Panda Brown Bin - Thanks but no thanks

homer911

I arrived home from work today to find a Panda brown bin in my driveway

"At last!" says I, until I see the accompanying letter...

140 litre bin (thats about half the usual size of the black bin)
16c per kilo to empty
€2.56 to lift
€22 a year service charge

Very kind of them to charge 20% less (than the black bin costs) for something 50% smaller

I've survived for 15 years in my home with its garden and compost heap - I dont think I need this extra expense now - given its small size and the few times it would be put out, it will be cheaper to put my garden waste in the black bin for the few times I would ever need it!

Its going back tomorrow!

Macha

Yes, it's a real shame they charge for the brown bin. I'm in a similar situation, considering a bokashi bin because my garden isn't big enough for a compost heap.

Dunsie

Did you see the opening line on the letter from Panda regarding brown bins.
"This bin is being introduced in accordance with Government policy"

I requested they take the bin back and again they started spouting about how the Government had introduced this and that they and other private companies had to enforce it. They give the impression that brown bins are mandatory as a result of Government policy. Complete nonesense. They are taking the bin back.

The facts are, Panda will gain a source of revenue while reducing its landfill costs. A reduction of 20% from 20c to 16c per kilo but a flat annual charge of €22 means 550 kilos of organic waste to break even and that's not taking account of the extra lift charges for the brown bin which will have to be emptied regularly if you don't want noxious odours and maggots from decaying food.

I am all in favour of recycling but this is a joke.

homer911

I emailed them this morning once I located my account number

On a separate point - has anyone noticed that Panda only seem to charge for lifts that weigh more than 5 kilos? (noted on my last bill) Can anyone confirm if this is correct? A stuffed bin for me weighs about 16Kg and gets put out about once every 4-5 weeks, if I put it out more often, it might cost me less!

Colm_purchase

Dunsie wrote: »

Did you see the opening line on the letter from Panda regarding brown bins.
"This bin is being introduced in accordance with Government policy"

I requested they take the bin back and again they started spouting about how the Government had introduced this and that they and other private companies had to enforce it. They give the impression that brown bins are mandatory as a result of Government policy. Complete nonesense. They are taking the bin back.

The facts are, Panda will gain a source of revenue while reducing its landfill costs. A reduction of 20% from 20c to 16c per kilo but a flat annual charge of €22 means 550 kilos of organic waste to break even and that's not taking account of the extra lift charges for the brown bin which will have to be emptied regularly if you don't want noxious odours and maggots from decaying food.

I am all in favour of recycling but this is a joke.

From my understanding the brown bins are here to stay. I think mandatory enforcement might take some time however.
If they havn't already arrived to you then they are likely to before the end of 2010.
One of the worst things about them is that they are only collected every 2 weeks and as such start to smell and attract flies and other undesirables.
I spoke recently about it on Sunshine 106.8fm. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guMaro7h_nQ if you got time on your hands.

homer911

Panda said they would collect the bin on Saturday, no problem, but that they had been told by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown to deliver one to every household initially

Edit: Bin Gone

unkel

Charging for a brown bin? Madness :rolleyes: That's not the way to convince people to recycle, is it? :mad:

I'm with citybin. Excellent company, always lift the bins on time. Fixed charge of €20 per month direct debit for collection of the grey bin every other week. Green and brown bin collections are free (every other week)

Macha

If you have a garden, you could set up a small composter to deal with your organic waste. It's amazing how much it cuts down on your waste charges.

Hughgreen

<snip>

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Hughgreen

That situation that a private company can try and enforce people to take brown bins is ridiculous. I would contact you county council and if possible send them a copy of the letter. They are contracted by the council to do the job but you are still a county council client. Leaving a bin and hoping you use it is one thing but to try and scare you into it is highly immoral and in my view should be highlighted when Panda's licence is due to be renewed.

homer911 wrote: »

I arrived home from work today to find a Panda brown bin in my driveway

"At last!" says I, until I see the accompanying letter...

140 litre bin (thats about half the usual size of the black bin)
16c per kilo to empty
€2.56 to lift
€22 a year service charge

Very kind of them to charge 20% less (than the black bin costs) for something 50% smaller

I've survived for 15 years in my home with its garden and compost heap - I dont think I need this extra expense now - given its small size and the few times it would be put out, it will be cheaper to put my garden waste in the black bin for the few times I would ever need it!

Its going back tomorrow!

Hughgreen

That situation that a private company can try and enforce people to take brown bins is ridiculous. I would contact you county council and if possible send them a copy of the letter. They are contracted by the council to do the job but you are still a county council client. Leaving a bin and hoping you use it is one thing but to try and scare you into it is highly immoral and in my view should be highlighted when Panda's licence is due to be renewed.

Dunsie wrote: »

Did you see the opening line on the letter from Panda regarding brown bins.
"This bin is being introduced in accordance with Government policy"

I requested they take the bin back and again they started spouting about how the Government had introduced this and that they and other private companies had to enforce it. They give the impression that brown bins are mandatory as a result of Government policy. Complete nonesense. They are taking the bin back.

The facts are, Panda will gain a source of revenue while reducing its landfill costs. A reduction of 20% from 20c to 16c per kilo but a flat annual charge of €22 means 550 kilos of organic waste to break even and that's not taking account of the extra lift charges for the brown bin which will have to be emptied regularly if you don't want noxious odours and maggots from decaying food.

I am all in favour of recycling but this is a joke.

Hughgreen

Yea sorry about that just noticed after i posted.

Hughgreen wrote: »

<snip>

Sorry Hugh, we don't allow advertising on Boards.

Check out newbie FAQs here

Macha

Hughgreen wrote: »

Yea sorry about that just noticed after i posted.

No problemo.

denisor

Got ours today! Baffled at the charges! But more astonished that management in Panda, didn't ask their customers if they wanted it first, I'm assuming they have ordered a bin for every customer, and are now delivering a bin to every address, and now will be told, because of the cost, that we don't want it.

If I wasn't so good, I'd leave the thing on the road and complain to the litter warden that the actual bin is Panda's own waste, no pun intended.

Macha

denisor wrote: »

Got ours today! Baffled at the charges! But more astonished that management in Panda, didn't ask their customers if they wanted it first, I'm assuming they have ordered a bin for every customer, and are now delivering a bin to every address, and now will be told, because of the cost, that we don't want it.

Yikes, yes that doesn't make sense at all. Most Irish people live in houses and have back gardens, meaning they're perfectly capable of composting organic waste if they choose to. The idea that every residence automatically needs a brown bin is bizarre.

Ironically, the hardest place to get a brown bin is apartment blocks where people are least likely to compost due to the lack of garden!

bfc

In fairness, I just rang Panda, wasn't put on hold, and they're taking away my bin this weekend. No BS and very friendly...

redman

Charges are crazy, the annual fee kills it for me relative to the 20% "discount" on weight and lift charges.

I understood this was meant to be free and the money would be made on manufacturing compost and selling to public etc...

know of four people who have sent theirs back in the locality. Mine going back too...seems like there will be a few returned

annieoburns

Same with me, know of people returning them.

I am doing a 'trial' to see how much the lifts actually cost. We use a compost bin for veggie peelings, soft garden cuttings etc but with a well shrubbed but small garden, I need to do lot a pruning of more woody stuff. I leave in old laundry baskets so dried out and bit lighter before put in brown bin just before collection. I have to balance this against cost of same material being taken to the dump with 6 euro charge/petrol/time and mess in car after.

For me nothing is diverted from the black bin to the brown one. Even with the very small discount on weight, it is worth it anyway? There is the additional hassle of storing the brown bin, remembering dates to put out, fetch it back in after emtying, separating waste at source etc. If you are not used to doing this for a compost heap of your own, it is a challenge not worth the trouble for some people.

Are we next to get separate charge incl weight for the green bin?:(

denisor

As outlined earlier we tried the DLRCC / Panda Brown Bin, We filled it with leaves from our front garden, and left it our for a collection. The bin was full, the pick up for weight cost us €10, the leaves where dry. Work it out if you have wet collections. There was also a cost for the pick up , which I don't have to hand right now, but I think is €2, and then the standing annual fee charge of €20.

I could put the garden waste in the Black bin and avoid the €20 Annual Fee and the individual €2 fees. Or bring the material to the local Green Bin Depot for a fixed fee of €6.

I am aware if we make individual trips to the green bin in our cars, there is no "environmental" saving.

This service appears to be ill conceived, however its not Panda's fault. It has been contracted by DLRCC to implement it and DLRCC agreed these nonsensical rates.

We returned the bin and requested and Panda waivered the 1 pick up costs, €12 and when pressed about the service not making any sense, suggested we raise our concerns with DLRCC.

I'm still struggling to comprehend how someone in DLRCC could order Brown Bins for every household and have them delivered without asking the household if they wanted it first?

Filikin

I see nothing has changed since this thread started - every house on our road received a brown bin today with no warning.

Given that we fill one black bin a month, the waste would be sitting in our brown bin for at least two months - it is going back as soon as I can contact Panda.

carolsthompson

Just saw this web page about brown pins - and how they are mandatory.

But it also says that'l they'll be half the price of the black. But it's a lot more than half price.

http://www.dublinwaste.ie/Brown_Bin_Collection_in_South_Dublin.html

Filikin

every area has its own rules - I got an email from DunLaoghaire Rathdown saying it wasn't mandatory and Panda took the brown bin back (along with those of most of the road).

ps200306

I know it's an old thread, but Panda announced recently that they will start fining people for putting the wrong waste in their bins from this week. They've been trialling photographing your waste since March. So it appears the brown bin is no longer optional. I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered a brown bin from them (having sent it back years ago when it first appeared). In fairness, it appeared in the garden today, less than 18 hours later. I suppose they don't hang around seeing as they're going to make a killing from it.

ted1

With stuff going to the incinerator is there a need for the brown bin?

ThisRegard

My issue is that during the summer it's just not big enough. Never full during winter, we have a backlog of waste to put in it during the summer.