I am sure I read that somewhere (Liverpool, I think) was trialling centralized rubbish storage and collection, with some success. It may challenge the British mindset of chucking it outside their front door and it instantly becoming someone else's problem.
Our local municipality, the Jungles of Surrey, is apparently mulling a step back from the wheelie bins that have been increasingly fecund in recent years, spawning a range of additional wheelie bins, so a household can max out at four (ok, one caddy, one garden waste, one recycling, and one general rubbish). I'd like to say this is because they give a shit about blocked pavements, but if they did, they might be tempted to do something about the endemic pavement parking that quite often doesn't leave enough space for a wheelie bin.
I recently found out the cost of a bulky waste collection, which was a grand £53 quid for a broken exercise bike and a few other bits and pieces (about eight years ago when we moved here, they would collect three items a year for free). I can't imagine why most people just leave it on a corner or down a country lane. Of course, if you have a car, the refuse centre is free.