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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to dump my garden waste?

54 replies

thejollygreengiant · 28/07/2008 08:57

I was getting rid of some garden waste the other day and my neighbour accused me of flytipping. I don't think that I was. What do you think?

The small garden waste is easy - I either compost it or stick it in the Council's green wheelie bin - but the very large, woody prunings are the problem. There is a piece of woodland across the road from us that is overgrown and unkempt. The 'hedges' are about 40 feet high! No one owns it AFAIK, even the neighbour admits that in 30 years he has never seen any signs of ownership. It is only a small piece of land, about 20 feet by 50 feet, but it is so overgrown and spooky that my DC would never play in there despite me trying to encourage them to make dens etc.

Is it reasonable to put the woody stuff (biodegradable, obv) in there, like so many other people in the road do? Or is my neighbour right and it is flytipping and immoral?

OP posts:
Love2bake · 28/07/2008 08:59

Sounds fine to me, not really fly-tipping IMO.

mustsleep · 28/07/2008 09:09

i think that if it's biodegradable and woody stuff anyway there's no probs

we have a bit of waste land behind our house and always tip our grass clippings and bush cuttings behind there as they rotaway to nothing in no time at all- it;s not as if you were dumping old toys or rubbish on there

Bumdiddley · 28/07/2008 09:13

Ermmmm...even it if it is bio-degradable garden waste - it is fly tipping.

YANBU -but the owner of the land (possibly the council?) abscent or otherwise, may think otherwise.

ScottishMummy · 28/07/2008 09:13

LOL misread this as AIBU to dump in my garden and thought phew well at least it's your own

Bumdiddley · 28/07/2008 09:14

or otherwise

littlelapin · 28/07/2008 09:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Shitehawk · 28/07/2008 09:17

Technically she's right - dumping anything anywhere apart from where it should be dumped is fly-tipping.

Won't they collect large bits of green waste when they empty your green wheelie bin? Ours do ... we just leave them by the kerb and they take them away.

Original poster
thejollygreengiant · 28/07/2008 09:17

eeeuww at dumping in the garden!

OP posts:
mustsleep · 28/07/2008 09:18

littlelapin that's nice and easy if you can drive

should the rest of us hire a skip everytime we have to cut the hedge?

littlelapin · 28/07/2008 09:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
thejollygreengiant · 28/07/2008 09:21

If stuff doesn't fit in the bin or if the bin is so full that the lid doesn't close then they get very funny about it. And they are withdrawing the service next year anyway.

OP posts:
pointydog · 28/07/2008 09:22

although bio degradable it'll take ages and ages to do so. I don't think you should do it either. AGREE WIth lapin. Does your council do uplifts? or Have you spoken to council recycling people?

LazyLinePainterJane · 28/07/2008 09:22

no, but hedge cuttings can go in your green bin or compost. This is more then hedge cuttings. And really, how long are branches going to take to break down? And the land is owned by someone. It's not on, IMO.

DaisySteiner · 28/07/2008 09:23

Nick buy another green bin?

littlelapin · 28/07/2008 09:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
thejollygreengiant · 28/07/2008 09:24

It's not a bit of 'spare ground'. It's like Sleeping Beauty's castle with hedges so overgrown that, from the road, you can't see what's in there. I'm not going to make an eyesore on my own doorstep am I!?

OP posts:
kazbeth · 28/07/2008 09:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bythepowerofgreyskull · 28/07/2008 09:26

I don't think you should do it. There must be alternatives. biodegradable or not it is still fly-tipping.

pointydog · 28/07/2008 09:29

we saw really big bits ofhedge and the Chrsitm\s tree and put it in the green bin when there's room (just with an old hand saw)

Original poster
thejollygreengiant · 28/07/2008 09:38

this started off so well with people agreeing with me ...
Shall I just burn the stuff instead?

OP posts:
pointydog · 28/07/2008 09:40

can you chop it up smaller?

wb · 28/07/2008 09:45

It really is fly-tipping you know, councils, Wildlife Trusts and other woodland owners get tons of this garden waste dumped every year. It smothers woodland plants, leads to increased nutrient levels where they aren't wanted, encourages other fly-tipping, honestly the list of probs is endless.

I was once a nature reserves manager and had 35 christmas trees dumped in one small woodland within the space of a week Cost the charity I worked for £200 to get rid of them cause unlike householders charities can't use municipal tips for free.

Sorry - minor rant there, not aimed at you

But please don't tip it in woodland.

Shitehawk · 28/07/2008 09:46

"I'm not going to make an eyesore on my own doorstep, am I!".

No, but you're prepared to make one on somebody else's.

Saw it up smaller and put it in the wheelie bin if you can't get someone to take you to the tip.

Don't burn it; your neighbours will hate you forever!

Tigerschick · 28/07/2008 09:46

Do your council do special collections? It might be worth giving them a ring as I know of a couple of places where they have a truck that goes round collecting unusual items ... you never know.

mumblechum · 28/07/2008 09:48

We bought a chipper for our bigger bits of waste as couldn't be bothered to go to the tip.

You just feed the branches in & it throws out little chips of wood which you can put in your compost pile.

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