Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
People going through bins
Has anyone been having any issues with people going through their bins? We're on Roseberry Gardens and have twice asked people (one man, one woman) to stop rifling through our bins.
Today someone has come and removed our bin bags from the wheelie bins and torn them open.
Thanks,
Tags for Forum Posts: theft from dustbins
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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As you hint, Ruth, in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe especially, there are economic and political factors underlying these "cultural" differences. I hope your essay will explore these as well.
Where will it be published? I hope not in some closed-garden academic journal.
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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hi Alan, I haven't written it yet!
Just seems I spend a lot of timing posting on this issue and have experience of Harringay/Bulgaria (and other places) so I might write as well expand my thoughts and lots of other peoples into something on Rubbish. It is an important area, people here are upset, annoyed and concerned.
Will let you know! And no no no to academic writing! I don't do academic. I left all that behind years ago. I'm a populist writer. (Hence Not just Beer and Bingo!…)
It won't help solve people's problems of course of having bags of rubbish ripped open in their front yards and all the mess. But maybe provide some sort of perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I look forward to it. I have long suspected that our front garden, wheelie bin approach to rubbish is part of the problem when it comes to issues of who may "profit" from scavenging things that may be useful or make money.
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Permalink Reply by Lydia R on
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It isn't a matter of people wanting to hang on to the contents of their bins.
1) The first problem is that if your front garden is where your bins are parked, anyone interested in them would have to come on to your property. In Harringay front gardens are very narrow and so you might go to your sitting room window and find yourself nose to nose through the glass with a complete stranger. This is disturbing for the most robust and worse for vulnerable people of any age. Sometimes there is also threatening behaviour from such visitors. We all have a right to feel safe in our own houses and no-one should be apologetic about feeling uncomfortable when someone breaks the boundaries. We don't have to be patronising either. I am certain that Bulgarians -- and those from any other country -- have exactly the same concept as do we of a fence or a wall.
2) The second problem is that these bin-raiders do not seem to worry too much about putting stuff back, which means that after a visit you will come out of your house to find the contents of your bin either all over your front garden or all over the pavement in front of your house. You cannot leave it like that because it is dangerous and brings vermin. Therefore you are faced with the inconvenience of cleaning it up. If someone maliciously tipped your bin over, that would be classified as anti-social behaviour. I don't see why it should be regarded with any more indulgence because the perp was looking for something to take away.
Lydia Rivlin: Conservative Party candidate, Harringay Ward.
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Lydia, I hope you didn't think I was being patronising nor apologetic about bin raiders here. I hate it as well- saw another one today as it happens doing the other side of the street. I was waiting for him to cross over and would have confronted him if he had entered my front patch.
I was merely trying to point out some differences and noting a way of life in Bulgaria for some people is to rummage through the communal bins regularly, to make a few pennies. (Note that their communal bins are on the street not usually behind someone's fence or wall. Few people there have their 'own' bins.)
I am not saying that this should be anyone's way of earning some money here. Not at all. No way. I don't want this happening.
What I put in my bin after recycling as much as possible should stay there, it's my choice and my bin, my front garden etc… It is worrying and intrusive. And yes, often they leave a big mess which is unhygenic as well as unsightly.
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No it isn't that people want their bins contents, and in other posts I've highlighted just the problems with invasion of property and the mess caused by inconsiderate bin dippers.
My point is that, in many other parts of the world, people have to make the effort to walk with their rubbish to other places and don't have bins inside their garden gates. The places where they are required to dispose of things are sometimes lockable enclosures to which as a householder obviously you have the key, or places that are sufficiently far from their properties to make issues of trespass and mess less of an issue for householders. In Japan, the rubbish that is reusable is placed far from properties, people are careful to separate rubbish and then those (and I did this) who want to reuse or recycle can go to the pile - removed weekly- and take what isn't needed. I've still got dishes I took off the 'gomi'
In fact, having bins in every front garden seems like a peculiarly British thing. With the rise of the multiple wheelie bin collection, our streetscapes more and more resemble giant rubbish sites. But that perhaps is an issue for another thread.
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Permalink Reply by HarringayBirder on
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I am not sure I would describe myself as a "legal eagle" (although the term, for obvious reasons, holds an attraction) but I can assure you that taking a person's rubbish from their bins without their permission is indeed theft as a matter of law.
Furthermore while the Metropolitan Police may be experts in law enforcement, I really wouldn't rely on the police for legal guidance. That's where lawyers tend to come in handy.. ;-)
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Very bad and pure laziness, thoughtlessness on the part of these people. They should be fined for not recycling or something… .
On positive side, I have seen bin inspectors coming down street on bin day, post-collection, with clipboards, and they look at the bins that have been unemptied because they are in such a state or wrong things in bins. But they just put a very small sticker on the bin to warn the householder and make a note of the address. A much bigger sticker and threat of fine might work.
At least they (I presume Veola and council) are trying to do something though not sure what the effect is. Maybe it's not tough enough.
Fines probably wouldn't work- there are fines for dropping litter on streets, fly tipping and using mobile phones while driving but these all go on regularly as we know.
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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Not so hard to catch these perps though?
Problem with fines - I'd have to share them! This is from the upstairs flat.
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Permalink Reply by Kieran Cullen on
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The people who go through the bins must be short of cash.
This issue seems to vex a large number of people.
Perhaps it might be worth paying one of these poor desperate souls to turn gamekeeper and patrol the area and see off these dastardly thieves.
I'm sure a residents committee could raise the required funds?
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Permalink Reply by Geraldine on
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Wouldn't it be possible to employ these unfortunate, presumably unemployed people on a basic salary - perhaps as a private enterprise - to remove ALL rubbish once or twice a week, allowing them to keep anything they need ? Or would that cause a revolution among those that are gainfully employed to do the job but don't actually want to do it?
The situation is truly the stuff of Alice in Wonderland. It is appalling that dustbins are emptied only once a fortnight. Here in Hong Kong we have a system similar to Japan's, as described by Liz. Household rubbish is removed daily to a central collection point and scavengers, of whom there are plenty, can go about their business without the need to enter private premises. It's not without its imperfections but anything is better than being surrounded by your own rubbish for two weeks.
I agree with Kieran that if I were a member of residents committee, I'd be pleased to set the ball rolling. Of course they would need transport but that shouldn't prove impossible, should it?
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