Northampton Borough Council were in the news on the 19th June 2010. They were reported in the Chronicle & Echo as having fined five people for putting rubbish out on the wrong day or for putting their rubbish out in black sacks instead of a wheelie bin. http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Fines-for-five-who-flouted.6372001.jp
SEMILONG.ORG are not going to say what the residents did was okay, far from it. Rubbish on the streets tends to be spread around a neighbourhood before too long or encourages rats or other vermin. So they should have been fined…as long as it was fair and reasonable to do so. But was Northampton Borough Council’s actions fair and reasonable?
The Chronicle & Echo reports that Councillor Trini Crake, cabinet member for environment, said: “Everyone should be able to enjoy living in a clean neighbourhood free of litter and rubbish. Unfortunately it can take one thoughtless individual leaving their rubbish out for days on end to bring down an area. It is not just unsightly but can become a hazard if the bag splits or its contents blown into the street and other people’s gardens. There really is no excuse for being inconsiderate.”
Wheelie Bins Out On A Wednesday Morning For Thursday Emptying In Semilong Northampton
SEMILONG.ORG really likes this Councillor. Her perspectives are absolutely spot on in regard to neighbourhood issues, but she has often shot herself in the foot by opening her mouth because of the policies her own administration has. It happened over fly-tipping on the Eastern side of Northampton when she went in the press about how bad fly-tipping was and then had to admit that Northampton Borough Council’s own staff leave rubbish out in neighbourhoods all over town for days on end.
Now again, we would like to point out to the Councillor, cabinet member for the environment, that Northampton Borough Council’s own staff put rubbish out on Mill Road in Semilong, early in the morning on Wednesday 9th June 2010 for collection the following day. Northampton Borough Council’s own website states: All recycling and waste for collection should be put out by 7.00am. It is acceptable to put your bins and boxes out after 7.00pm on the day before your collection day but please try to avoid leaving waste out overnight where possible. Remember that leaving waste out on the street too early is classed as fly tipping.
So how can Northampton Borough Council’s actions in handing out fines to the five people be considered fair and reasonable when they themselves break the rules? Is it okay to have double standards in this way, or perhaps as Trini Crake puts it “there really is no excuse for being inconsiderate.” Let us know what you think…
Good blog story and you raise an interesting point. The Council cannot operate with a ‘Do as I say Not as I Do’ attitude. Maybe that is why they do not enforce the recycling rules that often, they know that their own staff abide by them! However, I do agree completely with Councillor Trini Crake’s views and I am glad that a Councillor is taking this blight on our town seriously.
Thanks for your comment net_gal. Councillor Trini Crake speaks a lot of sense especially when she says that residents need to look after their neighbourhoods and to take pride in their environment. Afterall, the environment standard we are setting has so many knock on effects, including in terms of crime, anti-social behaviour, and the basic safety of our children. However, we have somehow slid into being almost accepting of our neighbourhoods looking like a rubbish tip. It is wrong, so wrong. How are the generations that follow us going to feel about our stewardship of their environment?
So Councillor Trini Crake certainly has our support. If only she could extend her common sense approach across the whole range of Council Departments that follow practices which she sometimes has to attempt to justify and which fly in the face of her (and our) standard. We are not sure why she tries to do this. We have emailed her and asked to meet so that we could put the case to her to change these entrenched practices. Unfortunately, we had no reply.
Consequently, we are left with continuing to photograph and video record incidents of the Council’s own staff dumping rubbish into neighbourhoods whilst raising it as an issue very publically and lobbying for change in a wide range of arenas. One day, we are sure they will listen. They have already changed practices in one respect…but thats for another blog post another time.