that you have one for each type of recycling – then you can request these from the Council. You might also want to consider whether you could share recycling bins with your neighbours.

I really have to get my bin out – it’s needing emptied and I don’t have the option of going to an HWRC. What should I do on a windy day?

First of all see if you can try to put it out alongside a shelter (for example, a fence or wall) or in a cluster with your neighbour’s bins - there is less of a risk of your bin being blown over then.

Facing the handles into the wind can also help, even if this means that they are pointing away from the road. If you’re worried that the bin lid will blow open, then we have seen some people using a small piece of electrical tape to keep the lid down. This works for us, the tape will be opened as the bin is tipped into the lorry. (You can purchase one of the clips described above and at www.orkney.gov.uk/binclips )

If you live in a particularly exposed area and feel that you really do need to place a weight on your bin, we would ask that you think about the size and weight carefully. Some of our crew will be moving between 200 - 300 bins on average in a round. As a guide, use a stone or weight no bigger than a traditional house brick (not a breeze block!) and no heavier than about 2kg, or 4lb. We have a duty of care to our staff and we have also seen examples of heavy weights damaging bins.

If you have the space you might like to build a shelter around your bins to use for presentation on your collection day. The shelter must be within 2m of the road, on land that you own, and provide unrestricted access for collection crews (handles out please). On collection day the bins must not be tethered to the shelter in any way. This is because the additional time taken to deal with hooks and ropes may mean that we can’t complete the full round in a day, and some customers will not get their bins emptied. We have also had injuries caused to staff where bungees have flicked up into faces – one eye injury would be too much, so thank you in advance for not using them.

Can I not use a bungee cord or rope to keep my bin in place or to keep the lid down?

No, the untying of ropes, cords and bungees adds additional time to the route, which may mean that we can’t get all of the route completed. We’ve also had staff experience facial injuries caused by bungee cords, with near misses to their eyes. If you think the bin might move or fall over, consider whether it’s too light and doesn’t need to go out, try some of the suggestions we’ve described above, place a reasonable weight on the top (no heavier than 2kg) or use electrical tape on the lid, or one of the clips described above and at www.orkney.gov.uk/binclips.

My bin hasn’t been collected? Why not?

Crews will risk assess each collection and if the bin is unsafe to empty, or not the right type of recyclate, they will leave it - placing a tag on it identifying why it wasn’t uplifted, and taking photographs for the record. You’ll be able to refer to the tag to see why your bin was not accepted.

Why the issue with stones – I lifted the heavier stones onto my bin just fine – why can’t the crews manage it?

Remember, you are lifting one stone – our crews could be lifting 200 to 300 on a route.

On a windy day crews have a hard time emptying bins, with bin lids blowing up and hitting them in the face, bracing the bin against the wind and attempting to stay upright whilst moving over uneven verges. Emptying 200 – 300 bins every day is a lot of pushing and pulling, even on a calm day. Anything that you can do to help out and minimise the risk to them is much appreciated.

You've cancelled a collection due to bad weather - will you be coming back to recollect?

We cannot guarantee we will be able to catch up on collections cancelled in severe weather, as we’ll be dealing with the knock on effect of the weather (eg increased gritting operations, or clearing roads from debris) as well as collection delays and disruptions on other routes.

We do try however to re-collect in some circumstances, for example especially for waste collections, or when an Area has had the previous recycling collection for that material cancelled.

Typically, repeat attempt collections (if/where they are possible) are organised at short notice to fit into an already tight collection schedule – the best place to check for updates is www.orkney.gov.uk/news  and www.facebook.com/oicupdates

Where a repeat collection is not possible, householders can hold onto their waste/recycling until their next scheduled collection, or visit a HWRC.