Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Warning - Giving Away Furniture
Hi everyone
Just wanted to offer a word of warning, after a recent (expensive) mistake...
We had a small bedside table that was in perfect condition and was no longer needed. I did what I've always done with small household items and furniture having lived in London for 15 years - placed it just outside my gate with a sign attached saying "free to a good home." A few weeks later, a penalty notice arrived for £400 for fly-tipping, and the threat of a £20,000 fine if I didn't pay on time.
I emailed the enforcement team, explaining this was a genuine mistake on my part and not an attempt to dispose of furniture illegally (would have been a terrible plan if so, given I was so easily traceable with the item being directly outside my property.) It was a very small piece of furniture that wasn't blocking the public pathway. And, more importantly, I'm not a fly-tipper - I recently had our kitchen renovated and paid hundreds to have the waste disposed of properly, and regularly hire cars to take bulky furniture or waste to the N22 recycling centre. The response was that the fine was issued correctly and I owed the council £400. Pretty annoying when genuine fly-tipping is a chronic issue on the ladder... case and point the soiled mattress at the end of my road two weeks ago, and the dismantled bed in the passage last week, but there we go... my wallet is now £400 lighter for the mistake. I suspect the owners of the mattress and bed aren't worse off but who knows...
But this is really just to say if you have furniture in good knick you want to give away, keep it inside your front garden gate. I've seen people nearby doing the same thing as me - not with rubbish but with clearly nice bits and bobs they want to offer up passers by - and would hate for anyone else to end up in my position!
Mx
Tags for Forum Posts: council, fine, flytipping
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Harrison on
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I agree that it is not acceptable for Veolia to have left these bags for over 2 days. However, in my opinion, this does not constitute dumping.
I have only posted a few times on HoL, but I have echoed replies advising someone to contact Veolia because their bin was not being emptied. I have also replied to a question about a bulk collections not being a reuse collection. I do not see how this links me to Veolia.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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I joined Harringay Online soon after it was launched. Over the years I learned much from reading the comments. Sometimes changing my mind, or at least modifying my opinions on a wide range of topics. I was also introduced to topics and viewpoints; to researchers, authors and advocates I didn't know about.
I'm disappointed partly with the tone of this discussion thread and partly with the lack of fresh thinking about waste and waste dumping, and recycling.
There must better ways to understand and tackle these issues.
Anyone got some positive suggestions?
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Permalink Reply by Anne-Lise McDonald on
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Alan there are lots of options for reusing items. In some countries they have specific days where you can put items out for people to take and use. We use freecycle and sites like this one to advertise items we don’t need. Some recycling centres have areas where you can leave usable items. It makes me sad to go to the tip and see people chucking away perfectly good stuff.
tackling fly tipping is difficult, there are methods that work but it costs money and there isn’t much money about.
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Many thanks Anne-Lise McDonald
for kicking off this list of suggestions.
If you have time I'd really appreciate a few more paragraphs describing in your own view the "methods that work".I agree with you that "there isn't much money about" to try different methods. But plainly, money is wasted by running a separate system of waste collection from streets alleys, parks etc etc. At least in my own out-of-date understanding, if stuff is cleared from informal dumping sites it's probably not recyclable.
Thanks again, and I'm hoping for other HoL members to add to crowd-sourced ideas.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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I've already said it, but I'll repeat: Olio is a very useful app for giving and receiving food and non-food items. It has a rating system a bit like Uber which encourages good behaviour. I've found I've had fewer no-shows when I use Olio compared to Freecycle and similar.
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Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon on
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Hello All
I have had some time off over August as family have been visiting, so have just seen this thread. I have just written to the senior officers in Resident Services about exactly this issue on behalf of a local resident. I have asked for the fine to be waived as, like in this case, the resident was trying to recycle useable household goods. I will follow it up further with the officers, since there must be a way to support these initiatives which doesn't lead to fixed penalty notices being issued. I will write to them about this case too, and send them the link to the discussion. It may be too late to get this fine reviewed but I will have a go.
Zena
Zena Brabazon
Cllr, Harringay ward
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Oh wow
just shows how much this Cllr’s knows about the policies they have supported, while your at it deal with the stupid LTN fines and the congestion you have have caused in the borough, this issue is about a resident placing an item out illegally on the public highway, how are you going to overturn this?
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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on
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No need for rudeness, John Harrison. The councillor is trying to help. If you have a question, ask the question, but no need to make ill-infomred digs.
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I apologize if my post came across as rude.
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Hello John
Apology accepted. Just to clarify, I am pretty well-versed about these issues and advocate for local residents As I said, I have already written in support of another resident who was fined for trying to recycle and I have asked for a meeting with officers about this aspect of waste enforcement since there must be a better strategy than fining people£400.
Best wishes
Zena
Zena Brabazon
Cllr, Harringay ward
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Just came across this thread and wanted to say thanks for the warning! There's a huge difference between someone dumping a soiled mattress in the street and leaving out an item right outside your house with a note attached saying 'community recycling, please help yourself' as we have previously done. We've given away mostly small bits of children's furniture and they're usually taken within half an hour, but I guess we'll have to look for alternatives to getting rid of stuff now. What a shame.
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