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Original poster

Some people have no idea

117 replies

Isitschool · 04/01/2022 21:30

It sometimes feels that some people have no idea what it's like for people living in poverty or a very low income.

There has been some discussions about fly tipping. I said some people don't drive so can't get to the tip. Or they can't afford to have it taken away. My council charges 30.00 pounds to have a fridge removed . Or it's 20.00 for up to 4 items such as a bed frame, chest of drawers ect. That does not seem like alot of money, But there are people out there that are having to choose weather they put money on their gas or eat . If they are in that position they clearly can't afford to have broken furniture taken away .

The replies from people were . If they can afford new furniture then they can afford to have it taken away or if they get a new fridge from curry's you pay a bit extra to have the old ones removed. Do people honestly think that people who can barely afford to eat are buying brand new fridge and furniture.

I'm just no way saying fly tipping is OK. Of course its not but I do understand why it happens. I just think it's sad how many people don't understand what its like to live on a shoe string

OP posts:

WeAllHaveWings · 04/01/2022 23:58

I’ve never understood this either, if stuff is dumped out in the sticks then it’s clearly been driven there, but it’s free to drive stuff to the tip, it’s weird.

It is cheaper to ask a man with a van to dispose of than the council. The man with the van does the fly tipping because they cant use the tip regularly for free.

thickthighs73 · 04/01/2022 23:58

@SalsaLove

Freecycle works for us. The council were going to charge us £30 to remove our old television. It got snapped up immediately on Freecycle. Why isn’t that an option?

You didn’t really give much thought to that comment didn’t you?

thickthighs73 · 05/01/2022 00:01

@Crowdfundingforcake

Our council in Sydney, Australia, had 2 x 'council clean ups' a year where you could put anything out on the curbside and it would be picked up and disposed of. It worked really well because A: people could get rid of bulky stuff with no effort and no resorting to fly tipping and B: people treated the piles of stuff on the curb as a kind of garage sale and helped themselves to anything they wanted, so recycling and keeping stuff out of landfill.

A friend scored a pair of very expensive skis in perfect condition and I picked up a really nice TV cabinet.

That’s all well and good but we are talking about rubbish broken stuff

Grenlei · 05/01/2022 00:05

Our council charges £35 for up to 2 bulky items. I phoned some local (licensed) waste disposal companies, all had a minimum charge of £50. So I used the council service - thus was for 2 very large sofas each just under 2m in length. Had tried freecycle but they were so big no one was interested and I certainly couldn't fit them in my car. They were also 20+ years old so couldn't give to charity.

AlternativePerspective · 05/01/2022 00:06

Agree re freecycle.

As for people who say they won’t take stuff, you’d be amazed what crap you can get rid of on there.

If you’re upfront about the item, someone will take it off your hands.

Mossstitch · 05/01/2022 00:07

The people dumping in the country are often in big vans (probably charged for house clearances), the local recycling places have height barriers of 2 metres which prevents them dumping them for free.

thickthighs73 · 05/01/2022 00:12

@AlternativePerspective

Agree re freecycle.

As for people who say they won’t take stuff, you’d be amazed what crap you can get rid of on there.

If you’re upfront about the item, someone will take it off your hands.

Most people don’t want broken shit that is only fit for the tip though do they!

needmoreshinys · 05/01/2022 00:22

We have a man who collects broken washing machine/fridges etc and uses them for parts and then sells on the repaired ones. God knows what is going to happen when he stops

We also have a guy who does the same with bikes, he then gives the bikes to people who have been homeless and struggling to get anywhere on the benefits they are on.

RedCandyApple · 05/01/2022 00:24

@AlternativePerspective

Agree re freecycle.

As for people who say they won’t take stuff, you’d be amazed what crap you can get rid of on there.

If you’re upfront about the item, someone will take it off your hands.

I don’t believe this, for example no one is going to take a broken bed are they?

HeechulOppa · 05/01/2022 02:32

It’s expensive being poor

immersivereader · 05/01/2022 02:38

Live in Canada and they do the same thing as in Sydney. Big objects collection twice a year. It's free.

immersivereader · 05/01/2022 02:40

That’s all well and good but we are talking about rubbish broken stuff

Includes junk too. If it's on the side of the street, they pick it up.

KloppsTeeth · 05/01/2022 02:42

I agree op. I’m a carer for my disabled son. I left a very good career and before then I genuinely had no idea.

Years ago our council did a free biannual bulky waste collection. People could put out whatever needed to go, as long as it was under the size of a single arm chair. It was amazing what was put out! Then they stopped it, and fly tipping went up.

jamandmarmaladethesecondcoming · 05/01/2022 03:33

@YourVagesty

I know some fairly useless people who work for councils and receive high salaries for nonsense jobs.

Maybe councils should take a look at those salaries and do more to help those in need with the money instead.

100%

PhoenixIsFlying · 05/01/2022 04:01

You make a very valid point. Any suggestions on how to dispose of a king-size mattress?

mjf981 · 05/01/2022 06:27

Totally agree with this. If I was on the bones of arse, no way would I be paying to have the council take my stuff away. Some people just can't afford it.

InvincibleInvisibility · 05/01/2022 06:49

Agree it must be difficult.

I live in Paris. As well as daily rubbish collections there is a free service to pick up bulky items (furniture, fridges, suitcases
..). You just book a date online, leave it out the night before and its gone in the morning (often before the council get there).

Its really useful and stops the streets being overun with rubbish (high density population)

There is a tip near us but it is tiny - the size of 4 normal skips. We ve only used it to get rid of moving boxes cos for some reason the council wont take them.

DropYourSword · 05/01/2022 06:59

@Crowdfundingforcake

A friend scored a pair of very expensive skis in perfect condition and I picked up a really nice TV cabinet.

We also have this in QLD. It’s a fantastic idea.

Crowdfundingforcake · 05/01/2022 07:19

Thickthighs, it is a general collection for stuff people want to get rid of that is too big for your rubbish bin. Everything from broken furniture/appliances, stuff that's only fit for the dump, to stuff that people just don't want any more, which is often perfectly usable. Hence the hobby of mooching through your neighbour's council clean up pile to see if there's anything that you want.

sandgrown · 05/01/2022 07:33

I saw a local private waste removal company filling up the charity bins with Un bagged clothes and odd shoes that had obviously come from a house clearance for which they would have been paid ! I was visiting a local seaside town and saw someone fly tipping . I took the phone number from the van and reported to the council who thanked me but said they probably couldn’t do anything as I hadn’t taken a photo ! I wasn’t getting that close as they could have retaliated. I thought the council would go through the rubbish for clues ??

Hippychicken1 · 05/01/2022 07:36

I had to clear my late fathers house recently cost me £950 for a standard terraced house
The guy said he will do 2-3 of these a day with the average price being £600
It cost him money to get rid of mattress I think £20 each and fridges £30 each
He arranges with a scrap metal firm to come and take any metal that they can sell
I was lucky I could afford to pay this from my dads estate and could have paid it myself if I had to

Recycledblonde · 05/01/2022 07:37

I've got rid of loads of broken stuff on freegle. A broken dishwasher, washing machine and tumble drier plus two broken bed frames, all clearly advertised as broken/not working. People take them for spares, scrap or in one case a local chap uses metal appliances to make sculptures.
Never underestimate the rubbish people will take off your hands.

The only things that seem to be difficult are fridges/freezers, presumably because they cost to dispose of.

RedHot22 · 05/01/2022 07:40

Poverty is all consuming and many don’t realise what it’s like, especially long term.

We could all survive it short term but many don’t see the bigger picture. I had a friend say to me recently that she could survive on a certain amount. I said that it’s easy to say that when you already have everything you need! Poverty is accumulative.

Maverickess · 05/01/2022 07:41

It sometimes feels that some people have no idea what it's like for people living in poverty or a very low income

It's not just that imo, it's the insistence that decent income solutions will work for poor income problems, and if they don't it's because of lack of personal responsibility or 'excuses now OP!'.
For some I think it's rooted in believing they know why someone is on a low income and/or in poverty and it's because they're either spending it all on wide-screen TVs and tattoos or because they're work shy, and therefore a justified target for judgement.

OldWivesTale · 05/01/2022 08:06

Yes but lots of tips charge you to take a van in. It's ridiculous.

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