You can hear the whole street cursing
as the weekly chore begins –
yes, once again it’s time to face
the seven dreaded bins.

First the green bin for the food waste,
tough enough to foil a fox –
but the leaky liner leaves a trail
that’s sticky as a slug’s.

The brown bin holds the garden waste
though it’s really much too big –
you can scarcely wheel the damn thing
once it’s full of grass and twigs.

The cardboard sack’s like raffia
so, once emptied of its load,
it fills with air and, billowing,
sails off along the road.

The paper sack was weighted
with a nifty strip of lead –
sadly, most of those got stolen,
and sold for scrap instead!

Next, the tub for glass and metal,
with black lid to hide the beers
(but, bad news for alcoholics –
the lid always disappears).

The plastic bag is cumbersome,
(though the plastic bottles are light).
It looks like some alien egg sack
when you drag it out at night.

Last, the black bin – it’s enormous!
You could fit a whole body in there.
Once you’ve recycled everything else
this bin should have room to spare.

Now they’re slumped like weary soldiers
(slightly soiled around the rims)
but they’re trying to save the planet –
the seven dreaded bins.