click photo to enlarge
As far as wheelie bins (the colloquial name for Britain's refuse and recycling bins) go, there are three kinds of people to be found: those who do, those who don't and those who can't. I'm not talking about the inability of some people to properly sort their refuse for recycling; that's perhaps the subject for a different post. No, on this occasion we are back in the realms of blots on the landscape and visual blight and, more specifically, the willingness, unwillingness or lack of facility to hide these ugly bins from view when they are in daily use.If your house is in a terrace with little or no front garden and no easy access to the back then it's hard to hide your bins away. Your property wasn't designed with such things in mind and they need to be accessible for emptying. Consequently they very often have to be in plain sight of passers-by: there's not much you can do about it. Many properties, however, have space out of sight where bins can be placed for daily use and where they are not an eyesore to the locals and passers-by. Most people with this facility make use of it. But some don't, and the wretched bins stick out like spots and scabs on the face of the village, town or city. It may be due to indolence, it could be a lack of aesthetic sensibilities, or perhaps there are reasons too deep for me to fathom. Some local authorities, including the one responsible for my refuse and recycling collections don't help matters by choosing colours that have no place in a street scene. In my case it's a garish blue, but I have seen purple elsewhere. Sober green or brown, and even dismal grey - all colours in widespread use - have a chance of blending with the background. Every screaming blue and mad purple wheelie bin shouts its presence. At times they are collectively cacophonous.
Today's photograph shows the frosty recycling logo on the top of one of my wheelie bins. It sits with its partners out of sight at the back of my house. It could never be seen from the road. However, when I moved in it was visible from much of the rear and side of the house so I built a section of fence behind which they are now hidden. Such are my feelings about these eyesores!
photograph and text (c) T. Boughen
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm macro
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 160 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
