Waste Disposal - Get a Camera and a Receipt

Nope.

That would be fine, if the local authority were willing to pay me to do it. They are not. I didn't ask for it to be sorted.

That's good to know.

As a one-off job yes, but if they're already putting the toothpaste on your toothbrush for you, you might as well get them to do the botty buffing as well. The marginal cost would be minimal, and it's worth paying a specialist who can do the job better and save you time.

Alternatively buy one of those Japanese toilets.

Owain

You can't possibly think that paying people for the rubbish they deliver to the tip would be feasible or economic in the UK surely. But then given your chosen name................

Well, to stop this going on endlessly, we'll just have to agree that our opinions are different.

Thank you for clarifying your definition of 'collectivism', we might revisit that the next time you use that particular word.

Phil Young

The dictionaries are clear on this point.

You're very welcome.

Webster's Disctionary defines it thus:

2: emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity

The OED defines it as

2 the ownership of land and the means of production by the people or the state.

Note especially the OED's first definition and Webster's second, which was precisely my point.

The other definitions simply describe the worst aspects of collectivism.

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:22:00 +0000 someone who may be Andy Hall wrote this:-

Did you ask to pay taxes, including local taxes? If you did not ask to pay them, do you still pay them or do you refuse to pay something you didn't ask for?

As you know, there is no individual discretion on whether or not to pay local taxes or the amount.

I pay my taxes and in return expect to receive a range of services. Those include removal of rubbish from my premises. For reasons best known to themselves and to EU Directives they claim that they are supposed to do some form of recycling. That's a matter for them, and how they do it is up to them. If they choose to sort it, they are at liberty to do so once they have collected it from me. I don't wish or intend to do the work that I have already paid them to do.

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:58:01 +0000 someone who may be Andy Hall wrote this:-

What services you receive if any and what form they take is not something decided by you, though you are able to try and influence these decisions.

What the EU obliges them to do is not put everything into landfill. Rather they are to reduce the amount of stuff going into landfill and the landfill tax is an expression of this policy. Recycling is part of this, but not the only part. There is nothing anti-democratic about this, it was agreed by the usual EU mechanisms. I suspect that in this particular case this involved unanimous agreement by the states, including the UK.

Indeed. One of the ways they can do this is to ask, so far they have not compelled, householders to help. Glad you agree with me.

See my first point.

You assertion that you have already paid them to do something is incorrect. See also my first point.

You may have the last word.

Indeed, and believe me I will, if and when the time comes.

The EU is noweher close to being democratic.

It is correct. You are losing track of who is the supplier and who is the customer.

You and your free market! Haven't you spotted its limitations in the financial news? The guys in red braces will always cut and run when the going gets tough.

Do you really think you're a customer of local government in any meaningful sense of the word? Dream on. If they are saddled with silly regulations regarding recycling, they will either ask you to help them out by spending 10 seconds of your time putting things in separate bins, or they'll charge you the going rate for being an awkward sod. Bleating about having already paid them to do a job with no regard to the mobile goalposts is faintly ridiculous.

Of course. I have no control over and no interest in them.

I don't for a moment. However, I do believe that they need to be subjected to maximum exposure and scrutiny. I liken local government to a collection of woodlice. They do nothing worthwhile and scurry away when exposed to the light of day. Most have not done a proper day's work in their lives and simply time serve waiting for their final salary pensions.

So let's analyse this.

Saddled with silly regulations: One needs to examine the source of these and to do something about it.

Help them out: Absolutely no way. If they want to be helped out, let them get off of their backsides and do some work rather than hiring management consultants to do it for them and so that they don't have to tak e responsibility.

If they would like to come to me with a financial proposal whereby they do this extra work, I'll look at it. In the meantime, all of the rubbish goes into the same bin and will continue to do so.

But you did suggest that Northern Rock should be allowed to go to the wall after playing fast and loose with people's savings

The whole point is that no one apart from you can ever do this work. Only you can put your beer cans and half eaten kebabs in different bins. Once they're jumbled up the job becomes impossible. It's a bit like being handed a ball of string the cat's been playing with.

I did, and so they should have done.

OK. If you are saying that this is the *only* way, (which I don't believe, but we'll accept it for now), it follows that this has value to the local authority. I will await their financial proposal with interest. However, my hourly rate is high and they may prefer to do the work when they see my quote.

But your bank might have been next. I'd have certainly been withdrawing my stash from Coutts.

My hourly rate is much higher than yours, and I shall be invoicing the council for the time it takes to transport the bin to the perimeter of my not inconsiderable estate.

Bank, singular. Eggs, basket, unity --> Fool

That's what I like to hear.

Now *that's* an idea I like!