Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Caught red-handed
Glancing out of my window after lunch, I notice a chap sauntering past my house in a manner than can only be described as nonchalant. Craning my neck, I watch as he stops and calmly props an old window, from a house further down the road, outside my house before strolling off.
Having processed that I have *finally* caught one of these ruddy fly tippers in action, I go to the door and watch where he goes. Before I know what is happening, words are coming out of my mouth, rather angry ones...
"Why have you left that outside my house?" I bellow down the road (real classy like)
Inaudible response.
"I said, why have you left that outside my house?"
"It's ok the council will take it" is the reply.
I see red.
"Damn right they will, but only because I have to report it and I'll be reporting YOU for dumping it."
Man's friend seeing the game is up, comes back, mumbles an apology, and retrieves his fly tipping. Out of the corner of my eye, I see curtains twitching across the road. One or two passersby walk a little faster. This middle-aged lady is KICKING off.
Meanwhile, as it's the school holidays, I have my two kids cheering me on. As I stand, arms-crossed, watching Tweedledum and Tweedledee faffing around their white van, my daughter says in tones usually reserved for particularly good moments in Minecraft, "WOW MUM, you're TOUGH. Really TOUGH."
Well, of course, I'm not 'tough'. Just not going to stand for it.
However, as those of you who have read my rubbish-themed diatribes and musings over the years will know, I'm always interested in the WHY. Out of the mouth of Tweedledum was the answer we know is in the head of every dumper, litter bug and dog shit abandoner.
It's ok... the council will take it.
This man, and countless like him convince themselves, even though I KNOW they know what they do is socially wrong and illegal, that it's ok -no harm done, someone (the amorphous mass that is THE COUNCIL) will clear it up.
How do we convince people it's not OK? Fines don't cut it, enforcement is expensive and underfunded and prosecution is time-consuming. How do we stop people convincing themselves that their little bit of environmental crime is excusable?
Because I'm not going to be (un) lucky enough to catch them fly tippers red-handed every day.
Tags for Forum Posts: fly tipping
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Stop picking it up. Leave it outside your house. It will also give photo opportunities for Lynne Feathersword.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I didn't pick it up. They did. The point of this story, aka "Angry middle-aged woman shouts at white van men fly tipping and wins"
Oh and I can take my own pictures of me angrily pointing at potholes and dog poo, thank you (hey folks, follow me on Twitter!). Speaking of Twitter, those of our current elected representatives and wannabe ones tweeting have suddenly ALL discovered fly tipping and litter and like angrily pointing it out to the unfortunate member of the press office tasked with running Haringey Council's twitter stream. I wonder if I'll see so many pictures of abandoned mattresses after May 22nd on my timeline.
NB Alan Stanton is not included in this observation. He's been posting pictures on his Flickr stream longer than I have and certainly long before Haringey Council discovered social media.
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Well unless he received a £300 fine from the council I am still in the lead on pursuing fly-tipping ;)
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*Sigh*.You are undoubtedly the king of pursuing the wrong doers of Harringay. I've yet to chase lorries up the road, but I think you've missed the point of this post.
It's an case study in how people justify their behaviour to themselves for my massive (as yet unwritten) Ethnography of Dumping Course at the University of Mucksville. Actual oral testimony from the mouth of the perpetrator. And I hope a little amusing too.
Where's Alan, the Emeritus Professor?
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Oh sorry, I thought it was well known that people think magic faeries take their rubbish away if they leave it outside someone else's house.
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Permalink Reply by sally mustoe on
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I was appalled by the poster any bin WILL NOT do! twice recently I've let dog-owners see that I am watching them as they pick up the poo then intend to put it in our dustbins foul for us and for the council rubbish collector its fine if you can confront flytippers and dog poo dumpers but so often they do their dirty deeds when nobody is about.
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Permalink Reply by Lauren on
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The man from the house opposite me also dumped a wardrobe on Pemberton Rd bridge 2 days ago. My boyfriend told the guy not to do it but he did it anyway. It is still there, well part of it is. He and the woman have now started coming out into the street and jeering at us at every opportunity.
In the past few weeks they have put an old sawn in half door, some old plasterboard and some chairs there as well. They think it is ok because they think the council takes it away. They don't put it outside their house though, so I'm sure they know it's not ok.
They also fill my bins with their rubbish and in the past I've reported them for putting building rubble in my bins as well.
Nothing ever gets done about it.
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I took a movie and put it on youtube and the guy was fined £300...
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I think its much harder to tackle people when they are neighbours for exactly the reasons that you cite i.e. that some people react badly to be pulled up on their behaviour.
I did tackle the blokes across the road about mattresses going on the street but in a kind of 'oh you're new here aren't you? Do you need the number for the council to get stuff taken away?' sort of manner. It kind of worked as they put the mattress back in the garden but then I had to stare at rotting mattresses in their front garden for weeks instead. You win some, you lose some.
However, you make the point well that your neighbours *know* they are doing wrong because they don't leave it outside their own house and risk a knock on the door, but have convinced themselves of their "right" to do this because THE COUNCIL will clear it up.
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Liz,
Well done you. The answer is doing exactly what you have done. Don't let people get away with it. Power to the people!
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