Twice
during last week’s Cabinet meeting, Councillor Diment managed to slip in his
regular plea for more responsible recycling.
Putting stuff which could be recycled into the green bin costs a fortune in landfill
taxes while paper, tins, plastic and food waste can all be sold and provide a small revenue stream.
Based solely on local observation I would say that contamination may be a far
bigger problem and again, just a personal view based on my nosy parkering
activities, I would hazard a guess that people from foreign parts are the biggest offenders.
When certain people meeting my criteria moved out a couple of months ago the years’ long problem of
contamination of the communal bins
disappeared with them. They have been remarkably neat and tidy ever since.
The house next door to me was sold in 2006 and the Nigerian who bought it said
he would rent it only to Nigerians although a new bunch that has just moved in
may have broken that mould. There have almost certainly been more than 20
different occupiers in the intervening years; various types from very nice
couples to drug dealers; but they have all had one thing in common. None could
give a fig for recycling.
It is pretty much the norm that I put their bins out every Thursday evening.
Last week there were two medium sized Amazon cartons on top of the white (paper
and card) bin so I opened the lid to see if I could squash them inside; but there
was no way. So I began to do a little bit of sorting. There were several bits of
polystyrene and a good number of disposable plastic cups in the paper bin which
I transferred to a stinking green bin. Stinking presumably because the black
sacks would be full of food scraps.
However it proved to be a hopeless undertaking because some very large bits of
polystyrene were jammed in alongside numerous plastic containers. I left it.
Unless I tipped the whole lot on to the pavement and found some empty bins the job was impossible.
Needless to say, next morning, the bin men did the same. Left it that is.
I noticed that the bin bore the address of someone a few doors away. Someone who
keeps his bins clean and uncontaminated. Thanks to ‘his’ bin being emptied, next
day we
were able to redistribute the rubbish though not in a way that Councillor Diment would
like because next door’s bin is still contaminated and no doubt it will remain
that way; it has been since 2006. Why expect things to change now?
The food waste bin pictured has lain unused in their front garden for well over
a year. Now that Bexley Council has stopped distributing
their Annual Recycling Guide how will these
itinerants ever get to know the rules?