Refuse me my recycling!?

Some f*cktard has stolen our recycling bins.

Again.

They probably nicked them to go with both of our lovely green rubbish bins which had only recently been purchased by myself and Jordon. A nice matching set of theived waste disposal units. The bins vanished a few weeks ago, and we're now surviving on one metal bin between 2 households and 4 people.

It simply isn't good enough. Quite why the council doesn't provide the Crescent with bins is beyond me, the rate of council tax that we are forced to pay is extortionate enough as it is. But they don't, they won't, so we have to buy our own. Thing is, they risk being stolen because you can't chain/secure them to the railings, or the binmen can't lift them to carry them the 6 foot to the rubbish truck. (Maybe, as and when we do replace them, I should get a really massive leash for each bin? That might solve the problem.) Why steal a rubbish bin? When the overwhelming majority of houses in this area have wheelie bins provided, it just doesn't seem fair somehow that someone felt the need to remove ours.

However, the problem remains that our precious black recyling boxes have gone yet again, which means another lengthy wait while the Council gets round to delivering new ones - and even then, they might not arrive. We were without one for the first 6 months that we lived here. Why not leave the card, paper, glass and metal (no plastic, thank you) out for collection in something other than the purpose-built black box? I hear you ask.

Because the binmen won't collect it if it is in anything other than the prescribed container.

Ok, so I understand not wanting to pick up bulky plastic bags in the fear that there might be something dangerous or sharp lurking to spear fingers and palms, but refusing to empty an almost identical sized, shaped yet different coloured plastic tub filled with our lovingly-cleaned tin cans?

RUBBISH. It's a big pile of utter toss, that's what it is.

It's almost enough to make me want to build a huge pyre outside the house and torch the whole lot.

*Grumble*