Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
UPDATE: RUBBISH AROUND TURNPIKE LANE
after 9 days of daily tweets, fixmystreet reports and emails, A Veolia employee was waiting for me on Thursday at the spot I have been twice daily tweeting (@itsafaff) a photo of the problem. Just one small example of a much wider problem in the borough.
He explained Frome Road is a collection point, collection schedules etc. The council have now closed the case and assume this is now resolved. But a conversation is not a resolution and to assume that it is speaks volumes about the council’s response to the problem. I wrote to CLLR Mallet today and below is the text of the email. It summarises activity over the last 10 days.
I picked the area around Turnpike Lane specifically because I go there every day, it is small and I wanted to focus on one example of a bigger problem. Get something done there and move on ... As others are doing with some success. Your advice, support appreciated.
· We need bins at the major collection points. There are bins outside Hornsey Station. I notice a difference in the services and facilities for the posher parts of the borough.
· We need these bins at Turnpike Lane/Westbury Avenue around the tube. Specifically Frome Road. There are many cafes in this area, more shops than around Hornsey Station. Stuart McNamara tweeted yesterday at 1pm that they will locate a bin where there is a similar problem, as a pilot – can you do this for us?
· We need Veolia to collect at the times it says it will – and not to neglect an area in the hope that no one will notice or be bothered to complain.
· We need more frequent collections.
Since I began making a fuss about the problem around Turnpike Lane tube station, this is what has happened:
· I leafleted 20 shops around the station. Discussed the problem with staff, managers and owners. Many were open and supportive. I have noticed that the supermarket and the taxi firm outside the station are now sweeping the pavement outside their shops daily.
· I have tweeted (@itsafaff) daily/timed photos of uncollected rubbish bags, specifically at the collection point at the end of Frome Road and used the app FixMyStreet to report it.
· A Veolia representative approached me there on Thursday morning to explain that it is a collection point and the collection should take place twice a day. They do not – not every day, my pics and tweets prove it.
· In 10 days tweeting and campaigning about this very tiny area – I have found that there are many people doing the same as me, who are not happy with the way Haringey Council and Veolia manage waste collection. IE piles of rubbish waiting at ‘collection points’ and insufficient collections.
· The Veolia rep told me that there are two collections daily – and two vans to do the job in the borough. Is this sufficient? Many people living and working in Haringey would say not.
· It is bad for business. There is a new gastro-style pub opening on Westbury Avenue (The Westbury)spending considerable amounts of money doing the place up – they support what We are doing and have tweeted that they don’t like the mounds of rubbish lining the street – especially the very big pile that often lies neglected on Frome Rd.
· The businesses around Turnpike Tube – whilst they are responsible for the bags because they generate the waste, don’t think the council collects often enough.
There remains a problem. Despite the response below – it is NOT resolved.
· Piles of rubbish bags sit at the end of Frome Road (and many other places in the borough) and remain uncollected for long periods of time. I have never once walked past this spot and not seen a pile of rubbish bags.
· The piles of bags encourage others to dump their waste. This is clear by the amount the piles grow, the black, and other bags that are added, and the other items dumped with them.
· This system of managing waste collection is failing the borough. It is unsanitary.
· The piles stain the pavement – badly. And leave a strong smell, especially in warm weather.
· I have seen rats, birds and foxes pulling the bags apart and spreading the rubbish.
Would you be kind enough to give me a proper response, one that will give me some faith that I am not dismissed as a nutter, that you take the issue seriously, that you will arrange for a bin at the collection point on Frome Road, that you will ensure that the service provided by Veolia meets need and that they carry out their contractual obligations.
Turnpike Lane tube station is a magnificent modernist building. Arriving in that hall is impressive. Coming out of it is not. This is one small thing that is within our power to change.
Jackie Chambers
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Zoe Healey on
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Hi Jackie - it does seem interesting that so much is being invested in nicer pavements and street furniture - one hopes that improved rubbish services will supplement this otherwise it'll all be filthy quickly. Perhaps approaching those responsible for these other upgrades may be more fruitful as they are clearly bought into 'looks nicer = gets treated nicer/stays nicer'. I use the council app whenever I have a moment spare to report each pile of dumped rubbish I see. At least once a week. I figure recording the issue is one thing we can all do to help. I do think there in an inherent problem in expecting people newly moved to London who don't read/speak much, if any English, to comprehend and apply the recycling rules - a few leaflets and tags on bins certainly doesn't seem to be helping yet.
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Permalink Reply by Stuart on
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It's not just Frome Road. It's also absolutely appalling around Waldegrave Road too, on the west side of Turnpike Lane, where there are regularly piles of rotting rubbish, spilled bags, waste etc. (clumped around where the Irony & Boe "Fox" wall painting is").
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Absolutely disgusting where i live, St Margarets Ave N15 near Turnpike Lane, rubbish blowing up and down the street, piled high in gardens, rats scrurring around at night....and to think we pay for this non service !
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Reply from Cllr Mallett on Friday. Will wait for the new bin and hope the very stinky stained pavement is cleaned at some point. So - this one spot is going to improve. What/where next? One at a time .... ?
From: Cllr Mallett Antonia a href="mailto:Antonia.Mallett@haringey.gov.uk">Antonia.Mallett@haringey.gov.uk>
Date: 27 September 2014 15:40:29 BST
To: jackie chambers a href="mailto:jackie.chambers@me.com">jackie.chambers@me.com>
Subject: RE: Turnpike LaneDear Jackie,
- I will forward your request for a bin at Frome Road to officers, who should respond within 10 working days.
- Businesses have to contract their own waste disposal, which may not be Veolia.
- People who dump rubbish on the street are committing an offence. Police and council enforcement officers can and do investigate the rubbish and take action.
- At the moment, there are extensive works being carried out around Turnpike Lane Station and along Wood Green High Road. This causes disruption to many services and has limited road space for waste bins and cycle parking until the works are completed, however I will ask for more bins. You can find out more about the scheme here: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/wood_green_scheme
Thank you for taking such an interest in the environment in the local area. Please encourage your friends to use the ‘Our Haringey’ app to report instances of dumped rubbish, potholes etc so we can put them right.
Yours,
Cllr Toni Mallett
Labour Member for West Green Ward
07870 157883
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Hi - do you want to discuss this off HoL? We cd combine forces - depending where the road is ...? I am at jackie.chambers@me.com
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Permalink Reply by Abi on
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Would love to - I'm sort of at my wits' end with this one as you can see. I'll connect with you via Twitter. thanks again.
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Permalink Reply by Julia on
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Count me in too, I'm fighting the fight about a constantly overflowing litter bin and fly tipped rubbish near Mannock Road allotments/Langham Place via the app, Twitter, an official complaint and my councillors, but so far I'm getting nowhere fast.
I also suggest tagging any more Twitter posts about rubbish with #filthiestboroughinlondon #Haringey to try and shame someone into action!
#thsiswhatitscometo
I'm @tinysuns
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This is proving to be a great way to make new friends on Twitter
On a serious note, reading some other threads on similar problems, it does seem like particular issue is a systematic problem all over the borough. If we can provide enough examples of what's going wrong, perhaps SOMEONE will be more inclined to listen to us?
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Permalink Reply by SarahC on
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If it's the one by the Palace Gates mural, that's the nearest bin to me and I've reported it in the past as well – I'll keep an eye out too in future. In the summer I saw people tearing open the bin bags dumped there and spreading out the stuff to see what was interesting inside...
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That's the one I'm trying to get sorted. This was it tonight:
I've got some posters and stickers from http://www.keepbritaintidy.org that I plan to display but I believe I need to get permission first so I'm not considered a litterer myself!
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Yes, I assumed that must be the one you meant. It's quite weird as the bin is quite out on its own, so someone must be specifically bringing whole bin bags full of stuff quite a distance to put beside it. I don't think most of it's coming from the occasional evening beer drinkers on the benches.
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It was tidied this morning by the regular street cleaner, but it won't last.
I think you're right and it is predominantly people dumping their household and green waste there; though it is also a heavily used cut through to and from the tube station so I believe it does need more regular emptying than the standard twice a week for areas Veolia class as residential.
I've complained to the Council and got a reply which said,
You have complained that the litter bin near Mannock Road allotments is constantly overflowing and you have requested that we place another bin or a larger bin to compensate for the extra rubbish.
From my investigation on this issue I can confirm that the location was put on our monitoring list for two weeks prior to your complaint, to assess the litter bin. The bin is located on a residential road so normally it would only be visited twice a week by a sweeper. From the information gathered we realised that there was a lot of foot traffic heading to and from Turnpike Lane station. After the first two hours of monitoring the litter bin at the location, I established that the bin is indeed being abused by passersby who are depositing their household waste in and around the bin.
Further to this investigation my Foreman had cleared the bin and two hours later the litter bin was full of green waste including two refuse sacks next to the bin, also full of green waste. We can only continue to monitor the location for any evidence that might be left behind to aid us and the Council establish who is responsible for abusing the bin.
As a result of these findings I will be partially upholding this complaint due to the fact that it was full but only because it was abused. I hope I have resolved your concerns to your satisfaction.I'm following up on this as I want a more strategic answer about how they plan to address the 'abuse' beyond monitoring and have cc'd the West Green Councillors for their response too...
In the meantime several of us are using Twitter and the hashtag #HaringeyRubbish to highlight ongoing issues.
I do feel for the guys out cleaning the streets because I think they do a good job of making it look neat but within hours it's an absolute tip again. There is an underlying behavioural issue that needs to be understood and worked on; there must be research out there about what works and doesn't. I'm not sure where to begin in trying to have that conversation with either Veolia or Haringey - any contact details would be welcome if anyone has them.
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