Mick Bourne wanted to dispose of an electric kettle and toaster he no longer had use for.
But after walking the half-a-mile from his home to the centre in Spring Vale Road, he was stopped by the attendant.
He said: “The man told me I couldn’t come in as I was a pedestrian. He said it was about health and safety because there had been accidents.
“I asked, if I waited outside and called a taxi which took me 20 yards inside, then drove me back out, was that okay, and he said yes as then I wouldn’t be a pedestrian. I cannot comprehend it.”
Oh, I think you ought to be able to by now. How long have you lived here?
A safety notice states that residents within 500 metres of the tip are allowed to walk in.
Who questions the pedestrians to see how far they’ve come?
Do they have to bring ID? Who decided on 500 metres?
Coun David Foster said: “They want to encourage people to recycle so they should let people walk in. I understand there may be accidents, but there are lots of accidents on roads and we don’t stop people using them.
“And why is it safer for people who live within 500 metres?”
Beats me! The answer, unsurprisingly, is ‘It’s not, really…’:
Tony Watson, head of environmental services at the borough council, said: “The site is designed for cars. There are limited pedestrian route markings and for this reason the entrance to the site is designated as restricted pedestrian access.
“However, if you live within the locality of the site, and are disposing of household waste only, the council’s contractors will allow you to walk on to the site, at your own risk.
“But they ask that you wear high-visibility clothing, be careful of traffic entering and exiting, and do not attempt to carry large items into the site.”
I think if you can stagger 500 metres with a fridge in your arms, you ought to be able to use the tip, surely?
I..errrr....no.....fuck it..........! I give up completely. What gets me is the recycling co-ordinating officer (tip worker) who enforced this nonsense. 'Tip Nazis' I call my lot. Couldn't he hear himself?
ReplyDeleteI understand Tony Watson - he can't help it, he's been chipped, pinned and had his common sense processor removed during brainwashing endless diversity and H&S training. He is a fully paid up local authority political officer. Mental!
but there are lots of accidents on roads and we don’t stop people using them.
ReplyDeleteer.... are you sure? they are doing a pretty good job of it round my way
The obvious response was to hand the kettle and toaster to the jobsworth and tell him to get on with it. There's no point in indulging every authoritarian fantasy of these f***wits and taking what they say as gospel.
ReplyDeleteWhen you get to the tip in your car, how do you put the stuff in the skips? I presume it is necessary to get out and get the stuff out of the boot. Are you not then a pedestrian?Are the attendants on foot or driving round? For me to get rid of electrical items involves driving a round trip of 28 miles, which is very environmentally friendly.
ReplyDeleteThank you! This has relieved my cabin fever from the crap weather no end. I'm tempted to take some of my junk for a walk to experiment with the local facilities if only it stopped raining.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget this officialdom and beaucracy. What I think they do it for is not really H&S, though because of the real reason they trot out the H&S as a cover.
ReplyDeleteThe real reason is because they usually ban vans and small traders and if someone parks out on the road and just walks in repeatedly they can't stop them. So the only way of stopping traders is to say no pedestrians.
I know because I used to be one of those small traders who dumped the occasional waste.
drive in with car boot full of anything and you are waved through. Try to do the same thing in a van and you need to supply a passport, driving licence and a signed letter from the Pope before they let you through the gate.
ReplyDeleteAnd our tip has more razor wire then Guantanamo Bay. To stop people breaking in and stealing what?
I have a great recycling system. Any old electrical gear like this gets chucked in the gutter outside my apartment. Within half an hour one of the ferals will have it on his toes with it, never to be seen again.
ReplyDeleteIt's not only Lancashire that this happens. A local authority site not far (within 10 miles, to avoid embarrassing the poor folks) from Farnborough, Hants, has a similar rule. A friend of mine discovered this and was turned away while carrying a single mattress. He doesn't have a driving licence so he can't drive there and lives on a basic state pension so he can't afford a taxi. His solution was to ask a friend to drop him off outside the Council Offices where he walked in with his mattress, explained why he was there and plonked it on the counter, telling the (3) reception staff to pass it to their refuse collectors next time they called. He then walked out (with a huge smile on his face). If you can't beat Health and Safety, then use them!
ReplyDelete"Health and Safety" has nothing to do with being healthy or safe ... and everything to do with control and group-think.
ReplyDelete"David Gillies said... Within half an hour one of the ferals will have it on his toes with it, never to be seen again."
ReplyDeleteI once put an old sofa out in the alleyway in the evening fully intending to ring the council ERIC service to shift it next day. An hour later it was gone.
Now *that's* the kind of feral/gypo I quite like :)
" Couldn't he hear himself? "
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure he could. And he was probably proud of how he sounded!
"er.... are you sure? they are doing a pretty good job of it round my way"
Heh!
"The obvious response was to hand the kettle and toaster to the jobsworth and tell him to get on with it."
He'd undoubtedly refuse to take it, and if you dropped it at his feet, he'd scream 'flytipping!'.
Then you'd have to deal with the ultimate jobsworths - PCSOs!
"For me to get rid of electrical items involves driving a round trip of 28 miles, which is very environmentally friendly."
The environment clearly isn't on their radar.
"So the only way of stopping traders is to say no pedestrians."
ReplyDeleteInteresting theory! So they are ensuring they don't miss out on those business rates?
"To stop people breaking in and stealing what?"
Scrap metal?
" Within half an hour one of the ferals will have it on his toes with it, never to be seen again."
If it's metal, parts of Essex have the same system... ;)
"His solution was to ask a friend to drop him off outside the Council Offices where he walked in with his mattress, explained why he was there and plonked it on the counter, telling the (3) reception staff to pass it to their refuse collectors next time they called. He then walked out (with a huge smile on his face). If you can't beat Health and Safety, then use them!"
Excellent!
Our neighborhood (Beckton) has a handy solution to this. We call it 'PikeyCycling'.
ReplyDeleteLeave anything with more than 2g of metal outside for more than 2 minutes and it's gone.
Pity this system is a little indiscriminate and includes things that you didn't really want to get rid of, like your car or your motorcycle, but at least we don't have to go to the tip very often.
I'd seriously like to do brain scans on these officers to see what's inside.
ReplyDelete