Broken window theory

[broken_shaman]

Had something similar near me. It was Anglian building a conservatory and using the road and pavement to dump the soil they'd dug out. It was collected by a grabber lorry. Reckon similar here, especially because of the warning cones. Illegal, but hard to get the council to react quickly enough to catch it before it's gone.

[syd]

Thought this was yet more roadworks until I looked a little closer.

No hole. It would appear some local flytipper has gifted Lawrie Park Gardens this present for Christmas. Lewisham Council Taxpayers will have to pay to get it carted away.

Bastards. I asked for no dumping signs from the council and I bought some cctv stickers for the lampposts from Amazon for a few quid.

They seem to be working

Good luck and merry Christmas !!

[AndrewMorris]

Small fixes can make a big difference. On my street, we're dealing with potholes that are like craters – gonna report them and hope for some asphalt magic.

[syd]

Small fixes can make a big difference. On my street, we're dealing with potholes that are like craters – gonna report them and hope for some asphalt magic.

How did it go? I’m going for speed humps on my road

[broken_shaman]

On a proactive note... I chucked a load of wildflower seeds on the raised beds by Stanton Way in Autumn. Just after Glendale had cut it back. Starting to see some Yellow Rattle coming through and some Common Corncockle. Hopefully some more will come, but the grass could have done with a cut in Feb / March. Yellow Rattle is supposed to keep the grass down though,.when it gets established. Which gives some space for the wildflowers. Unfortunately, can't rely on Glendale, as they strimmed all the tiny saplings parents from the school had planted when they did the first one! Even when told about them. Council gave permission too.

I also spread a load of wildflower seeds on the scorched earth by the old gas holders. A lot of tiny plants growing there now, but no idea what they are. Could be existing plants though and the bramble is already springing up. Hopefully any approval of the development won't eradicate them before winter. If anything appears and isn't choked with bindweed and bramble. I'm currently trying to keep it litter free while it is short.

I've also been starting sunflowers at home and planted 9 on the bed by Haseltine last week with the boys. Having a bit of trouble with the rest as they don't seem to be able to stand up alone. May have started to early, as the weather has been so awful through spring. Until recently.

There's a great collection of Oxeye Daisies growing by the McDonalds advert next the pedestrian entrance to Sainsbury's on Southend Lane side too. Nothing to do with me. Guessing they will be strimmed by Sainsbury's contractors soonish, so have a look while you can.

I do think making the green areas more attractive might cut down on some littering. Although people will still chuck an empty can in some flowers it would seem...

[broken_shaman]

Went on holiday for two weeks and I've been spending my first week back trying to clear the backlog...

[broken_shaman]

[angela53]

Fantastic work, thank you for helping to keep Sydenham tidy
I cannot understand people who just throw their rubbish on the ground even when there are bins close by

[broken_shaman]

Fantastic work, thank you for helping to keep Sydenham tidy
I cannot understand people who just throw their rubbish on the ground even when there are bins close by

Seems all my images broke, so I've re-added some...

It's complicated. Sometimes it's the birds emptying the bins. Or foxes. Sometimes the bin is so full it blows out. Some of it is chucked out of car windows. But yes, there are people that just throw their rubbish. They seem to think gutters are cleaned every day, but it really just gets washed down the drains (if they are not completely blocked with soil). They seem to think the streets are swept a few times a day. They will often 'hide it', chucking it behind things, or in the long grass. Subconsciously I think they don't like litter, but in hiding it, they make it harder to clean, as it ends up on private land or out of sight.

Keep Britain Tidy did an experiment years ago which showed people are more likely to drop litter if they see other 'beacon' litter nearby. Bright colours and shiny things, like wrappers and cans and bottles. Even if there was a bin right there. So I hope that trying to keep things tidy means less littering

Bus stops get a lot of rubbish too and they should all have bins imo. I moved one to a bus stop a while ago and it drastically reduced the littering in the gardens next to it.

But the council need to sort out their estate bins too, which leak a lot of litter. And empty the bins more regularly and make sure there aren't bags left on the street at night (because of foxes). And get us some more bins, as Sydenham High Street is absolutely littered with them and Bell Green has hardly any.

And the bins need modernising. Higher capacity, recycling options, ashtrays, wildlife and weather proof. The entire waste management process is dire.

Thanks.

[syd]

Fantastic work, thank you for helping to keep Sydenham tidy
I cannot understand people who just throw their rubbish on the ground even when there are bins close by

Seems all my images broke, so I've re-added some...

It's complicated. Sometimes it's the birds emptying the bins. Or foxes. Sometimes the bin is so full it blows out. Some of it is chucked out of car windows. But yes, there are people that just throw their rubbish. They seem to think gutters are cleaned every day, but it really just gets washed down the drains (if they are not completely blocked with soil). They seem to think the streets are swept a few times a day. They will often 'hide it', chucking it behind things, or in the long grass. Subconsciously I think they don't like litter, but in hiding it, they make it harder to clean, as it ends up on private land or out of sight.

Keep Britain Tidy did an experiment years ago which showed people are more likely to drop litter if they see other 'beacon' litter nearby. Bright colours and shiny things, like wrappers and cans and bottles. Even if there was a bin right there. So I hope that trying to keep things tidy means less littering

Bus stops get a lot of rubbish too and they should all have bins imo. I moved one to a bus stop a while ago and it drastically reduced the littering in the gardens next to it.

But the council need to sort out their estate bins too, which leak a lot of litter. And empty the bins more regularly and make sure there aren't bags left on the street at night (because of foxes). And get us some more bins, as Sydenham High Street is absolutely littered with them and Bell Green has hardly any.

And the bins need modernising. Higher capacity, recycling options, ashtrays, wildlife and weather proof. The entire waste management process is dire.

Thanks.

Brilliant work! I’d ask the council to put signs up. When they did it where I am the dumping stopped

[broken_shaman]

I do keep thinking of putting my own signs up on some of the raised grass areas, pointing out they are cleaned by volunteers and asking if they could wipe their own arses...

Thought about it again today when I emptied yet another litre bottle of water, filled with urine and shoved behind a green box near the primary school.

Though why people should care if it's volunteers with kids cleaning up after them or a street sweeper is beyond me. More than enough litter around without people adding whatever they have in their hands. They are not keeping anyone in their job by chucking a can or bottle.

And whoever likes to rip a free newspaper or lottery ticket into lots of little pieces on a regular basis should have a go at litter picking imo.

Todays 'slightly longer than it should take' walk to the shop...

[syd]

Maybe contact these guys

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

They do good work