Fairland Park gets a spring clean .... by local residents

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John McMullan on April 20, 2011 at 20:17

I'm being slightly tongue in cheek to make a point Hugh.

 

And for the last time, they're TRUCKS.

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Permalink Reply by matt on April 20, 2011 at 20:25

But John boy, your wife was there helping.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on April 20, 2011 at 23:53

I said earlier on Twitter that the first person to mention 'big society' would get a whack with my broom, so bend over John, this will hurt you more than it hurts me...

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on April 21, 2011 at 0:04

I missed it but am so looking forward to the broom. At least you knew you were suckers for big Dave.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on April 21, 2011 at 0:23

Big Dave is next for the broom. 

What we proved is that there is work that needs doing; that, by forcing councils to reduce staff, you are destroying the very infrastructure that promotes community such as clean, safe open spaces and exposing the idea that these cuts can all be done by 'efficiency' savings that don't impact on frontline services as a myth. 

Cameron tries to hijack this age old sentiment of community good. Community litter picks are not new but the idea of doing stuff like this has been tainted by the branding that Cameron gives it. This is not 'big society', this is our (hyperlocal) society and we are the kind of people who are happy to clean up rubbish and sweep the playgrounds to make them safe for our kids ONCE IN A WHILE.

If anyone thinks this is a sustainable way to protect green spaces, then they are foolish in the extreme. This litter pick was a protest and if there's a next time, maybe we should be delivering the condoms and the broken glass to the doorsteps of politicians who are vandalising our parks and services with their economic policy.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on April 21, 2011 at 1:08

One helpful way of looking at this is to see spending on such public "goods" as creating "value" to the whole community. Parks aren't "waste".

Having said that, I'm ashamed as a Haringey councillor that conditions in our parks have been allowed to get this bad.

But I also wonder about how to tackle the underlying problem of the people - probably a small minority - who seem to think it's okay to litter and dump because someone else will come and clear it up.

(From the film Dirty Pretty Things. " ... and in the morning, it's our job to make them pretty again.")

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Permalink Reply by Louise Nazeraj on April 21, 2011 at 6:13

Alan, that is my worry too.  How do you engage those people and I wonder whether if it is such a small minority?  In Haringey it seems to be not that smaller a minority of people who think it's perfectly OK to drop litter, throw what they don't want from their cars or just chuck anything they don't like out of their homes and on to the streets.  Is it because they think someone else will pick it up or do they simply not care.  Littering/fly tipping and this general anti-social behaviour is definitely not class/money limited. 

Having grown up in the Lake District, arguably one the the most beautiful places in the world, I've watched in horror as well-heeled families on days out have just either left their litter in situ after a picnic or just shoved it in a hedgerow rather than go to the effort of finding a bin or taking it home with them. As civic-minded locals living in a beautiful area we saw it as our duty to pick up litter where we found it and keep our environment as clean as possible in order to keep the tourists coming (and littering) and fill local coffers with income.  Litter picks were the norm and I don't remember going on a long walk as a child without spending some part of it picking up crisp packets or drinks cartons to put in a bin later.  This was not part of any "Big Society" plan back then, just a necessity and a part of community living that was deemed appropriate in a beautiful area that we all had vested interests in keeping beautiful.   

Some of the littering may be cultural. I was horrified when my Albanian husband first came to this country (for many reasons actually!) and his instinct with anything disposable was just to throw it on the ground. Parts of Albania are just rubbish dumps and people sift through them meticulously for all sorts of things. Where he's from there is no council or anyone to come and clear the rubbish away, it just rots and forms part of the landscape.  It's a dirty problem but one they've lived with for so long they just don't seem to notice it.  They do have rubbish removal services in the cities obviously and there the culture is yes, someone else will clear it away because luckily (jobs are fiercely coveted) someone else has the opportunity to be paid to do that.

I applaud the new Keep Britain Tidy campaign and hope that more people take up what's on offer with it and start chipping away at their children to take note so their horror of litter is ingrained at an early age.  My daughter loves coming on litter picks with me and we now can't pass rubbish - or dog poo for that matter - without her pointing it out, shaking her head with disapproval at the 'dirty litter buggers' and calmly holding out the litter bag which has a permanent place on our buggy, for its removal.

I'm not above chipping in to help supplement already stretched resources. If everyone picked up five pieces of litter a day (I'm not talking condoms, needles and excrement here - that most definitely IS a health and safety issue and something the council should be onto immediately) and disposed of it sensibly, then all power to the elbow.  I too am sceptical of the Big Society promise and wonder whether it is too utopian to deliver or whether it's just a smoke screen to hide cuts behind but some of the basic principles aren't new or unfeasible.  I don't see litter picking as a statement to galvanise councils into action or a one off solution.  Just as I don't see being neighourly and checking on those vulnerable people who live by me are OK and need any supplies or provisions as somebody elses problem. I do it because I care and if I don't, who will?  Some authority should yes, but I wouldn't want to run that risk. 

I don't think it's a political statement, it's a civic duty and people should be engaged to do it and care.  Just as they spend countless hours investing in their local schools to bring them up to the standards they deem appropriate for educating their children. That should be the domain of the local authority too but we all know that without parental involvement, every step of the way, local schools fall through the floor.

So there, I've said it. Pick up litter as and when you see it and stop acting like it's some revolutionary idea and ultimate sacrifice.

*scurries away before large broom looms*

Permalink Reply by Angela on April 20, 2011 at 19:34

That was my initial reaction as well, John.

 

But, I think it needs to be noted how much rubbish is accumulated in a relatively short space of time. Potential H&S issues should be dealt with by the council not Friends of Whatever Group.

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Permalink Reply by 0zs7lj6ptvm3j on April 20, 2011 at 20:05

yeah I think fantastic to do it as a one off but this is what we pay our council taxes for - leaving a childrens playground to get that dirty is definitely a h&s issue - glad we have pictures of how bad it looked beforehand.

 

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Permalink Reply by matt on April 20, 2011 at 20:31

Just heard on 'witter the council's thinking on doing a mass training session for Haringey residents interested in keeping their local parks clean during these leaner times ... on the art of using a litter picker (and other important H&S issues).

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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on April 20, 2011 at 22:48

lol John McM, Quentin Crisp famously said: after two years, the dust (here: rubbish) doesn't get any deeper.. so why bother?

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Permalink Reply by Liz on April 21, 2011 at 8:04

@HC (and Alan)

In general, litter picks in places that are not covered by 'normal' refuse services such as the Parkland walk are simply that, litter picks and part of a general drive to keep areas from getting too overwhelmed by rubbish. I also agree that litter is the responsibility of all and as my litter hero, Uncle David once said  "If we all pick up 2 cans every day, there'd be no litter". Also I agree that having people prepared to give up time to clean up is part of a community good that has value and should be part of a strategy to co-produce our local environment (with social media being part of the process to enable people to mobilise quickly, do the job and leave again without joining committees, having to be found by charities/volunteer groups or committing to rotas etc)

However, the issue here in the park was that bins were overflowing and spilling everywhere, rubbish was getting blown around and any 'put it in the bin' message was undermined by the fact the bin was unusable. Uncle David also said, we have the responsibility to put things in the bin, the councils responsibility is to provide and empty bins, and this is where the protest aspect of this litter pick comes in because the system has broken down, due to lack of staff caused by the cuts and suddenly, even those who are trying to do the right thing by using the bins provided are no longer able to do so because the council have been unable to keep their side of the bargain. So, there is a political aspect to this. Due to severe, front loaded cuts, councils are being shown to be unable to fulfil their side of the litter bargain. 

Some could argue, and I often do, that in the absence of a bin, just take it home but that is not the message on the litter signs and sometimes its not a practical solution (no bag, not going straight home etc) so usable bins must be part of the bargain to not drop litter.

Moreover, there is no political will to tackle the underlying issues that could help by bringing in some carrot as well as stick. While happy to grant enforcement powers (easy and makes you look tough), successive governments show no interest in measures such as bringing back deposits on glass( and maybe other materials), banning certain materials such as polystyrene for takeaway food, levying a plastic bag tax, increasing recycling bins in public places, 'polluter pays' taxes on takeaway food ring fenced to clean up the mess caused by them, stronger campaigns like we had in the past on TV and cinema to 'Keep Britain Beautiful' than the toothless and rather prissy 'Keep Britain Tidy' slogan.

So while I do agree that we can all make a difference and doing a litter pick doesn't make us either heroes of the revolution or villains as some have seemed to suggest because we've collaborated with Dave's Big Society, there is a political aspect to litter and it is legitimate to suggest that litter picks can sometimes be expressions of protest and anger when systems begin to break down (next time I bring my black and red flag and wear a balaclava)

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