Pikey Radar

I live in a cul-de-sac and the pikeys go around it several times a day. I have even seen three of them following each other (I wonder if they fight over stuff?). If you have a security camera pointing at the street you will see just how many drive around.

I don't think there's much to worry about with what amounts to scrap metal because it has commercial value and doesn't attract disposal costs. These small scrap collectors provide a useful service, and it is one type of business which should be allowed to continue without being regulated as it allows perhaps poorly educated and unskilled folk to earn an honest crust.

That depends if they are burning the insulation off the cables.

I think I have told this tale here in the past. A builder friend told me a tale of a plumber he uses being stopped at a roadside checkpoint and amongst other things asked for his waste licence to cover the old radiator and scrap pipe in the back of the van. As he did not have one he was duly summoned and fined for carrying waste without a license.

Madness!

Mike

JOOI, when does it become waster? If he had it in his van because he was intending to reuse it in his workshop would an old radiator still be covered by the directive?

Andrew

He knows that now! Sadly when first asked what they were he apparently answered truthfully "just junk from a job"

It was one of those roadside checks where the police pull you over after a number plate recognition camera has checked for Tax etc , DVLA staff then check the vehicle, VOSA staff check for safety issues, Customs staff check the diesel, Immigration staff check the driver, and apparently local council staff now check for correct licenses for waste etc.

Mike

And leaving the unsaleable bits scattered around the park where they're squatting for the Council (i.e. the taxpayers) to foot the clear-up bill, which is always quoted as some enormous figure, along with FUDding about "hazardous material".

Chris

They tend to remove all the plastic and stuff and burn it in an uncontrolled manner causing dioxins and other nasty stuff to pollute near where they live. They should *not* be encouraged as they dishonestly earn the crust in most cases.

That never occured to me, although I do remember it being quite common

Who doesn't?

Would you like to give me a hand removing the pile of hoses, plastic tubs and breeze blocks from stripped out washing machines that is dumped at a corner of a country back lane just near here? Clearly one of our (many!) itinerant "scrap" collectors has picked up a few dead washing machines, stripped out the saleable scrap and fly-tipped the remainder.

I've now buried three of these plastic tubs as part of my SUDS rig for the garage. Better than buying new plastic, although I expect the VolksDenPo on the doorstep any minute.

Have you ever told them no?

I remember a job a few years ago and the plumber told the pikey he could not have the scrap. And thats what it became, a good scrap. We had half of the Notts Police force out dealing with that one.

We ended up with a police escort off the estate and I very nearly got arrested for threatening behaviour (I had made some comment about petrol bombs and caravans).

Yes but the householder has to take the word of the carrier. Unless the householder can ask for a copy of the license to prove it - is that what is supposed to happen? In that case its like with building regs - responsibility of the householder, even if they have know knowledge of how the system works. What if your builder employs some pikeys without a licence. Is the householder liable or the builder ?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The householder does not need to see the licence. The waste carrier must, by law, issue a copy of the waste transfer note to the householder. I suggest you read the pages here that should tell you all the answers.

No, they just drive along every road they can find.

Dave

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So why does this not apply to council bin collections?

Dave

Are you complaining? :-)

Several times a day, here.

One was moaning the other day that there were too many. "Yeah, that's what the bloke who's been doing this road for ten years said". That shut him up - briefly.

Last year I had to replace the flashing above two porches on an industrial building. The pikeys had just ripped the lead out, damaging the sheet metal roof's in the process.

I removed the residue of the lead flashing from the front, left it on the floor & then went to the back of the building to do the same.