Binmen refuse to collect rubbish as 'pulling it across gravel is against H&S rul

I read the article and i guess you get my vote however I am not an expert and there may be factors that are beyond my comprehension There seems to be panic ,over concern,security that sometimes is unbelievable but that is the world we live in today Good Luck

Totally unbelievable, although cases like these are happening more and more frequently - so you have to believe it! When we lived in the UK, our council decided to stop weekly collections and instead initiated a policy of having your recyclables collected. the way they did this however, was to have your normal rubbish collected on one week, and the recyclables collected the following week, How daft was this? Well the result was that with the rubbish standing there for up to two weeks, we got maggots - a whole plague of them! Truly disgusting! Between cost cutting, environmental issues and health and safety the world is going to pot.

How totally ridiculous..if anything is against collecting rubish it is leving the bin there full of it as that can cause all sorts of problems one being vermin like rats...then they would have to collect not only the rubbish but get exterminators out as well...how stupid are H&S regulations..that is ridiculous..littleowl

ronaldinu You have to be kidding two fingers, oh mythey are just plain lazy. I dont see any risk re health or safety but it these guys dont do their job i can see angry homeowners taking out down the street after them with their wheelies ready to smack them over the head with them, and I would not blame them in the least. fire them and get new binmen.

Just another stupid regulation we have to put up with! There are so many of them it's amazing we manage to get through our day. Everyone is trying to cover themselves so they won't get sued - it's unfortunate we are such a litigious society these days, all wanting to blame someone else. Years ago, if you tripped over on the pavement and hurt yourself, you blamed yourself for being clumsy. Nowadays, you sue Council! What's the world coming to?

Hello ronaldinu what's with the change of avatar? Anyway this does not surprise me at all. There was somebody recently fined for having their bin slightly overfilled and was not able to close the lid properly. Also where I lived before if I didn't put my bin on the pavement 5 feet from my front door they wouldn't empty it. I forgot one day to put it on the pavement and thought it's only 5 feet away surely they will take it! Nope not a chance!! I think this world has gone a bit H&S mad and it has been taken to the extremem un-necessarily!!

That is a bit crazy isn't it. I mean what can happen for just a few inches..what is he going to dew get a sprained back? I would figure lifting the bags would be worse then scooting them a few inches. I think they just wanna cause trouble.

This sounds like a typical 'union' jobsworth decision. The fact is that workers love to rile their bosses and bosses - sometimes - submit, either because they are in the same union or because they would have great difficulty in finding staff otherwise. It seems to me that (from the picture) the same Council could fine the person concerned for obstructing the Public Highway (pavement) if the bin were placed with the wheels off the gravel. Well, never mind that! My binmen empty the bins and then leave them as a definite obstruction in the footway. Do you think I should sue the Council for causing an obstruction? We are severely told that they are Council property, so do I have an obligation to move 'my' bin from where they leave it so that the elderly and disabled have room to pass? You can't really win with Councils, can you!

Funny there seem to be no 'binmen' here to stick up for themselves!

I see no problem. Aren't bin or garbage collectors supposed to be strong hefty men who could double in the wrestling ring? ARe they hiring ninety pound weaklings now? I think that council has gone too far with the rules and regulations. And I bet if the homeowner burned the garbage or took it to the dump himself, he would be fined. Someone had better do something about that stupid council with all its rules and regulations.

I have read this myself this morning. Things are getting crazy. There are still men who work in coalmines that risk life and limb. I wonder if that will be stopped soon because it is too dangerous..

I thought it was only in the States that people were that insane! I guess it's spreading....people are so concerned about safety that nobody can do a good job or have any fun anymore. What good is living if we're always afraid of getting hurt?

Same here...I believe there is no health risk at all. What could be contravened to health and safety regulations when it is a couple of inches over the gravel and it is downhill? But of course I do not know fully well the ordinance regarding rubbish in that country but seeing it from the way it is written... I could practically see no risk at all!

Hi ronaldinu, Some of those binmen are that lazy the make any excuse and yet when they emptying the bins they drop garbage all ove the place and they won't pick it andit its their own mess. Tamara

no, sounds like they are lazy to me & just looking for an excuse not to do their jobs.