Saturday, August 24, 2013

The End Of Clean Ups??

It's normally about this time of year we start planning another Clean Up Day. However, this year the waste collection changed and everyone has wheelie bins, one for waste and one for recycling, plus a food waste container. The collectors are sticklers - they want everything to be done to the letter by the resident. There have also been stories flying around about people with excess garbage being charged a small fortune for a special collection. And this is where it applies to us.

Every time so far after we have collected the rubbish, we've had the non-recyclables collected in a special collection the following day. Now if it's going to cost us an arm and a leg, we might need to find a different way of doing things.

I made a call yesterday to Street Scene, the department of ABC that deals with waste collection etc. These are also the people that loan out the litter picking kit that we usually borrow - gloves, sacks, tabards, litter pickers and the like. The lady I spoke to was unsure (and intimated that the whole darn department was unsure) whether there would be a charge for a special collection, or whether they would still be loaning out litter picking kits any more.

So... until they get back to me with more information, I cannot say for sure whether there will even be another Clean Up Tenterden Day. I hope there will be, as these have proved popular in the past, but if there are any more and what form they are likely to take, I can't say for the moment. Watch this space, folks.

The Swap Shop


Last Saturday we held our T3/Freegle Recycle Swap Shop, and while it was only busy for a brief time, from 1pm till about 3, we got over 50 people through the door, most of whom brought items to give away and also took items. Some of the outstanding ones were:
  • A child's bicycle
  • A stair gate
  • Wireless router
  • Wireless keyboard and mouse (which I am not ashamed to say I am using right now as I type this)
  • Huge diamond-shaped wall cabinet (which went in about 5 minutes)
  • Loads of books and toys
  • A blank canvas for painting on (again, another fast mover)
  • Loads of kids' and adult clothing
  • A sewing machine
  • Tons of CDs and DVDs
We still were left with items, but these will be used at the Highbury Hall Bring & Buy Sale on Saturday August 31st, proceeds of which will benefit Highbury Hall's Youth Cafe. Anything left over after that will be donated to charity.

Below are a few pictures I took on the day. We've already been asked to do another one, so watch this space. Next time I'd like to incorporate plants and seeds into the swap and perhaps do it earlier in the day - this of course depends on our work schedules.







Big thanks to all involved (you all know who you are) and all who came and participated. Next time bigger and better, yes?