Dumped in a field gateway: the remnants of somebody's life
Note the bag of coat hangers amongst the smashed furniture
The entire content of a home seems to be here
Next time you give something to one of the jolly tat-men who seem to proliferate the streets these days, or hire that handy bloke with a van (but no MOT) from that card in the newsagent’s window, think on this. Whilst cycling down Whitacre lane in Sandhills yesterday, I came upon this dreadful sight. Flytipped in a field gateway, secluded by a small copse and well out of view, the remnants of a house clearance dumped illegally. The dumped items seem to be almost the complete contents of the flat of an older person, from bags of wooden coat-hangers to a sofa and cutlery. The material was clearly dumped from an open truck, as it surrounds the sides and rear of a vehicle sized space, and the gate has been propped open with an old tire.
Did you pay some chancer to clear out Grannies flat? Did it enter your mind to consider why they did it for fifty quid in cash? Ever wonder what happens to the plastic bits on the fridge you just gave to the tatters? It all gets dumped like this. These people are operating illegally, have no morals and are trashing our back lanes and laybys to make the price of a pint. Not far away, in Gravelly Lane, there’s a dumped pallet of asbestos roofing. Elsewhere, I saw old cookers, domestic refuse and piles of rubble, all discarded by the pond scum that evolved in the shallow end of our gene-pool.
When you call people in to remove waste or carry out work on your property, check they have a waste transfer licence. Use real companies, with a published address – or go to the local tip… there’s identifying material in this heap, and not only the tippers will be prosecuted, but the people who hired them. It’s a prosecutable offence to give rubbish or scrap to an unlicensed operator, whatever the circumstances.
I’ve reported this on the excellent fixmystreet.com who have notified the appropriate council. I recommend you do the same for any such tipping you see. It’s easy and free.
People make excuses for this behaviour, they say the tips are too restrictive, that commercial waste should be free, and all kinds of other justifications for those who would defecate in their own drinking water. There is a simpler explanation; these people are the dregs of society, with no respect for their environment, for others, or the law. They’re lower than a snake’s knees and don’t deserve to live among civilised human beings.