Forum Topic

Tips Closed Never apologise Never explain

What happens at the end of "Lockdown"? Many of us have been following the council instruction to store our Tip-bound Rubbish until the tips reopen. Some have reached bursting point. For others it has become a mental health issue. Meanwhile builders in the borough are happily toing and froeing to landfill sites with their rubbish and with council's blessing. So why are we prevented from going to the tips? It has always been no handshaking no cuddling no parties just dump and go. What has changed and why no explanation. Surely at this time the tip facilities are in high demand and they should be open. What are they not telling us? Are the tips being used as Covid 19 Morgues?

Arthur Breens ● 1828d25 Comments

Anybody used the Bulky Waste Collection recently?https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201172/refuse_services/2017/request_a_bulky_items_collectionIf so - what was it like?

Philippa Bond ● 1791d

Both tips are really busy with "very long" in time waiting and car numbers. That is after being open for almost a fortnight. Unable to provide a rubbish service forgive the double entendre another section of the council are promoting the building off yet more blocks and eyeing up public open spaces for others. You couldn't make it up!

Arthur Breens ● 1794d

Oh no I'm sorry that you had that experience because we happened to go past the Greenford one in the afternoon yesterday and it was very busy with cones in the road and it looked as though boots were being opened before you were allowed in.  If only I'd posted you might have seen it.Are you sure that you can't borrow some neighbours' bags or wheelie bin?  They are obviously trying to push getting people to sign up to the collection - but if you're only going to use it once a year who wants to have to accommodate the bin or bags when they are empty nearly all the time?Isn't it all reducing in volume as it dries out?  Can you squish it down more?  I hope you don't mind spiders in your car. :)Stirling Road and Townmead are also very busy.

Philippa Bond ● 1802d

I was driving past the Mortlake crematorium (there's a recycling centre next door) yesterday at 8am and that was chock-a-block too. Maybe everyone has the same idea of going early - if you went later on, maybe it would be quieter. We used a commercial company to take our waste and they were reasonable (Icon Waste).

Kevin Wilson ● 1803d

Kevin,No suggestion. I filled car last night. Completed filling this morning and arrived near tip at just before opening time 8:00am. No right turn when approaching from Iron Bridges from south into tip. Queue backed up to Greenford Traffic Lights causing chaos. Maybe 70 cars long. I came home.

Arthur Breens ● 1803d

We'll definitely give Greenford a wide berth for a while, but I'd be curious to know what people's experiences are so far, as I think we will need to drop some small items off eventually.

Kevin Wilson ● 1805d

Phillipa,Thank you for your helpful advice.The tip in Greenford is due to open on the 18 May; don't all rush. It looks like the Gulf War; easy to win difficult to leave; close down easy difficult to start up without queues forming from here to the moon and back. Or has Black Adder a cunning plan?

Arthur Breens ● 1808d

Getcomposting.com also has hotbins and green cones and green johannas.  They are eye-wateringly expensive.  Has anybody had experience of using these?Not only does adding compost to your soil help your plants to grow but it helps to absorb more water and reduce run-off and flooding when there are sudden heavy downpours.  I have a wormery into which I put some vegetable waste at present, versions of which I have had since before the food waste collection started.

Philippa Bond ● 1816d

Hello ArthurThey do seem to be starting to be opened up all over the country with social distancing and other guidelines and not for everything it seems:  https://www.ealing.gov.uk/news/article/1990/rubbish_and_recycling_updateMaybe it is worded differently somewhere else.I know what you mean about how much more that ivy seems to be when pulled off the building and forced into an old white plastics recycling bag or two.  When I last decided to cut plants back for a new fence I tried to find a garden shredder to hire but failed.  Pyracantha (fire thorn) is particularly painful to cut down and bag up.)  The shredder makes a lot of difference in volume if you have a lot - and would be a good item to share (who wants to fill up space with a rarely used machine).Do you have any neighbours who are not doing any major gardening work that have space in their garden waste wheelie bin or bags?  How about a share and a swap of some sort?I too tend to just do one visit a year if that with garden waste.  Sometimes I've shared a trip with neighbours.Incidentally it is International Composting Week this week and some Councils have reduced price composters, water butts and accessories on offer.  I wouldn't be composting ivy though. Ealing apparently has an arrangement with getcomposting.com but I haven't price matched to check whether it is worth it.  The website is accessible through the www.ealing.gov.uk.http://www.lesswaste.org.uk/2020/05/03/international-compost-awareness-week-2020/https://getcomposting.com/composters/

Philippa Bond ● 1816d

Julian Bell tells us in a today's e-newsletter 7 May that Greenford site will soon be opened. Queues to Harrow, Brentford,Slough and Hammersmith anticipated or not.

Arthur Breens ● 1816d

You know when you are just waking up and you catch a news snippet but can't be sure what if anything you heard well.....I think I heard that Manchester was opening its tips with access rotation based on reg no. Anyone clarify?There are some other threads like that of Philippa Bond that we should all read. I am sorry that mine is so unimportant.

Arthur Breens ● 1822d

Some of my stuff was refused by charity shops. They are getting upmarket now it seems. And have they’ve put the price of old vinyl up too!Personally I’d like to see Mik Sabiers put to work collecting tip bound junk from self isolating households. Now there’s a thought for how the community can rally round in these tough times.....

Simon Hayes ● 1825d

A lot greener, not to use the car, and flytip outside your own house.  Of course any genuine worthless tack that nobody would ever want you can just leave outside your nearest charity shop. In a splitting bag obviously.

Philip Coe ● 1825d

A good point, well made, Arthur.I have stuff that needs to go to the tip but rather than make several trips I usually wait until there’s a car load to take. Such green credentials should please our rabid anti-pollution, anti-car contributors.However, I’m now tempted to simply dump the stuff on the street (not my own of course) and leave it to take its chances in the big wide world.

Simon Hayes ● 1825d

Paul,Although semi retired there are many jobs I have left. To help maintain sanity I have been working at one job. The ivy over my outbuilding has become a fire hazard. I am amazed how much there is. This is a good opportunity to remove it. As I say builders are allowed to take their rubbish away and in the past I had the choice between LBE green removal system at a cost and trips to the tip. I made a decision on the basis that I tended to produce large quantities of non compostable material twice a year that didn't fit in with the LBE fortnightly three small bag system. Changing the goal posts invalidated that decision.

Arthur Breens ● 1825d

What are you doing that's generating waste for the tip?You should probably stop doing it.

Paul James ● 1825d

Nobody is running anything in the whole country from what I can see. Julian Bell is probably preoccupied deciding which of his homes he should be using for lockdown, while mad Mik Sabiers might find it’s hard justifying trips to Ealing from Islington.As far as tips are concerned I should imagine that as we’re not popping dubiously filled envelopes into sweaty town hall palms we aren’t deemed worthy enough to be treated as grown ups.

Simon Hayes ● 1828d

Have cabinet members volunteered to meet in the discarded wood skips along with other discarded cabinets and well away from email connection? So who's running the gaff now?

Arthur Breens ● 1828d

Ealing Council is rubbish so maybe the cabinet and Labour members are self isolating at the tips, hence our not being allowed to use them.

Simon Hayes ● 1828d

Yes Arthur the question is always about an explanation. We see health and safety or Brussels directive used by those in authority to make decisions. Now we have the virus and guided by science. It is as if the government both local and national don't trust the public.

Peter Chadburn ● 1828d

Thank you Philippa and Peter,Many thanks for your helpful suggestions. All I can say is that someone ought to explain why. Hence the title to my thread. My feeling is that the longer there are no tips, then in a proportional way, fly-tipping increases which occupies more workers than would have been employed sweeping the roads. At the Greenford tip it would be safe to regulate the cars coming in and link them to cars coming out. Is it a money thing? If so please explain.Does he council make a profit selling the metal in the recycling skips? ditto the wood, ditto the cardboard? Isn't it the job of the portfolio holder to announce why and how?Can you remember one of those Great Escape films where RAF prisoners were building escape tunnels and the excavated material wasdispersed by men trousering it and walking and releasing a steady stream from below their turn-ups round the exercise yard.If these big builders can move rubbish around the borough why can't the council and why can't I?

Arthur Breens ● 1828d

Thank you Philippa and Peter,Many thanks for your helpful suggestions. All I can say is that someone ought to explain why. Hence the title to my thread. My feeling is that the longer there are no tips, then in a proportional way, fly-tipping increases which occupies more workers than would have been employed sweeping the roads. At the Greenford tip it would be safe to regulate the cars coming in and link them to cars coming out. Is it a money thing? If so please explain.Does he council make a profit selling the metal in the recycling skips? ditto the wood, ditto the cardboard? Isn't it the job of the portfolio holder to announce why and how?Can you remember one of those Great Escape films where RAF prisoners were building escape tunnels and the excavated material wasdispersed by men trousering it and walking and releasing a steady stream from below their turn-ups round the exercise yard.If these big builders can move rubbish around the borough why can't the council and why can't I?

Arthur Breens ● 1828d

Ours in sussex closed but they have been collecting an extra bag of rubbish or extra box of recycling each week. The layoutt of our depot made social distancing tricky to manage even with just half the cars.

Peter Chadburn ● 1828d

It's London-wide btw.

Philippa Bond ● 1828d

Reallocation of workers so that the weekly kerbside waste and recycling can be kept going.  Imagine what it would be like without that!

Philippa Bond ● 1828d