Forum Topic

Fly Tipping in chiswick

I went out this morning Saturday 10th October to go down  to the chiswick high road and the lane of Bridgman Road  has had rubbish dumped  in the lane.The lanes name is Houghton lane. Its a complete mess, this was obviously done during Friday night. If anyone knows how i can upload the photo please message me.

Charlotte Smith ● 20d32 Comments

I suggest you report it using FixMyStreet. You can upload photos there and usually there is a quick response.

Bruce Hammal ● 20d

Fly-tipping, yet another scourge of modern society.

Denis I. Fox ● 20d

If by ‘modern’ you mean since Victorian times or earlier, you are indeed correct.It is a scourge, and perception is that it’s increasingly so, but while the phrase first came into use in the 20th century, it’s been around a lot longer.

Andrew Jones ● 19d

Its disgusting,  I don't know what's happened to this Country.  When did it all start?

Juliet Hogg ● 19d

Some predicted a third world country in 10 years, problem is I cannot remember which years it was predicted.

Janice Evans ● 19d

Looking on google by early 2030s

Janice Evans ● 19d

As I said, people have been dumping stuff for years and years e.g. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/article/abs/river-pollution-dilemma-in-victorian-england-nuisance-law-versus-economic-efficiency-by-leslie-rosenthal-farnham-uk-ashgate-publishing-2014-pp-ixiv-1253-135-00-hardcover/CBF4E5A41D85BC8788FC5CBE27D45B21when factories were dumping effluent into the rivers

Andrew Jones ● 19d

We shouldn't be living like the Victorians, or back in the 70s when street we full of uncollected garbage.

Janice Evans ● 19d

I agree. But proper waste disposal is increasingly costly/difficult, and there are plenty of cowboys out there willing to take money off you and dispose of waste illegally.https://sussexbylines.co.uk/news/environment/why-fly-tipping-is-rising-and-why-the-system-meant-to-stop-it-isnt-working/

Andrew Jones ● 19d

Flytipping became a major problem in the UK when Labour run Councils embraced third world values and refused to investigate and prosecute. Too frightened to upset their core voters.

Steve Taylor ● 19d

Yes I would t trust anyone to take my rubbish away while I can take it myself.

Janice Evans ● 19d

That should say wouldn't.

Janice Evans ● 19d

The Daily Telegraph disagrees with you Steve.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/25/fly-tippers-more-likely-to-be-prosecuted-in-labour-areas/And the worst fly tip in the UK (Kidlington) is in the Lib Dem run Oxfordshire Council, which has been under Conservative or Lid Dem control over the last 25 years.

Andrew Jones ● 19d

It is more likely to have started when everyone started buying so much unnecessary tat especially when living on credit.  Before that credit was used much more just for important purchases.  We now buy stuff - just because it is cheap or it is amusing without expecting it to last or need mending or actually be mended before it is thrown 'away'.  Only there is no 'away' to 'just throw it away'.  Everywhere is now someone's else's backyard or neighbourhood or fields or beautiful unspoilt countryside etc.We shouldn't still be using the rivers to chuck stuff into - but still do.  Yet it isn't that many years ago that a well known dairy manufacturer was found to be polluting their local river and the workers who knew or suspected were apparently under pressure to keep quiet or lose their jobs - so it isn't always as easy a situation to report something.We are now much more aware of all the waste we are making but not making enough of an effort to make less by wasting less and disposing of it correctly.  Many things that we don't want now are now wanted by other people as spare parts for repair or for reprocessing into something else. I don't think Councils had any idea of the number of homes that were divided and households living in properties until they started a wheelie bin rollout when more bins were being requested!  And that was fairly recently!  Developers now also seem to try to get as many units to sell into as small a space as possible.Landlords and property managers also need to be actually managing the property they are letting so that there is enough bin space and bins instead of just expecting the lessees to magic it away - and making sure that they do.A big problem can be that once a property has been left empty what was once a free fortnightly kerbside collection for residents then becomes a cost as a business collection for the owner - OR - whoever is tasked with clearing out that residence which can then reduce their profit.  This is often when an unlicensed waste collector is involved who offers to take the waste for money and then often just takes it around the corner to dump it there or further afield illegally. Both that unlicensed waste collector and whoever paid for the waste to be collected and disposed of can be very heavily fined. There are a lot more CCTV cameras around now and sometimes Councils put the film of those dumping rubbish up on the internet.  Making sure everyone knows where to find the info on what to do with what they don't want is an important start!

Philippa Bond ● 19d

Third world practice by first world people.p

David Burke ● 19d

It would help if council's were to make it easier to dispose of any items we don't need. Ealing for example have cut the number of days that their only dump is open for and are still insisting on pre booking which was a covid requirement!

Peter King ● 18d

Labour run Boroughs are normally poorer areas where the demographic dictates that people don’t want to spend their Benefits money getting old furniture and mattresses etc to the dump so they just dump it on the pavement knowing that the Labour council will collect it with no repercussions or penalties. There’s also the element of laziness. Rogue builders and house clearing contractors are also responsible for flytipping on an industrial scale and they know they won’t be prosecuted in Labour run Boroughs.

Steve Taylor ● 18d

Renters typically, dump all their rubbish and leave. Coming from experience.

John Bird ● 18d

Third world practice by third world people in Hounslow Borough.

Steve Taylor ● 18d

Why are you still trying to "dump"  stuff?  We have had a kerbside collection for years which has broadened extensively in what we can recycle so that there is much less unrecyclable waste to deal with.  Any excess hopefully unreusable and unrecyclable can be taken to what have been called Household Reuse & Recycling and or Waste Centres for tens of years.  Business waste is different and needs to be paid for so may not be admitted everywhere. Types of vehicles that can be used to take stuff to these sites can also be limited to deter business waste.  Efforts need be made to keep the earth's finite resources in use instead of just being used once and destroyed for ever.  Too much valuable waste to be is still not being seen as the valuable and reusable resource it is.Councils have been banded together in groups called Waste Authorities for tens of years too.  We are not just restricted to using our own Council's Household Waste & Recycling or Reuse & Recycling sites so it is worth checking out which other Councils' recycling and waste we can take stuff that we no longer want to.Some licensed registered companies other than our Councils and local charities will collect.  Check out the West London Waste Authority as well as the local Council's websites.  Arrangements and  initiatives (don't forget Repair Shops & Cafes and Restart Cafes too) change as methods of sorting, demand for resources and new uses come and go. One man's rubbish is another man's treasure!

Philippa Bond ● 17d

Not true.  I even remember a Councillor's son being prosecuted.  New systems coming of following where waste goes may help.  Reducing oversight or getting rid of all oversight never was and never is a good idea - and that had nothing to do with a Labour Council or Govt.  There is always going to be some chancer somewhere wanting to skip any regulation with little or no thought of the consequences or caring for everyone else and the environment!Landlords and their Managing Agents could and should make it easier for their renters by making sure they have space, have bins and have the right information and know where to get more should they need it.  Universities and colleges can also help to make sure changeovers go easily and some have been known to help rehome items that students find they have no space to take home with them by liaising with charities.  Time often runs out when there are impromptu goodbyes!

Philippa Bond ● 17d

As it happens there was a report on Fly Tipping in today's (Wed 14 Oct) edition of You and Yours on Radio 4 which will now be available on BBC Sounds.It's my belief that the problem got much worse as councils closed long-standing "tips"to reduce running costs and also capitalise on the land value. As happens so often the law of unintended consequences then came into play. Local authorities found themselves having to deal with increased outbreaks of illegal dumping, a process which ironically costs them much more than maintaining the local dumps. I know we are supposed to refer to them as recycling centres now, but having just paid a visit to Townmead in Kew I would suggest that there is atill an awful lot of stuff going into the "General Waste" skips.

Bruce Hammal ● 16d

The reduction in Govt grants to Councils and Covid have also changed things. Covid has meant that so much more is now ordered online which arrives in huge cardboard boxes which it can be difficult to live with even when flattened in a small living space.Many charity shops did not survive the Covid period as those very valuable volunteers giving their time were often more vulnerable and elderly and worried about becoming ill.  This broke a part of that community.  Many charity shops closed and just did not reopen and online information and transactions are less likely to be popular with many in this group. It is definitely harder to find a local charity shop to take things to now and it is always better to contact them/phone them to make sure they will accept what it is you have to offer.There are still a lot of online shops for giving away and selling items but space and time constraints of finding someone who wants what you are offering and waiting in for collection can be too daunting but absolutely brilliant when you do manage to.You can often get a lot of electrical items collected when you buy something new and have that delivered - and not necessarily just a straight swap.Instead of just buying something that you may only use once or twice or so you can just try out before buying - a Library of Things can be very useful:https://www.libraryofthings.co.uk/Here's an interesting Hounslow page where there is also a link to an upcoming pop-up event:https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/recycling

Philippa Bond ● 16d

Here is our Waste Authority (the West London Waste Authority)'s website which has more information about all our recycling centres and more:https://westlondonwaste.gov.uk/

Philippa Bond ● 16d

Small items of furniture which the British Heart Foundation will not accept possibly because they are a little bit scruffy or a little bit broken may well be accepted AND collected by www.petitmiracles.org.uk who teach people the skills on how to use various carpentry tools and how to do this.  Items are then sold in their shop or online.The British Heart Foundation also collects furniture and you need to read their website to make sure that your furniture reaches their criteria eg has a fire safety label.There will be other companies that do this and if there are others who upcycle and mend please get them to register with the West London Waste Authority.  The easier we make it for people to find these places the less waste we are likely to find dumped on the street.Thanks Bruce for the alert about BBC You and Yours which I have just listened to.It proves that there is a big problem with Household Waste & Recycling of many things (which we pay for in our Council Tax) becoming Business Waste (which isn't part of Business Tax) when renters leave and someone else has to clear the premises and also the importance of making sure that the company you ask to clear any waste is a genuinely registered and licensed waste carrier!  Now that seems to have got more difficult.

Philippa Bond ● 16d

Also ask family members if they might like something, I had lots in my hallway ready for the charity shop, my two nieces called in and ended up taking the lot, so I now ask them first.

Janice Evans ● 16d

Absolutely.  I think sometimes we leave it until time becomes the enemy and we have rather a lot to move.  Yard sales are common in the US.

Philippa Bond ● 16d

With the cycle frenzy and the rapid growth of Uber many people don’t own cars anymore so going to the dump is no longer a viable option. Hence flytipping unwanted furniture and other items becomes the norm and the easiest option. It’s also common practice in third world countries and those practices now become the norm in and around UK cities.

Steve Taylor ● 15d

With so much credit available especially since the 1970s to people they have been able to buy a lot of cheap and cheerful furniture to create a style that doesn't last and for many years did not want so many pieces of furniture handed down.  This may have also meant that they don't value and look after what they have as well.  They then may not have the time, energy, knowledge, equipment and experience to mend something.  Far too much good solid wooden furniture has been incinerated because there was nowhere for it to be stored.Upcycling can create a lot of interesting and individual pieces and reupholstering with safer and up-to-date materials can put new life into something that has grown tired and worn.In other countries they have different practices eg they sweep the pavement in front of their homes including when it has snowed.  We can leave stuff out as long as it is on our property and not blocking the pavement but our weather is so fickle much is ruined if we do this and it then becomes more difficult to dispose of... 

Philippa Bond ● 15d

People can share cars and visits to the Recycling Centres.  We always used to have to do this when fewer people owned their own car.  Or they can look for the alternative sites with banks for items.At one time I used to do a swap by taking cardboard to a friend's house where she could recycle that and swapping it for the plastics that I then recycled where I lived.  We can recycle so much more kerbside now than we could in the past.  That was long before all these deliveries - of which I still really only get loo rolls and the odd second hand book.

Philippa Bond ● 13d

I agree with Janice - very often someone you know would be very happy to take some of your furniture off you - if only they knew that you didn't want it any more! https://westlondonwaste.gov.uk/news/brent-flash-trial Things change all the time!  It's even better if you don't make any though!  www.lovefoodhatewaste.com as well as the supermarkets and other websites have lots of recipe ideas.

Philippa Bond ● 13d

You’re still living in a fantasy world if you think someone in their £60k SUV is going to allow a carless neighbour to put their junk in their SUV for a trip to the dump. And why would the carless neighbour even dream of asking when they know they can simply dump their rubbish on the street with absolutely no repercussions in Hounslow Borough.

Steve Taylor ● 10d