[missmoneypenny]

Our council has said that after next removal of the plot’s refuse ( you know the stuff- couch grass, spent plants, old nets, empty boxes of fertiliser, random stuff people have chucked on ) they are no longer providing this service. They says we will need to take all our own waste away, or burn it. They’re also saying that all other London councils have stopped removing refuse from sites. I’d be very interested to hear from others in London whether this is true. Thanks in advance.

[Aunt Sally]

I don’t know about London but it’s certainly true down here in Kent.

[missmoneypenny]

Interesting aunty. Do you have a problem with refuse/ litter  building up on the site?

[Christine]

Up here in Northumberland we've always had to pay for site skips when rubbish piles up on site.

[snowdrops]

We have had a skip provided in the past but it gets abused, one year a Council worker stood guard! It never ceases to amaze me what people take to the plot & then not take it away when they decide it is finished with!

[Aunt Sally]

Interesting aunty. Do you have a problem with refuse/ litter  building up on the site?

No… everyone disposes of their own refuse / litter.

[Hampshire Hog]

Here in Hampshire you are responsible for your own rubbish.
However our parish clerk has arranged a couple of skips annually without extra charge to us. I don’t think we normally have an issue with abuse of this service

[missmoneypenny]

Our heap is currently enormous. Our self appointed site manager is a softie who allows people in the adjoining houses to dump their garden waste ( and more) on it. One lady has just taken on the plot of a much loved former allotmenter who died last year, after 50 years of allotmenteering. He had 4 adjoining plots, enough kit for a building site, an array of chemicals which were probably banned some time in the 80s, the list goes on. Every time someone takes on a new plot loads gets cleared and it’s not just vegetable matter that gets added to the heap. I don’t understand how we are going to cope if the council stops removing it. Sorry if I’m being over emotive but I’m really concerned about this.

[Aunt Sally]

We understand your concern. It’s an issue that that built up over the past years, and one that no individual can resolve. 

Can the self appointed manager arrange a work party, of plot holders, to clear the rubbish if the council agrees to provide a skip for the clearance.  You could combine it with a barbecue on the site,  with a few glasses of fermented grape juice. 

[juvenal]

Down here on the Dorset coast we used to have an allotment skip, but once old televisions and dismantled kitchen units started appearing in it the Council withdrew it. Now we have to remove our own rubbish.

There is an urban myth about most of a Reliant Robin being found in an allotment skip...

[Christine]

We pay for our own skips from the plot rents. That concentrates minds wonderfully.

[missmoneypenny]

Thank you everyone this has helped me put things in perspective. I had no idea councils had mostly stopped removing rubbish, I am going to talk to the other plot holders about getting a skip once in a while. You wouldn’t believe the stuff we have on the heap currently , including gas bottles, Jerry cans of diesel, asbestos sheeting, office chairs, the list goes on.

[Aunt Sally]

Asbestos sheeting will need careful disposal.  You will need to investigate how to do that.

And who had an office on the allotment site ?    

[Christine]

We've had to get specialist contractors in to move asbestos from our allotments. Most skip suppliers won't take gas bottles and cans of diesal either due to fire risks. Oh been there we have.

[missmoneypenny]

I’ve already contacted the council once re the asbestos, over a week ago. I was assured it would be dealt with promptly… anyway I met up with 2 of the more “ active” plot holders today and mooted the idea of paying for a skip once in a while, that seemed to go down well. I think we are going to have to become a lot more self reliant.