The Recycle “Police”

oldpenny · Post by **oldpenny** » 04 Sep 2012, 13:29

I have been recycling things for more years than I can remember and used to make regular trips to our local tip to see what I could find, wood metal, electric motors etc, the list goes on. About 20 years ago the tip became the household refuse depot, and things started to get a little more sorted with different skips for wood, garden waste etc, which was good as I knew where to look for what I needed, in fact the lads that worked there at the time would put things on one side for me. About 2 years ago things changed again, the tip was renamed the local “Recycle” depot, and you would think that with a name like that things would get better? Not so... now when I visit the “Recycle” dept I am treated like a criminal if I try to take a bit of wood for “recycling”, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Is it just me and my local depot, or do you find the same problems? }hairout{

Steve valentine · Post by **Steve valentine** » 04 Sep 2012, 17:50

It's the same here, except ours is run by the Gestapo.

Oi! Don't put that there! Oi!Put that there! Oi! You can't take that!

I thought my name was steve >shrug<

Spreckly · Post by **Spreckly** » 04 Sep 2012, 19:14

There is a notice at our tip saying nothing must be removed. At our last home, as soon as you put something in the skips the council employees were climbing in and sorting through! There was a huge area for toys and decent goods, which the car booters removed.

hugorune · Post by **hugorune** » 05 Sep 2012, 13:59

oldpenny wrote:...now when I visit the “Recycle” dept I am treated like a criminal if I try to take a bit of wood for “recycling”...

That's probably because they have recycling targets to meet. The higher the percentage of recycled waste, the better their performance looks. If items marked for recycling are taken by the public before they are included in the calculations then the recycled percentage goes down.

Another example of how judging performance by targets causes common sense to be thrown out of the window.

oldpenny · Post by **oldpenny** » 05 Sep 2012, 14:44

hugorune wrote:Another example of how judging performance by targets causes common sense to be thrown out of the window.

Your Spot On!!! }hairout{

Mrs B · Post by **Mrs B** » 06 Sep 2012, 21:57

The chaps (no women as yet) at my local recycling centre/tip are excellent, they always help me unload and sort my rubbish.

I don't skip dive often but the trick is to go when the place is quiet, give the lads a box of cakes or biscuits and just take items that are easy to reach with the help of a broom or hooked umbrella. On no account lean into a skip as the lads would get in serious trouble. The chaps do know me now and ask what I want for the chickens when I pull up.