A Hucknall History
Public Utility & Services
Ash Dust Refuse Bins
Lacking historic references seemed to make Huthwaite household dustbin collections one rubbish topic to assert any start date. Yet an age old problem clearing city dwellings had pushed Parliamentary Public Health Acts, which led to one locally significant year.
Just part the UK 1875 Public Health Act made it a legal requirement every home had its own bin. Law furthermore insisted they'd be regularly emptied under accepted responsibility of an elected local authority. Penalties imposed for neglecting any other fuller identified duties stated If a local authority who have themselves undertaken or contracted for the removal of house refuse from premises, or the cleansing of earthclosets privies ashpits and cesspools fail, without reasonable excuse, after notice in writing from the occupier of any house within their district requiring them to remove any house refuse or to cleanse any earthcloset privy ashpit or cesspool belonging to such house or used by the occupiers thereof, to cause the same to be removed or cleansed, as the case may be, within seven days, the local authority, shall he liable to pay to the occupier of such house a penalty not exceeding five shillings for every day during which such default continues after the expiration of the said period.
Assumption is Hucknall Huthwaite Urban District Council then took localised responsibility for subjective emptying of their villagers dustbins. 
Mainly binning coal hearth ashes created the very dusty residue, especially through rapid build into a mining community.
Majority of labouring tenants into 20th century expansion barely threw much else away. Frugal families kept some prized furniture, footwear and clothing worthy of repairs. Wood crates, cardboard boxes plus all paper bagged food packaging claimed some free kindling to relight a cleaned fireplace. Nevertheless, collectively emptying all bins included significant numbers from wealthier home owners and servant employing gentry wantingly discarding greater volume and variety of worthless insignificant waste.
Commendable way to deal with vast amounts of refuse is found when Mansfield Corporation proudly opened its 1903 Electricity and Refuse Destructor Works. Generating that new miraculous power then introduced district public tram transport. Fact it was powered usefully incinerating 30 tonnes daily waste appeared to share a nationally favoured solution reducing landfill amounts.
Horse drawn dustbin wagons were long superceded by time the unusually curved rear lorry loading bays first caught boyhood 1960s attention. Stock photos provide fine examples of familiar scenes likewise witnessed throughout the country. Flat caps and donkey jackets typically afforded some protection carrying heavily laden bins sometimes containing still hot ashes. Corrugated galvanised steel dustbins set standardised designed use beyond a renamed Huthwaite UDC being reluctantly merged under a much broader Sutton Urban District Council taking over its duties.
Standing dustbins within handiest reach kitchen back doors left dustmen a longer all weather walk into every rear yard. Placing lids on floors marked each owners ideal replacement spot, before swinging bins up to shoulder height. Dustmen might have modestly claimed it was more technique than strength. But weight in just carrying one weeks winter ashes to the road for tipping into a bin lorry should not be underestimated. Modernised refuse lorries raised capacity using hydraulics to push compacted loads frontward.
Switching national preference from Refuse Destructor Works back to landfills likely measured cause behind atmospheric pollutants. Huge Nottinghamshire power stations kept reliance burning coals as supplied from Huthwaite colliery, whereas miners household chimneys demanded smokeless zones. Fathers conscientious swap to coke fired back boiler heating reduced ash debris, although after Ashfield District Council started collections, a noticeably fuller refuse bin disposed more plastics among shop prepackaging.
Ashfield Wheelie Bins
Acknowledging Nottinghamshire County Council takes overall responsibility ultimately dealing with acceptable waste disposal from all its District collections, might further relate Ashfield councils c1980 introduction of plastic wheelie bins. A new fleet of trucks that mechanically emptied black lidded waste wheelie bins, demanded residents timely placed them for kerbside collections. Removing dustmen burdens was very obviously designed to successfully achieve cost saving duties by easily speeding up a weekly service.
County councillors took opportunity purchasing a sizeable Huthwaite plot resulting from closure and clearing New Hucknall Colliery grounds. Turning that disused Huthwaite pit tip into a landfill site identified a covered Sutton Household Waste & Recycling Centre.
The Governments 1996 introduction of landfill tax claimed aim was to encourage a vast waste management industry into switching to more sustainable nonpolluting refuse disposal. It would kick start ongoing drives favourably manufacturing biodegradable and recyclable packaging and products, after suggesting a profitable reason inviting busier broader district lorries tipping in Huthwaite.
Veolia Environmental Services had initial charge over local recycling from that gated compound. Closure around two decades later next follows advancement into coloured wheelie bin home collections. Green bins need mention here firstly separating substantial amounts of recyclable household waste collected fortnightly. County council financing finds their Environment and Sustainability Committee 2015 report did furthermore recommend covering costs next replacing existing waste bins with red lid smaller bins. Bold decision extending those Ashfield collections into alternating biweekly rotations raised some larger family concerns. However, most general public were not slow seeing lessened landfill waste being outbalanced before adding blue and brown wheelie recycling.
Refuse Derived Fuel
So where does all Huthwaite non-recyclable rubbish end up today? A quick search can readily identify a number of private waste management companies likewise sorting and refining business trash into Refuse Derived Fuel and or Solid Recovered Fuel. Notts County Council sends Ashfield and Mansfield district junk to an Alfreton based processing plant. Shredding and bailing combustible materials into RDF or SRF assists some energy deficient European areas to generate communal electricity and heating systems. It seems to refine Britain's initial powering with Electricity and Refuse Destructor Works, until affording changes to help combat global pollution concerns effecting greenhouse protection. Incidentally noting Government policy to end coal powered generation can be concluded in Nottinghamshire, after announcing final planned September 2024 closure of the 1968 Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.
22 May 24 by Gary Elliott Updated 22 May 24