legends · 3 min read ·
Collection Tag
A council bin tag is rejected for the contents of a bin at a demolished house, and the lid closes itself.
**Ridgeway Council · Refuse Collection · Bin Tag Record**
**Address:** 31 Pennant Close · **Bin type:** General waste (180 L) · **Collection day:** Monday
*Tag rejected: contents not permitted. Please see the reasons below.*
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**Monday 6 Oct · Collected · Tag status: OK**
**Crew notes:** Bin lid closed. Light. Estimated weight 22 kg.
**Monday 13 Oct · Collected · Tag status: OK**
**Crew notes:** Bin lid closed. Estimated weight 24 kg.
**Monday 20 Oct · Not collected · Tag status: Rejected**
**Crew notes:** Lid open. Contents include a woollen jumper, several glass jars labelled in pencil, and a number of wet paper bags containing what looks like hair. Please see photograph.
*Photograph attached. Contents of the bin are visible in the image. The jumper is folded. The bags are knotted at the top. The jars each hold a single item: a button, a bead, a tooth.*
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**Council officer's note (Ridgeway, 21 Oct)**
31 Pennant Close was recorded as demolished in 2019. The address is now a vacant lot, fenced, with a sign for future development. The bin registered at the address is listed under the former occupant, Mrs. D. Vell, who has been deceased since 2011.
The council's records show the bin has been emptied every Monday since demolition. Collection crews have reported no lid, no bag, and no contents. The bin is always full.
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**Crew report (Monday 27 Oct, 07:12)**
Bin at the kerb outside a vacant lot. Lid open. Contents heavy, not sealed. Estimated weight 61 kg, which is well above the bin's rated load.
Driver tried to lift it. The bin would not move. Crew found a hand, pale, resting on the rim of the bin from inside. It was holding a woollen jumper, folded neatly, and it did not let go when the lid was lowered.
Crew did not take the bin. The tag was rejected. Council notes the rejection is marked *fault: resident*.
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**Resident's message (Ridgeway Council, 27 Oct, 18:40)**
*Dear Council, I put my bin out last night as usual. I'm not sure why you're rejecting it. I've only put in the things my wife left behind. She's not here any more and the house is empty. She told me she wanted them taken away. She said she couldn't sleep with them in the house.*
*She's been asking me to put the bin out again. She says the men don't need to come in. She says she'll help me carry it.*
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**Council reply (automated, 28 Oct)**
Thank you for contacting us. Your bin tag has been rejected because the contents are not permitted in general waste. Please arrange for a special collection. Special collections are not available at vacant addresses.
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**Council note (29 Oct)**
Resident at 31 Pennant Close not contactable. Address confirmed vacant. Bin recorded as present at the kerb, lid open, no tag attached.
*Note from collecting officer: The jumper is on the bin. It's been there since the rejection. The sleeves are folded across the rim in a neat square, and there's a pair of shoes placed beside the bin on the pavement, heels together, toes towards the house, as if someone had taken them off to come in for their tea.*
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**Final collection record (Ridgeway, 3 Nov)**
Bin collected. Tag accepted. Contents: one folded woollen jumper, five glass jars, twelve wet paper bags. Weight: 9 kg.
*Recorded by the crew as: "Empty, except for what was asked for. The lid was closed by the bin itself. Nobody needed to lift it."*