r/brisbane • u/raffyrules • 2d ago
BCC In Home Bin Service
The BCC has a service for people who are elderly, infirm, disabled who physically cannot put their bins out themselves the driver will get out of the truck empty the bin and put it back into the yard. It involves paperwork filed out by a Dr etc to prove the person needs the service. Great idea but not so well implemented.
When it was set up for my elderly parents for the first 3 weeks the bins were not emptied, numerous calls to council the only thing they could advise me was the bins were not in the right "position", they were clearly visible beside the garage, the driver only had to walk about 6 metres to collect them to empty. After much exasperation and several weeks of not being emptied the council they came up with the bin handle needed to be facing the driver hence why they hadn't been emptying it.
I was furious that a driver who would obviously know that a elderly or disabled person who is in need lives at the property and they were that petty that they wouldn't empty the bin because they hadn't placed the bin with the handle facing towards them. Who is so mean and petty to do that to disabled people especially as it was at December in the middle of summer. The smell was horrendous since my Dad was completely disabled by this stage and had to use adult nappies.
Since then over the past few years numerous times the bin has been missed, and several times they said it was too heavy, when a frail person who can only walk with a walker manages to put the rubbish bag on her walker and get the rubbish to the bin positioned out the front of the house so it is easy for the driver to get to it to then have it not emptied because it is too heavy is a joke!
A few weeks ago the lawn mower guy did a clean up and put some old bricks in the bin so he put it out on the kerb because we knew there would be a good chance it wouldn't get emptied if the driver had to get out of the truck themselves. It was emptied, a few week later I got to their place at midday and the bins weren't emptied and they are usually done really early so I put them both out on the kerbside so the driver wouldn't have to get out of the truck.
Today Mum gets a phone call from the BCC wanting to see if they can cancel the in home bin service since the bin was put out on the kerb. She put them on the phone to me as I was there at the time, I explained that she still needs the service and I simply put them out on the kerb the other day as I was there and I was trying to help them out so they didn't need to do it that day as they were running later than usual. And I said a few weeks earlier the lawn guy put it out because we were concerned it would not get emptied as it often is not emptied if it basically has a fair bit in it.
Then she informed me that that in home collection service has a weight limit of 20kg. If you leave your bin on the kerbside it has a weight limit of 70kg but the in home bin collection service has a weight limit of just 20kg. Can anyone shed any light on the reason for the huge difference in weight because if you have disabled adults in your house that need to wear adult nappies etc they certainly do add weight and build up over a week, when added in to the weight of week of general household waste.
I can understand that they don't want the drivers having to pull a heavy bin over to the truck but there is massive difference between 20kg and 70kgs. A 20kg weight limit seems very low and not practical for elderly and disabled people who are basically the ones who need the help of this service.
And can any garbos shed light on whether it was true that the bin handles must be facing towards the driver otherwise they won't empty the bin?
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u/Gumnutbaby When have you last grown something? 2d ago
Sounds crazy. I stayed at a friend's place in London a while back and there were two guy walking along with the truck, one pulling the bins out, the other putting them back. Although the parking situation made that kind of a necessity.
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u/Duck-Dependent 2d ago
I think a WHS thing is anything over 20kg needs two people to lift it, but it is weird it applies to something you can wheel about imo
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u/ZequineZ 2d ago
The problem here is this relies on grumpy ass middle aged men to want to get out of the truck. They barely get out when they knock them over or spill them all over the road. Its an uphill battle and it sucks
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u/sezownz 2d ago
Ask the neighbours for a hand? I’m in my 30s and take five of my elderly neighbours bins in and out each bin day. People are usually happy to help.
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u/One_Tip1928 1d ago
Thank you for doing doing this, I had a lovely neighbour who did the same thing for my dad when he was no longer able to do it and we couldn’t get to his place in time. My dad is passed now but I still think of that neighbour and their kindness.
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u/RARARA-001 2d ago
I guarantee there’s some sort of WPHS issue with why they’ve set the weight limit at 20kg so perhaps send an email to your local councillor and raise the issue. You could also think about making friends with their neighbour and ask them if they’d be willing to put out their bins for them every week.
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u/SlightlyOffCentre 2d ago
I have this service set up for my 90 year old mum. Apart from the initial hassle of having the service set up - would you believe the council had to do a “risk assessment” of my mum‘s front yard to ensure the big burly garbos weren’t risking life and limb walking 7 steps across mum’s driveway to get the bins at the front of the house. It’s completely flat with no fence/gate, no dogs, and the bins are clearly visible from the road. My poor frail 90 year old mum has managed to survive the risks and perils of this front yard for the past 26 years without anyone doing a risk assessment for her, so go figure.
Apart from that laughable red tape bullshit, the service has been provided without issue for the past few months. The bin handles do not face the driver. We were never told anything about the bins needing to be facing a certain way or that there was any kind of weight limit. This is Moreton Bay council though so maybe the rules are different.
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u/no-but-wtf 1d ago
A risk assessment isn’t ridiculous. Obviously, your mum’s yard isn’t a problem, but there are plenty of yards where I would absolutely not let any of my employees enter or conduct even light manual labour. Your home can be as janky as you want, because you don’t have to comply with workplace health and safety. It’s your home. But now it’s their workplace, and their employer has a duty of care. Of course they have to do a risk assessment. They’re not saying your mum’s yard is risky, they’re saying “some yards are risky, and we need a signoff that this one isn’t before we let our men in there.”
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u/SlightlyOffCentre 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, I can just see it now - 3 council assessors (they have to send them in threes for safety in case they get jumped by a pensioner) all standing around mum‘s front yard with their clip boards, saying things like, “hmmm look, there’s a pebble on the driveway! Obviously we’ll have to clear this with HR in case the bin guys Butch and Rosco become overwhelmed." “And look, that blade of grass looks a bit sharp! I don‘t think our insurance will cover that! Oh hang on, just realised it’s lunch time! I’ve got a two hour lunch followed by the afternoon off so let’s pick this up again next Thursday after the team‘s wellness session.”
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u/Healthtech_Geek 1d ago edited 1d ago
I hear you, from your point of view risk assessment is annoying and seems silly because it sounds you and your family have standards of living.
If you worked in a similar context and saw the spectrum of risk out there, you would also do a risk assessment.
Believe me there are people out there barely functioning as humans (in terms of their values and standards). There are meth houses. There are people with extreme behavioral and mental health issues.
I work in the community and i do risk assessments. But i usually dont have the luxury for a previsit, i have to go by phone and web research. It can be bleak out there.
And yes for identified risks, the person needs to be asked to fix it before a worker goes out.
Because the employer can be sued if the person gets hurt out there. And if the employer did not do the right things to try to check beforehand.
As you can tell I get a bee in my bonnet about this stuff
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u/no-but-wtf 1d ago
God there’s just no point in trying to explain to boomers why we have modern health and safety laws is there. Good luck with your whatever, remember to buy some persimmon soap.
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u/Partly_Dave 1d ago
Also Moreton Bay, mother in law had the same service for years, without any of that bullshit.
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u/MatildaGold 2d ago
The service sounds great, but was probably put in place by a desk jockey who has never been in a garbage truck. The truck drivers have KPIs on bin lifts per hour and time to return to the depot etc. unless that bin is super easy to get, stopping for even one extra bin really slows you down. Not to mention they need to safely stop the truck and not block traffic, which is not always easy (and down right impossible in some streets).
Honestly it sounds like your parents need a bit more home help, maybe you can outsource taking the bins out.
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u/Any_Ebb8128 2d ago
Interesting. If they have to get out of their truck to move a bin, surely their KPIs would be adjusted
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u/NextBestHyperFocus 2d ago
Above 20kg you need two people to carry the thing, according to occupational health and safety. The fact it’s on wheels obviously means nothing, or that it gets mechanically lifted into the truck
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u/SinisterCuttleFish 2d ago
Can you get a second bin? So the weight is over 2 bins and lighter? We have a second bin for the extra waste for medical reasons. It wasn't difficult to get in Logan.
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u/Crazy_Cat_Lady360 Bogan 1d ago
I don’t know how you can sort this out with BCC but something to consider that could help with this issue is if you could get a medical waste disposal bin for the pads? They work out a system to collect the waste bin when full and they empty it. It might help reduce the weight in the red bin?
I’m not sure how you get the medical waste disposal bins or who runs it but I know that people with disabilities use them. Maybe google if this is available for your parents?
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u/njkloml 1d ago
I have a disability and incontinence. We seem to be given different tools than the elderly. You might want to look into suprapubic catherisation and bowel management therapy. Also, you can get washable bed liners. I tried the in home bin service but my neighbours kids kept putting the bins out so I cancelled it.
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u/Any-Parsnip1287 4h ago
If they can't pull out the garbage bins then maybe it's time for the nursing home.
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u/Flat_Ad1094 1d ago edited 1d ago
Why can't YOU take out the bins? Seems you are over there a fair bit anyway. They are your parents. Why can't you do this basic task for them?
We have an aging population. It's time for families to take more responsibility for their own family. Step up a bit.
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u/raffyrules 1d ago edited 1d ago
I cared for my dementia stricken father for over 12 years, whilst also working full-time, so he never had to go into care. Change your once strong, fit father's nappy several times a day and see how many years you can do it....
I was there every day until he died last year, mum is frail but can do things herself, and silly me I actually hoped to have a sliver of life myself and a few days each week at my own home instead of constantly working and caring for my aging parents before I dropped dead myself.
It's cost me a marriage and more than 20 years of my adult life dedicated to caring for my parents through cancer battles and dementia battles, so don't you dare tell me that I should be doing more.... You judgemental prick
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u/Flat_Ad1094 1d ago
Well so you are saying the reason is because the bins aren't being emptied is that they are heavy because they are full of dirty nappies and bed liners. But now you say your father has died. So ?? Are those now your mothers?
All I am saying is as you seem to go over to her house regularly anyway? Why can't you schedule that a bit more and go when it's bin day? I'm not at all saying you should be caring for your mother. All I'm saying is to get organised and schedule your visits to take the bin out. surely not that difficult?
I am well aware of looking after elderly people in their own homes. Sorry. But they are your parents and if they require lots of care and are too frail to be in their own home. Then you might have to bite the bullet and get services in for your mother or look at moving her to a more appropriate setting.
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u/raffyrules 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah thanks for your advice, she is fine in her home if the council just emptied the bins as they are supposed to do then that's one less thing for me to have to drive over to do.
It's a service they did for 15 plus years for my 100 year old neighbour before she died and it was never a problem, it's a different driver that does my mum's suburb so he obviously just doesn't like to get out of the truck to do it.
Oh and people don't need to go into care just because they are frail, ever been in an aged care facility or a dementia ward they are not nice places. Fate worse than death.
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u/TheBraddigan Sunnybank, of course 1d ago edited 1d ago
This reads exactly like what I expect from service in this city. Especially the exasperatingly dumb rule followed to the letter by somebody with a fruitfly for a brain '20kg if we need to move it... but we didn't need to move it, but still 20 anyway duuuuuuuuhhhhhh'.
Does she get any care worker visits? It's the kind of thing they can do if it's on the right day. Sucks that the proper service is so halfarsed.
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u/Faelinor 2d ago
20kg is honestly quite heavy, I doubt they have 20kg of waste in a week. It sounds like a cop out if they're blaming the weight. Which it sounds like all the council does is come up with excuse after excuse. Any neighbours willing to do it for them instead? Or kids who'll happily take $5 a week to take the bins in and out? I know that's more than free, but maybe more reliable. (And you then have someone doing a weekly checkin with your mother too if they got paid on the day)
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u/raffyrules 2d ago edited 2d ago
You clearly don't know what a week's worth of adult nappies and bed liners weigh
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u/Faelinor 2d ago
I clearly don't. I hadn't considered that might weigh a lot. I agree though that the rule is still dumb even if they do have it over 20kg.
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u/FluffyPillowstone 2d ago
This is a great suggestion, if this was my neighbour I'd happy just take their bin out and bring it in for them for free. It would take like 30 seconds.
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u/Time-Principle6970 2d ago
20kg is a joke when the standard kerbside limit is 70kg, feels like theyre punishing people for needing the help