Have you ever wondered what happens to the huge quantities of rubbish that are produced every day? If rubbish removal is not on your mind 24 hours a day, then you are probably not alone. We chuck out the rubbish and expect it to be gone the next day. (After the dustman wakes you up with the clattering and banging of wheelie-bins early in the morning of course.) With European regulations to increase the amount of waste that gets recycled, more of our rubbish is sorted at source and we have a spectrum of coloured plastic rubbish bins or boxes to separate the different items.
What remains in your bin is the stuff that cannot be recycled. Typically, these are the many different kinds of plastic which are hard to recycle like crisp packets. These go into landfill and will take thousands of years to decompose. It differs from council to council of course. Some councils will allow you just put everything in a single box and they will do the job of sorting what can be used at the recycling centre. Other councils are more strict, making you sort everything and place it into the appropriate box or bin.
Some councils will only remove rubbish that has been left in correct spot. If you leave it one micron to the left of where it should be, it will still be sitting there for another week. If you only have to wait a week then you may consider yourself lucky. Some households have a rubbish collection ever other week so it can sit there festering even longer.