Littered plots

Hmmm. There’s a huge amount of this going on – and if you take over a new plot, I can bet that it’s about a 50/50 chance that you’ll find your new ‘green’ space has become a municipal dump.

The culprits may be:

1. fly-tippers who get onto allotment sites when gates are left open and dump car boot loads of rubbish on untenanted plots or along paths

2. the dear old general public, who wander along public rights of way, dropping (accidentally) rubbish or depositing (deliberately) old fridges and mattresses

3. your fellow allotmenteers – especially where bonfires are not allowed, some folk develop the habit of using unused plots as rubbish dumps.


What can you do?

• Check the allotment rules and bye-laws – the council may have to clear the rubbish for you
• Talk to your allotment association – many organise skips a couple of times a year so that plot holders can get rid of this kind of rubbish
• Call the council if you suspect flytippers – they can launch prosecutions if they identify the culprits


And if all else fails

Buy a crate of beer and a couple of disposable barbecues along with some sausages and salads and invite your mates up to the plot to help you shift the rubbish with a Barbie and beer reward … but only when all the litter is gone!

Labels: allotment-rubbish, new-allotment