Trying to clear my late-mother’s house before the sale completes at the end of the month, while much of the road’s closed off for drain alterations and subsequent resurfacing using a new, long-drawn-out method, is proving a challenge. Work’s been going on for weeks and prior to that it was the pavement. Things I can’t find a new home for (such as a couple of hundred ‘self-record’ VHS tapes, which, according to the local authority, can’t be recycled – although I have recycled the carboard cases) need to be dumped but I’m unable to park a skip outside and am having to lug heavy things to wherever I’ve been able to leave my car. To make matters worse, the local civic amenity tip is shut two days a week and is operating ‘Winter hours’ – i.e. a short day - the rest of the time. How do those working from nine to five manage to dispose of large items responsibly? I’d never advocate fly-tipping (although I can fully understand the temptation, under the circumstances!) but I have more to dump than I can fit in the various bins. I’m grateful to be in a borough that collects weekly, rather than fortnightly or once every three weeks, but having things hanging around outside getting wet isn’t doing much for my morale. 

 

A friend I’d had a grumble to, sent me a link to a Daily Mail news item along with a video showing irate Sheffield householders who, like me currently, had more recycling than they could fit into their bins. They though, weren’t prepared to have everything hanging around until the next collection and ended up verbally abusing and physically assaulting the refuse collectors who were trying to prevent them from adding their waste to the dump truck. This may seem petty of the collectors, but the truck in the clip was clearly already full and the addition of the extra stuff caused a messy spillage. 

 

Another clip showed a speeding van mounting the pavement to drive past the dump truck, narrowly missing a refuse collector – something I’ve seen impatient car drivers do. The (almost) victim said: “This sort of thing does become just a normal part of the job and you end up thinking it's normal to experience dangerous situations.” This is so wrong! 

 

Refuse collection specialist Veolia says its staff reported over 40 cases of abuse in 2022. This surge in abuse, (and much may go unreported) prompted Veolia and Sheffield Council to launch their 'StreetKind' campaign - with cameras fitted to the back of lorries. I sincerely hope that anyone caught abusing our refuse collectors aren’t just named and shamed, but are forced to do community service as refuse collectors for a week in their home towns, so they can see what a tough job it already is, even without the added abuse.