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News and Comment February 2022

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16 February - Full circle

Overflowing binAs you can see this paper waste bin is quite new having been provided only last May. I suspect it is fairly standard issue; a flap at the front and the whole lockable top section hinged so that it can be easily emptied into a refuse truck.

Before it arrived the old bin was abused and contaminated such that Bexley Council refused to empty it for two months or more. It looks as though history is repeating itself.

Surely every bin man knows which way round such a bin is supposed to be placed but most - and probably everyone since CountryStyle took over the contract - replaces it front to wall so that the flap is inaccessible. Eventually someone got fed up with the situation and wrenched open the top lid, demolishing the lock (it has simply disappeared) and bending the hinge such that the lid no longer fits properly.

Now that the lid is easy to open the bin has had polystyrene and plastic dumped within it which probably gets it labelled “contaminated” and once more, we go weeks without it being emptied.

It is not Bexley’s biggest problem but indicates yet again what a useless bunch our Council is and how little they supervise their contractors.

Ultimately the situation is down to bad behaviour by residents some of whom simply do not know what civilised behaviour is or can be bothered to learn the language and maybe comprehend the rules. That is nothing new but I seem to have acquired such people right next door to me.

It is now part of my daily routine to clear their rubbish from their sewer before it enters mine and blocks it. I have been assured that only regular toilet paper is flushed away but yesterday I fished out a large blood stained wodge of fibrous material. Bexley Council says it is not their concern and maybe it isn’t and Thames Water is only interested in selling me a ten pound a month insurance policy to cover the shared sewer. Shared sewers have been their responsibility since 2011.

The time is approaching when I will have to plug up my neighbour’s sewer pipe so that they have no access to mine. It is not a satisfactory or complete solution as the underground pipe layout is such that I cannot prevent access from their downstairs bog, only the upstairs one.

Cultural diversity is a wondrous thing.

 

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