another rant at the jobsworths in the council (a post which does exactly what it says on the tin)

Nim - if you want to skip this, feel free.

When I came back from a short break in West Wales, I found that my housemate had had a bit of a clear out; the wine-bottles which had decorated our shelves, the jars which had been rinsed out and the cardboard from a few packing boxes lay ready to be put out with a very full box for recycling.

Last night, helped by a friend, I duly put the recycling out on the street for collection this morning.

Upon my return from work this evening I found that the bottles had gone, as had some of the cardboard, but the recycling box remains full, and there is still some cardboard to be taken.

This is quite puzzling...

a) Is it that today was not recycling day after all, and there is an oddball thief in the area?

b) Was it just glass which was collected today, and some cardboard just happened to be taken for good measure?

c) Are those the council employs to collect the recycling jobsworths like the rest of them, such that they couldn't be bothered to collect it all?

I suspect c, but that still leaves me the problem of dealing with that which has been left behind.

Do I...

a) Leave it out in the rain, on the basis that today might not have been recycling day after all, and they may come tomorrow?

b) Take it back inside, wet and soggy that it now is, and watch as the recycling truck passes by moments after I do so?

c) Move it down the street, and blame the neighbours - who are a bit weird anyway - for the rubbish?

I could ring the council but

a) Unlike the man who recorded the answering machine, I don't have all the time in the world. I certainly don't have the time to listen to a list of departments, only to find that everyone is out to lunch until next Tuesday and won't speak to me anyway.

b) Even if my call did happen to coincide with their opening hours it would be irrelevant. Past experience tells me that whatever they suggested would not take effect for months.

Interestingly, when it comes to tax, these people suddenly demonstrate that they can be efficient. One of my housemates is due to move out shortly (sadly), just days after his status as a student at the University expires. Already he has been chased up by the council to ensure that he pays tax for this period, which amounts to a whopping £40. Criminal is the word.

Of course, the money fleeced from us won't be used to employ someone who will actually collect my recycling, neither will it be used to fund a replacement for the tortoise drawn cart I assume was used to deliver my recycling box. Oh no, it will go to cover call-me-Gordon's bottomless pit, just long enough for someone else to get the blame.