Fortress Ashby Mews

The gates go in

Recently, a metal gate appeared without warning across the northern entrance to Ashby Mews.

This entrance to the mews has been cursed by constant fly-tipping over the years and the gates are a defense measure installed by residents.

I bow to no-one in my hatred for rubbish and fly-tipping and I can imagine how infuriating it must be to live with it year-after-year. Just walking past it regularly made me angry. I have also been on the receiving end of residents' exasperation - despite living nearby, I was once challenged while on a walk to state my business by one neighbour who suspected me of being a fly-tipper (though where about my person he thought I was stashing my load was unclear).

But Brockley's mews are a community asset and this was done without public consultation, nor reference to the Brockley Society, who are guardians of the conservation area. Some residents with rear-garden access to the mews say they were unaware of the plans. Rumours abound about when and how often pedestrian access will be available.

Restricting pedestrian access is a draconian measure to combat rubbish usually dumped by the van-load. It runs contrary to the communitarian spirit of Brockley or the stated intentions of the developers who have built homes in the mews. The gates are divisive in more ways than one: From the moment they were thrown up, I received emails from concerned locals who wished not to be named for fear of being dragged into a spat.

The Council and the police should have acted long ago to deal seriously with fly-tipping at this spot. There should have been a plan of action that dealt with the problem and stopped residents feeling the need to take matters into their own hands. But the plan should have been developed with the community. It’s a shame to have shut them out.

Lewisham switches to fortnightly black bin collection

Lewisham Council writes:

​From June there will be big changes to rubbish and recycling collections.

Free food waste collections

Anyone who currently has their own rubbish and recycling wheelie bins (mostly those who live in a house or a flat in a converted house) will get:

• a small food waste bin to go alongside their other bins
• a smaller kitchen caddy for food waste.

This is a brand-new weekly collection service and is free of charge.

Changes to black bin collections

Collections of non-recyclable rubbish will switch to fortnightly for most properties and there will be some changes to collection days. Recycling collections will remain weekly.

With thanks to Rhymer for clocking it.

Man of Action

“If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives.”

- Robert South

Heroism must be recognised. Jenny writes:

My nine year old son organised a litter collection on Arica Road. 

We had been away for a while and our front looked a mess so I cleared it up and that triggered the suggestion by my son, who was also looking to get to know more people on the street! That really worked.

Together we made flyers which he posted through every door on the street. We borrowed litter picks and gloves from the council and about 15 people turned out to clean the street of litter and weeds. This photo shows the after effect.

It didn't last long before more rubbish was spotted, but the weeding makes a big improvement.

The tide of litter may not have been stemmed for long, but his legend will live long in the annals of Brockley Central.

Boost recycling in Hilly Fields

Chris has launched a petition to persuade Lewisham Council to improve recycling rates in Hilly Fields. He writes:

Lewisham council has a terrible reputation for recycling. This is worse in its parks where the council no longer even separates waste for recycling. There are not enough bins already and they are not emptied often enough.

We need more bins that should allow us to separate out recyclable rubbish so that cans, glass and cardboard can be kept apart from food waste. And we need those bins emptied before they overflow. I volunteer to empty bins in Hilly Fields so I know how often people have separated out their recycling and put them in different bags next to already overflowing bins.

The Friends of Hilly Fields support this campaign.

Please sign the petition and let's see some action.

Stygian Dump

The Tressillian Road railway bridge has become the new favourite haunt for opportunistic fly-tippers. Kasia, who sent the photo, says that nighttime furniture and appliance dumping is becoming a regular occurrence at this spot.

Council plans changes to rubbish collection

Joe has pointed me towards the SE23 forum, which has a discussion about the Council's plans to change refuse collection policies

The Council needs to deliver cost savings and is under pressure to improve its relatively poor recycling rate.

Following the recent public consultation "Let's Talk Rubbish", officers have recommended that the Mayor should:

1. Introduce a subscription service for garden waste collection at £60 a year
2. Cut non-food waste collection to a fortnightly service

The garden waste subscription service is an excellent idea. Fortnightly collection for non-food waste would mean it would take me until about April to clear my Christmas backlog of bottles and packaging.

What do you think?

Lewisham plans big changes to waste collection

Lewisham Council has launched a consultation to reduce the cost of its waste collection and increase recycling rates - while adding to the number of bins on our pavements and in our front gardens. They write:

Lewisham Council has launched a consultation on changes to waste and recycling services that would affect around 80,000 properties across the borough (all those that typically have collections from a wheelie bin).

Under the title Let’s Talk Rubbish! the Council is asking people to say what they think about potential changes to the service that could see:

- separate collections of paper
- the introduction of a food waste collection
- a paid-for garden waste collection
- changes to the frequency of some collections.

The Council has to make changes to comply with new regulations introduced on 1 January 2015 and to make sure it can meet a target of 50% of all waste either recycled, reused or composted by 2020 – failure to do so may mean big fines for the Council.  

Councillor Rachel Onikosi, Cabinet Member for the Public Realm, said: “We have done really well in Lewisham over the years to avoid sending waste to landfill. We sent just 0.3% to landfill last year saving millions of pounds in taxes and charges and avoiding the most environmentally damaging way of disposing of waste.

“But we could be recycling a lot more. Most of our waste – about 80% – is incinerated to generate electricity. But in the future it will save money if we are able to recycle more and it will be better for the environment.

“That’s why we are consulting on changes that will help us recycle and compost more and produce better quality materials that we could sell on for a good price.”

The consultation lasts until 18 October 2015. To find out more and have your say go to www.lewisham.gov.uk/letstalkrubbish.

A mess near trains down by Arica

Arica Road resident Suzy grows restless. She says:

"This is the view on a weekly basis outside the new flats that have just gone up beside Brockley Station on Meadow Drive, off St Norbert's Road. It is really poor and pretty disgusting! I want the Council to take action and it would be good to raise some support via this site, to show that it's a persistent problem."

UPDATE: In response to the tweets about this subject, Lewisham Council responded:

@1948liz @BrockleyCentral Our refuse teams have been told about this. Thanks.
— Lewisham Environment (@EnviroLewisham) June 5, 2014

Recycle more metal!

Lewisham Council is trying to get residents to recycle more metal. They say:

A new campaign has been launched to urge Lewisham residents to make their ‘metals matter’ by encouraging them to recycle more of the estimated 80 million cans, aerosols aluminium foil trays and the wrapping foil used in Lewisham homes every year.

Used metal packaging can be recycled endlessly into valuable new products saving energy and CO2 emissions compared to making them from raw materials. 

To mark the launch of the campaign, on Friday 14 March Lewisham Council held a recycling roadshow at Lewisham Shopping Centre, where Cllr Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, met children from local school, Myatt Garden. The children, under the guidance of art teacher, Karen Vost, were creating a magnetic sculpture from the assortment of cans, aerosols and tins recycled by residents. 

Research has shown that people aren’t always aware that their used metal packaging will be transformed into new valuable everyday items when collected for recycling. The new campaign aims to help people understand what can be recycled and explain what happens to the metals collected. 

And if all the metal packaging used in Lewisham each year was collected for recycling it would save around 4260 tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent to taking 835 cars off local streets. Aiming to spread this message throughout the borough, the communications campaign will reach more than 168,000 households with leaflets sent to every home.  

The Brockley Way: Part 2

Brockley Way is relatively secluded and suffers from regular and spectacular flytipping escapades. Brockley's Twitterati have been highlighting some of the worst abuses in an attempt to deter dumpers and show the Council how urgent the issue is. This is another peach.

@BrockleyCentral @EnviroLewisham Another day, another massive flytipping on Brockley Way. pic.twitter.com/sPrnGdIznh
— Kester Jones (@mrkesterj) January 29, 2014

Christmas tree recycling across the borough

Having bought the worst Christmas tree ever this year, BC is just waiting for the earliest opportunity to ditch it without losing too much face. A few needles should still be clinging to the branches by the time Christmas Day rolls around but December 28th can't come quickly enough. Here are the recycling details from Lewisham Council:

Christmas trees can be deposited between 28 December 2013 and 27 January 2014, at the following places. Trees that are recycled at these points are collected, chipped and used as mulch in various parks around the borough:

·         Hilly Fields - entrance in Hilly Fields Crescent, SE4
·         Deptford Park - entrance in Scawen Road, SE8
·         Telegraph Hill - Pepys Road/Kitto Road entrance, SE14
·         Talbot Place - Blackheath, SE3
·         Mountsfield Park - entrance top of George Lane, SE13
·         Sydenham Wells Park - entrance Wells Park Road, SE26
·         Forster Memorial Park - entrance top of Whitefoot Lane, SE6
·         Northbrook Park - Baring Road entrance, SE12
·         Mayow Park - entrance in Mayow Road, SE23
·         Chinbrook Meadows, Amblecote Road, SE12
·         Manor House Gardens, Old Road entrance, SE13
·         Beckenham Place Park, Old Bromley Road, BR1

The Council is also keen to remind residents that Christmas wrapping paper and cards can be recycled using the green bins.

Coulgate Street textiles recycling

Coulgate Street now has a textiles recycling bank, ideal for clothes in reasonably good condition, but also suitable for stuff that would otherwise go in the bin. On Twitter, EnviroLewisham confirms that this is a trial location and they are open to other suggestions, so post below if you have a better idea.

Recycling bins to go from Brockley Road

Lewisham Council report that the Royal Mail have instructed them to remove all the recycling bins currently parked outside the sorting office on Brockley Road. They say:

Royal Mail have instructed the Council to remove all recycling bins inc. textiles from Brockley sorting office in 7 days. The recycling bins will be removed next Monday (17th) on a permanent basis. with no plans to re-site them. 

The Council believe the most likely reason behind the decision is the problem of fly tipping by the bins. When BC first started, the bins were a real eyesore in the middle of the high street, but significant effort went in to improving their impact and the setup had seemingly worked pretty well in recent years. 

Recycle more, cut Council costs

Lewisham Council writes is conducting a survey / push polling exercise to understand how aware residents are about recycling services in the borough in an effort to cut costs. They say:

Many items suitable for recycling end up being disposed of by incineration or through landfill.

By recycling more, the borough can reduce its costs associated with waste disposal, as well as generate valuable income from items sent for recycling.  If everyone in Lewisham recycled everything they could it would save thousands of pounds; this would mean more money is available for other services . Income is raised by the sale of plastic, glass, paper and tin collected for recycling and also from recycling credits - money paid back to the Council for diverting materials to recycling.

The results of the survey will help identify the most effective ways to inform residents about waste management issues and will enable future information campaigns to be targeted to encourage increased participation in local recycling schemes.

Take part in the survey here (it's a lot shorter than some of their other recent surveys).

Smartphone beats the Devil

There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia. 
- Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan

May 12th 16.02: BC posts this article, decrying the evil that lurks in the hearts of men, to cause someone to stash rubbish in a cage meant to protect our new street trees.

May 12th 21.57: Sue suggests we do what they did in Ladywell and report it to Love Lewisham on Twitter.

May 12th 23.04: We say great, we'll do that on Monday 14th.

Time passes...

May 21st 11.34: We remember that we were going to report the tree mess to Love Lewisham and do so.

May 21st 16.24: Officer Tyrell kindly retweets our tweet to the address we should have used in the first place: @lovecleanstreet

May 22nd 19.20: We cycle past and notice the trees are clean and take this picture.

So it goes.

That is how public services are supposed to work and let us praise great work whenever we see it.

Community clean up of Wickham Mews

Lewisham Council officer Colin Sandiford is organising a community clean-up of Wickham Mews on June 23rd as part of the P&G Capital Clean-Up, a partnership with the Mayor of London's office. The event will take place on June 23rd.

Work will involve clearing the pathways, litter picking, cutting back overgrown vegetation and removing graffiti & flyposting. No experience is necessary as full training and supervision will be given on the day. Equipment and refreshments will be provided. Please register your attendance at this event in advance here.

Sandiford adds:

We'd also be happy to help organise any other local clean-ups if residents nominate any other local areas. We'll  provide the necessary equipment and the removal of bags after the clean up.

Click here to organise another Brockley clean-up.

Nature is Satan's church

Dr. Sam Loomis: I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the *devil's* eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... *evil*.
- Halloween

The trees planted in 2010 on Shardeloes Road have matured and now help to soften and prettify the stretch approaching Brockley Cross. Except for the ones which have accumulated a couple of years'worth of polystyrene boxes, crisp packets and plastic bags, which have been stuffed down the fences designed to protect their trunks. To look at this is to stare in to the heart of pure evil.

Crofton Park Library launches electronics recycling service

Crofton Park Community Library now has a bin where people can dispose of small electrical appliances such as:

- Toasters, kettles and other kitchen and household appliances;
- Clocks, ratios and cameras;
- Video recorders, games consoles and music systems;
- Drills and other power tools.

The bin is situated inside the main entrance. Wiser Recycling Company is a disposal service and some of the proceeds will be given back to the library to provide much needed funds for the running of the library.

There is a separate bin, provided by Battery Back for the recycling of household batteries. This is also situated by the main entrance and batteries can be put in at any time the library is open. Mobile and other phones can be handed to library volunteers for recycling. The library still needs donations of books and computers for resale. The library has a sales area where donated books and computers are sold.

Gum Control

Homer: Oh, that. No, I was just grabbing a gummi Venus de Milo that got stuck to your pants. 
Woman: Yeah, right. That's the oldest excuse in the book.
- The Simpsons, Homer Badman

Here is a Council campaign, the aims of which every sane man and woman of Lewisham can support. BC doesn't support the death penalty, but if we did, it would be for gum-droppers. However, we're not sure about all the means - the gum boards sound revolting:

Lewisham Council is working with the Chewing Gum Action Group throughout March on a national campaign to warn people to stop dropping used chewing gum on the streets of Lewisham or risk a £75 fine.

In a 2010 survey by Local Environment Quality, gum stains accounted for over a quarter of all stains found on Lewisham streets and research has shown that the most likely people to drop gum are in the 16-34 age range. Lewisham is one of 15 local authorities nationwide to have pledged support for the campaign to help make Britain’s streets free of littered gum.

The campaign is being supported by borough partners including Lewisham College, Goldsmiths College and Millwall Football Club PLC.

Measures will include:

- Gum Boards – special boards where people can stick their used gum – will be erected in Lewisham and Catford town centres.
- Free gum ‘wrap-it’ pouches - will be distributed by Goldsmiths’ student union throughout March
- Lamppost banners – will be displayed in Dartmouth Road and Deptford High Street
- Millwall Football Club – will display a message to fans on their big screen at their home games on 17 and 24 March at The Den.
- Gum advert - six students studying Media Production at Lewisham College will showcase their one-minute film advert called The Gum to Lewisham Young Mayor Kieran Lang.

Lewisham Council asks BC readers about the future of business waste

Nigel Tyrell, Head of Environment for Lewisham Council, would like your feedback on possible changes to the way in which the Council charges business for waste disposal. It matters not only to local business owners, but to all of us, because the Council is now in a position to profit from waste recycling, as well as because an effective business waste management strategy means less dumping and fewer scenes like this.

Nigel says:

Our new recycling contract means that we now can get an income for the waste we deliver, rather than having to pay for disposal or recycling. This would seem to be a great opportunity to change the way we deal with trade waste. 


Our income for the recyclables would cover the labour and transport costs, and could even generate a small surplus to support some hard-pressed services, such as street cleansing. 


We think that this could also be a good way to support local businesses during these tougher times. We'd like to make it really worthwhile for businesses to recycle. We're aiming to provide a very simple, 'budget airline' kind of offer to businesses:


We'll collect all your recycling, free of charge perhaps with a minimum residual waste bin charge 
Businesses to provide the bags or bins for this service, or tie-up bundles of cardboard rather than having to hire our bins or buy our bags 


We'd re-model a version of LoveLewisham (apps and site) to allow businesses to order collections, and allow our refuse workers to report tonnages disposed and close jobs, etc. 


The new site would make it clear exactly what kind of waste we'd collect for free, if would also show a live total of tonnes recycled, and perhaps the value directed to front-line services. As for timescales, I'd like to make a start as soon as possible. 


We're thinking about using this approach in Deptford to start with, but that would mainly aimed at improving the street scene and helping to relieve the operational pressure on our cleansing service. My team are currently looking at the financial implications and the deliverability of the collection service. 


We need to make a judgement about what income we're likely to lose from collecting regular waste as people shift to our free recycling service. 


Should we go down the route of offering this service to new customers only? 
Should we start with schools and charities, or pilot it in a given area (maybe Brockley?). 


I'd like to jump straight in, once I'm happy it won't leave our finances worse-off. 


It would be really helpful to be able to take a sounding from Brockley Central, and businesses that might be interested in this service.

Our own experience of owning a small business in the borough of Westminster is that they do not mess around. Waste management charges are high and enforcement draconian. The cost of a few bin bags a week is not insignificant for small businesses, struggling to get by. So a scheme that cuts costs should improve Lewisham's competitiveness as a place to run a business and ensure that fewer cowboys opt out of the system and try to dump their waste.

Please let Nigel know what you think? And is Brockley a good place to trial the new scheme?