Once we were a ‘nation of shopkeepers’. Now Gove wants us to be a ‘nation of bin-divers’
“Go bin-diving for Britain!” says Michael Gove. “It’s your patriotic duty!”
After you, Pob.
We owe a debt of thanks to nincompoops like Michael Gove; they make the Conservative government’s attitude to the rest of us crystal clear.
His high-handed view is that those who don’t own as much as his ilk should root around in other people’s dustbins because, in his opinion, that’s all we’re good for.
He’ll probably try to make it sound patriotic, like Theresa May did in her conference speech. “Bin-diving for Britain!” or some such stupidity.
It is an insult to everybody the Tories have impoverished with their silly state-shrinking austerity policies that stole all our cash and tripled the income of super-rich idiots like Michael Gove.
Homeowners should be allowed to scavenge for old televisions, furniture and appliances at dumps so they can reuse them, Michael Gove has suggested.
The Environment secretary told a meeting that he wanted to change rules at council recycling centres so people can recover valuables.
Currently, many local authorities ban people from taking away anything their tips,however Mr Gove said he wanted the rules to be relaxed.
Source: Michael Gove: Let homeowners take home reusable rubbish found at council dumps
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He’s a bit late, many of us have been doing just that for years! Many times the Council Operative will turn a blind eye and let you take electrical items. on other occasions I have taken things out of rubbish skips at the side of the road, and I know lots of people who regularly do the same. And more than once I’ve eaten food from my neighbour’s bin. That’s life on the dole in modern day Britain.
I actually think that’s not a bad idea. There’s a difference between having to use rubbish because you can’t afford anything else and being given the opportunity to continue to use something older and so not be responsible for creating more landfill. I quite often see furniture at the dump that’s totally OK, often better than anything I could afford to buy new, but I’m not officially allowed to take it away. I don’t see the point in saying it’s only an option for homeowners though. Renters could/would benefit too..
You can already do it as long as the stuff hasn’t been dumped into the bin, only council workers can do it afterwards, yes they do, because of earth and safety rules.
good god. most people recycle/up-cycle furniture etc. whats at the dump isn’t fit to sit on now. as for tv’s and other electric appliances. they will be a fire hazard. no one chucks decent stuff on the tip nowadays until theyve offered it to those in more need than themselves.If even THEY dont want it it’s because its not good ebnough for more than the rats to sit on.or use.People throw electrical things away at the tip because they are obsolete or damaged and unsafe. ohhhhhhhhhh i get it. he thinks hes discovered another way to kill us all off……… by electrocution. by our own doing …
is it telling also that he specifically said homeowners [ as opposed to the public or householders]
you cant take things from the tip as you would never know why there’ve been tipped in the first place. the safety of electrical products for example would pose a fire hazard
just goes to show Gove hasn’t a clue
It’a actually not a bad idea. There is a town in France doing it and it’s being successful. BUT of course, it is being properly run run a warehouse not the council tip
Hi Mike,
I’m no fan of Gove but I’m with him on this 1. There is so much perfectly useable furniture, electronics, bicycles, scooters etc thrown away at the tip (sorry, recycling centre) that could and should be re-used instead. I wasn’t even allowed to take a cardboard box from mine recently! Reusing is a much better option to recycling and I have been advocating this for years. When I lived in New Zealand this is exactly how my local recycling centre operated. It was both a tip and a shop where anything that was dumped and could be re-used, was sold off cheap. It was great! I kitted most of my house out from there!
I understand your angle but if we are to lessen our impact on the environment we need to be doing far more re-using and far less throwing away. So I think, for a change, Gove is right on this 1
Big fan of your work, keep it up
#GTTO
Cheers
Tom
And why only home-owners? What about the majority who don’t own homes?
i try to recycle whatever i can rather than send to tip.boot sales/freecycle sites/local selling sites.people with little money. there’s usually someone who wants your old tat…. i will shortly have a 3 year old windows desk top PC (once ive had my data wiped or its been reformatted). one idea put to me was to donate it to someone whose jobless and needs one so they can look for jobs, another is to donate to a family who are on their uppers and the kids need one for school work. libraries are closing down so jobless are finding it harder to access computers. which DWP insist they should have, or have access to. my problem is who to approach to find someone who is genuinely in need. it wont be worth trying to sell it. i wont get much for it. i know.
what a horrid spiteful pig this shifty looking a$$hole is
Or, how about setting up small workshops near to the tips where items that can be repaired/upcycled can be taken and then bought by those who can afford it or redistributed to those on low income/benefits? Could provide training/employment for all ages and even a community ‘hub’. In a local shopping centre near my home in West London, there is upcycled furniture for sale from £30 – 300.