Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Changing council and/or Veolia policy on contaminated recycling
The council sets out a policy for when they see the wrong stuff in a green recycle bin:
http://www.haringey.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/refuse-and-recycli...
Does anyone else agree that this could be improved?
It seems to me that it would be much better if the Veolia labelled the bin as they do, but collected the bin contents as they normally would trash.
As it stands, we end up with this:
It has now been left outside a house to which it does not belong -- I've used OurHaringey to report it.
Is there value in not collecting the rubbish? Surely the affixed tag is the useful information. Or is the attempt to be somehow 'punitive'? If so, I think this is only counter-productive.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by dbh1954 on
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The whole system of rubbish collection and street sweeping is flawed.
If the bin is 'contaminated' they won't collect unless it's reported and often they will say the owner has to empty it first! I have countless photos that I've tweeted to Veolia & Haringey Council of overflowing bins that are often not emptied for weeks. Even when they have flies buzzing around them and no doubt a few rats sniffing about.
Then you have the council themselves (via Veolia) littering the streets with their purple bags. These are often also just left until someon reports them. Along Green Lanes the pavement is so stained and dirty from these 'collection' points that you wouldn't believe it was only recently replaced.
They're needs to be a total rethink but I won't hold my breath.
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Permalink Reply by Madeline on
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On one occasion next doors bin was tagged and not collected, neither bin as I believe the black bin may have been too full. The tag meant nothing to my neighbours as they are transient, non english speaking residents. As their bins weren't being emptied their solution was to use mine meaning that I had nowhere to put my own rubbish. Veolia were more than non-helpful telling me it was my problem not theirs. Even when I pointed out that they themselves were part of my problem they still didn't want to know. Through their inaction the problem just got worse over the weeks with me being the one with a problem that I, in no way, created.
To not empty the bins just doesn't seem to make sense. There has to be a better solution that doesn't create a bigger problem than the original complaint.
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Permalink Reply by Helen on
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I had a tag on my bin last week. I didn't even notice it but grabbed the refuse collection person to ask why it hadn't been collected when I saw him. Neither he nor I could identify the offending item but I took a few things out and put them in our skip, which we happened to have for our building works atm, so he agreed to take it. I have no idea what I'd have done if we hadn't had a skip - it's hard to transport a full recycling bin to the tip, even if you have a car.
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Here's another recent thread about this subject:
http://www.harringayonline.com/forum/topics/veolia-recycling-not-pi...
Since that thread was started a week ago there has been another round of recycling collections, and I see that extra bins on this street have been tagged this time round compared to last week.
It would be extremely helpful if the tag had written on it what's wrong with the bin content. As it is, the tag has a list of what can and can't be recycled, but doesn't say (and there is no space to write on the tag) what's wrong. Kafkaesque.....
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Too many occasions where Veolia has not collected bins - for whatever reason - and the rest of the community has to deal with the consequences - flies a particular problem in this weather.
And then, the most likely outcome is that two weeks go by before Veolia come again.Surely we want our streets to be clean - how is it productive to refuse to deal with a minor problem and turning it into a bigger problem.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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If the Veolia member of staff can't identify the items contaminating the recycled waste - see Helen's comment here - how are residents supposed to know what they've done wrong and change their behaviour?
And yes there seems to be a new attempt to "crack down" on contaminated waste which shouldn't be in the green top bins. Good idea. But a useless application of a good idea if residents - and it seems - some staff can't reliably "present" their waste in the right bin.
The "cabinet" councillor for waste is Peray Ahmet. I suggest residents meeting this problem and a Council /Veolia brick wall, consider emailing her and asking her to read both threads on this topic and get the process underway to sort this out urgently, before disgruntled residents give up and our streets become even more littered with overflowing waste.
Peray.Ahmet@haringey.gov.uk.
You might also want to copy in Cllr Claire Kober claire.kober@haringey.gov.uk Why? Please see below.
_______________________________________§ "Our streets are among the cleanest in London and resident satisfaction is at its highest ever level." — Claire Kober Leader of Haringey Council. Election Manifesto May 2014.
§ "I can't believe that!", said Alice.
"Can't you?", the Queen said in a pitying tone. "Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."
Alice laughed. "There's no use trying" , she said: "one can't believe impossible things."
I daresay you haven't had much practice", said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
— The White Queen; "Alice Through the Looking Glass" chapter 5.§ "You cannot change what you refuse to confront." — Proverb.
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Permalink Reply by Claudia Clare on
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Lovely!!
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Permalink Reply by Amy Nicholls on
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If residents recycle properly, this wouldn't happen! Blaming Veolia is addressing the symptom, not the cause. I am proud of the stance we take as a community in Harringay. Minimise waste, prioritise recycling, be responsible with your waste and everything is fine. Maybe you could help your neighbours to understand what goes in the recycle bin e.g. no recycling in plastic bags, no food waste etc. The label gives this information. Person responsibility is key!
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Permalink Reply by CanadianMichael on
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Of course people should recycle. And they should be notified when they goof up. My concern is that punitively leaving trash around when they fall short is not helpful.
In the specific case above, how do you suggest I help my neighbours? The contaminated green bin in the picture was fly tipped over in front of the house of responsible recyclers -- the residents of that house were equally frustrated. We spoke as I walked by and got out my phone to report it using OurHaringey. I can vouch that their own green bin was standing innocently empty within their front yard.
To use an analogy, I feel like a more Vancouver-y approach is needed here: yes, hard drug use should be stopped via a combination of education and legislation, but when some people do decide to use, we should act to minimise secondary harm with things like safe injection sites.
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My bin's been tagged. I've now checked it. There is nothing in there that shouldn't be. I've a hunch that tagging is quicker and easier than emptying the bin, esp if there's very little in there. They - or someone- has taken the food bin too. Also not contaminated. I suspect the workers are guessing if something's a 'contamination,' rather than actually knowing. Haringey council setting fire to tax-payer's money. Again. Plus ca change etc.
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There are a few 'gotchas' that can catch out even the wary, never mind the unwary or uncaring.
-- Bin so full that the lid will not close (this is a safety issue when it's emptied into the lorry).
-- Recycled material is correct but is inside a plastic bag (for ease of taking it to the bin!).
-- Items that people think you can recycle but can't ...
polystyrene/styrofoam/foam; bubble wrap/cling film; crisp packets and similar thin crackly plastic; plastic boxes with a different plastic as lining; cork; glass from mirrors or windows or ovenproof glass like Pyrex; kitchen towels or wipes that are dirty; pizza boxes if dirty or greasy; tin foil that is not clean;
Here's a link to Haringey's leaflet about all of this:
http://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/what_goes_in_m...
And where a bin complies with all of the above and still is tagged, then I'd be off to contact one of my ward councillors. The tag doesn't tell me what's wrong. That's as big a fault in the system as the wrongly uncollected bin, and why it's a councillor issue.
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Very helpful indeed, thank you. Will go and check again. I was thinking there was just little in it.
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