Fly tipping vs £15 for council collection

[mosy]

It made me cross recently that there was no way round paying £15 to have my broken washing machine taken away, yet the street often has big items which will have to be taken away "for free". Whilst £15 covers three items, it's a lot to pay for just one in my opinion since the nearest dump is miles away.

Bromley used to do (probably still do) a "big collection" once a year where they give notice of the date and people put their things out. A lot of things are taken away by others (like a free garage sale) and some by scrap merchants etc. For their local dump, they also require evidence that one is a borough resident before taking rubblish incidentally.

That wouldn't help for flat clearances for tenancy changeovers which arise on specific dates though, so I wonder if the council could allocate a controlled space for single items and recycling (rather than misc rubbish).

Maybe Savacentre might allow a part of their car park for single items and package recycling? My thinking is that they must already have an area for recycling cardboard packaging, and presumably Homebase will generate a fair bit more both by themselves and re buyers of their packaged products. It could be a marketing point "Sainsbury's helping save the Environment" (whatever), at least for a trial period. It won't resolve the problem, but might ease it.

Cost-wise, I'd imagine that the current £15 per collection is nominal (i.e. is nothing like the real cost), so those costs could be saved by diverting to a more bulk collection activity.

Just a starter for ten to see what other ideas people have to help prevent flytipping, since preventing it in some areas just moves the problem somewhere else, and also how to make things fairer for honest folk.

I'm fairly new on here, so apols if I'm not up to date on this recurring problem.

[mikej]

Bromley did that collection thing you mention but not for years now - at least 7 or 8. Was quite good while it lasted though. I think they did it once a year for a few years.

[roundasapound]

I recently paid for a fridge to be removed by Lewisham Council - £30! All white goods are £30 and other things are £15 for 3 items.

It's alot of money, especially for those not working (the £30).

[mummycat]

It would be worth signing up with Lewisham Freecycle, there are plenty of people who are looking to furnish their digs on a tight budget.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lewishamfreecycle/

Everyone I've encountered have been really grateful.....