Residents told off for sweeping up leaves
Monday 27th September 2010, 11:30AM BST.
With the first autumn leaves falling onto their street, families have dutifully been sweeping them up and putting them into their garden recycling bins.
But their community-spirited actions have been met with a stark warning from binmen, who told them depositing leaves in the brown containers is against council rules.
At least one pensioner in Guild Avenue, Blakenall, has been ticked off by refuse collectors for going against Walsall Council’s policy, which has been branded “ridiculous”.
The rules outlined in Street Pride documents indeed state leaves off the highway should not be put into brown bins because of “contamination”. Persistent offenders who break waste collection rules, including placing the ‘wrong’ materials in bins, could potentially face a fine of up to £1,000.
Council rules say all that can be put into brown bins are grass cuttings, tree and shrub prunings, old plants and flowers, hedge clippings, weeds and leaves from residents’ own gardens.
The elderly woman who fell foul of the policy, who does not want to be named, told councillor Pete Smith, who said it was “crazy”.
“It’s still good to know some residents still take the trouble to keep the public footpath outside their own home clean,” he said.
“They should be encouraged, not discouraged.”
Today council leader Mike Bird called for a common sense approach and said:”Anyone who has made comments to people about sweeping up leaves is taking the rules to the extreme.
“We are trying to encourage more pride in the community and this is the perfect example of a lady doing that and she should be praised.”
Retired lorry driver, Bill Pittam, aged 79, from Harden Road, Blakenall, said: “I’ve always swept up leaves from outside my home and put them in my bin and have been doing for the last 30 years or so.”
Walsall Council, named the best authority in the country for its recycling targets, earlier this month approved a new rubbish collection policy, meaning it can now take enforcement action over those putting the wrong waste in the wrong bins.
Persistent offenders could be taken to court and fined up to £1,000.
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The contents of the garden waste collection bins are used to make commercial compost. Gutter water and road runoff is heavy with toxins like exhaust particulate, diesel, tyre rubber and oil. Leaves off the roadway are often coated in this muck and it makes the compost unusable, and deadly to plants.
I’m sure councillor Bird has read the garden waste leaflets that state that roadside leaves are not to be placed in the bins.
Best wishes
Bob
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what bin do you put the leaves in then ? we have a couple of trees in our garden so I sweep up my owns leaves as well as the ones in the street. I have always put them in the brown bin and nothing has been said, because on the leaflet it said tree cuttings – well to me a leaf is part of a tree, so can some let me know what bin we use please ?
thanks
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Stick them in the grey bin then. That’s where I put my soil after the council had a go at me putting it in the brown bin.
Or put them in the brown bin but cover the top with grass. They’ll never know ;)
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These people should be locked up for such irresponsible behaviour.
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have i missed something is this april fools day
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I also have put leaves from the street into the brown bin because the street sweeping vehicles dont come down here often enough and when they do Lewis Hamilton must be driving as they are so fast they leave plenty of leaves and other rubbish behind.
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Councillor Anthony Harris, Walsall Council Cabinet member for the environment, said: “We encourage residents to compost their leaves in their brown bins and appreciate the efforts that people are making to do this.
“We do ask residents who use the brown bins for leaves swept off the highway to make sure they don’t have grit or salt stuck to them.
“These leaves are also removed by our street sweeping teams.”
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What do we do with the leaves that blow off the road on to our front gardens? Do we have to test every leaf for salt & grit before putting into the Brown bin?
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I think that this stupid policy from walsall council, leaves a degradable and in my opinion can’t see the problem with putting them in the bins. Get a grip walsall council and don’t be stupid.
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It’s political correctness gone MAD!
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makes sense. Stop bloody moaning.
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So what happens if they leave the leaves on the pavement and someone slips on the said leaves the council should have cleared up? That’s right, a claim for compensation at the cost of the tax payer via council coffers!!
“Rock” and “hard place” spring to mind or should that be “oak leaf” and “brush”?
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I was about to say the same thing, I have a tree that drops it’s leaves on the footpath. When the council came to fix the footpath in front of my house they told me i was responsible for my tree dropping it’s leaves on the footpath and that it’s up to me to pick them up just incase someone slips on them.I had to clean them up before they would fix the path.A council man sent to fix the pavement even helped me pick them up and put them in my brown bin !
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does this mean we have to yet another bin for the leaves in the street
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Ok, so how do I segregate my own leaves from those that have fallen and blown into my garden from the roadside trees outside of my property? Please advise.
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“…a stark warning from binmen” on the matter of the disposing of leaves gives real meaning to the old adage – It’s the inmates who run the Asylum.
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I think there should be a special leaf forum to discuss this – or perhaps a leaf consultation group?
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Had the same thought as Woody. Now who would be resposible if someone fell on the pavement outside because of wet leaves? Would they have to be analysed to find if they were from my trees or a neighbours to find out who was liable? Also if they slipped on the moss under the leaves whose fault would that be? Am I allowed to clear that moss? There are more questions than answers my friends!!!
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As I walk around Walsall I see countless people who can only be described as work shy yobs who idly sit there doing nothing constructive at all. They should be put to work collecting leaves and taking them to a specific place where they can be made into leaf mould. This can then be tested for toxicity and perhaps intoduced into the composy stream – or what ever jargon this council now uses. I shall be paying particualr attention to the Arboretum (where Richard Wattis walked as a school boy) and asking the leaf collectors there how they differentiate between leaves that have blown in off the road and those that land on footpaths where they may have been trodden on by contaminated feet.
All in all it is a sad day for the country when a council such as this makes such arbitary rules. The workshy are available so put them to work.
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What a load of codswallop!
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The Council should be grateful they don’t see what I put in my green bin which is our garden waste….
There is grass cuttings, leaves off the cabbages, potato peelings and DOG POO lol….
Now let the Councils moan
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any leaves that have fallen or blown on to your garden are to be thrown back onto the pavement that how it reads to me, or just LEAVE them and put a claim in if you slip on them?????
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Absolutely correct 14. Ask the Deputy Assistant Street Leaf Commissioner for an audience. He’ll have the leaf consultants in before you can say jobsworth. These leaf cleaning yobs who sweep the streets are a public menace!!
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Stuff the leaves and their toxicity, how much cow pee enters the watercourse? What a farce!
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So what happens to all the leaves the council do collect from the street. I assume these are bagged as biohazard and burnt and not of course just tipped in the same place as the brown bins.
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The action of a council threatening ordinary people with utterly disproportionate fines is more than simply a loss of common sense. The act is simple bullying – harrassing and upseting residents – for absolutely no good reason.
Tax-payers shouldn’t tolerate this. Council managers should be no more entitled to threaten residents as they would threaten their staff. Therefore, the small-minded bully behind this needs to be found, named and sacked.
I call on Walsall residents to write to the council and demand this, on the grounds that it utterly objectionable and offensive that someone should use their public office to show this kind of contempt for the people their role exists to serve. You’d do the nation a favour!
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Ooh..yet another “common sense” approach straight after the event. Sandwell Council, it looks like you just might have a fan club. Now if you excuse me, there’s a bunch of leaves on my grass and I am going to inspect each and every single one of them just in case some self-important ecco-fascist comes along and takes a dislike to me keeping my property clean. By the way – it’s a pity the yobs don’t seem to get such treatment, isn’t it..
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