The May Gurney slalom course

Winter is coming (sorry) and you will be able to practice your slalom technique on the course that May Gurney are preparing on every pavement in Barnet. Here are two photographs taken near Mustard Mansions yesterday, one by Mr Mustard and one by a friend who lives a little way up the street.

Caught in the non-act

looking the other way; standard May Gurney operating procedure

What chance does a blind person stand, someone in a wheelchair, a double pushchair or even a single, the postman, the meter reader, elderly or disabled members of the public? This sort of stupidity should be stopped. Before May Gurney arrived all of those bins were in the front gardens of the houses.

Mr Mustard tweeted those photographs and a Brunswick Park resident sent him a message:

Hi,

Saw your twitter picture this morning about the May Gurney recycling collections and it reminded me that I've been wanting to rant for a while. (Mr Mustard loves a good rant)

Several months ago, all was well with our recycling collections - we put stuff out in the proper boxes, it was collected. Then something changed - we noticed that a lot of the recycled plastic was suddenly being left behind rather than taken away. I checked carefully, and everything left was properly stamped with the recycleable logo. I carried on leaving stuff out, and it kept being ignored.

Finally, I caught the collectors one week, and tackled them on it. In poor English they tried to explain that they couldn't take the plastic as it was 'the wrong shape'! Apparently, they can now only recycled plastic if it's shaped like a bottle.. words fail me. I was handed a small (May Gurney branded) sheet that explained what could and couldn't be recycled, explaining that only plastic 'bottles' can be taken.

I can understand restrictions on what can be recycled - some plastics are not recyclable. But never have I heard of restrictions being based upon 'shape'.

As I assume our waste has a value to the recycling company (and hence to the Council in terms of contract value?) I just cannot understand why a green policy isn't being followed here.

I thought you might like to highlight this absurd policy on your website as I'm sure many people would be surprised know that money is being thrown away in this manner. Delighted to assist.

Regards,

Now Mr Mustard does believe that the "leader" of the council Richard Cornelius has gone into print saying that no-one has really noticed that recycling has been outsourced. Poppycock Richard, it is just that most people can't get the energy up (unlike Mr Mustard) to complain especially when it is a case of the wrong shaped plastic (could you make it up, is it like that in CWAC quack land?)

Mr Mustard went off and checked the Barnet Council website and it does indeed say bottle shaped plastic only. Did it always say that, Mr Mustard wasn't sure and then he remembered the short hammy film "starring" Cllr Harper. Here it is all over again, luckily only 1m55s.

So there we are, nothing sinister going on and it has only ever been plastic bottles that can be recycled and as it happens the price of plastic has plummeted recently. Why you can't put out other plastic which has a logo on it showing that it can be recycled is one of those eternal mysteries. When we get the new wheelie bin for co-mingled waste things will be different? (they will because no-one will be able to see what is at the bottom of your bin!).

Now back to the main event of May Gurney very dangerously leaving the bins on the pavement. What Mr Mustard wants to know is whether Richard Cornelius doesn't know the service is cr*p because

a. he goes around with his eyes shut

b. he believes the officers who tell him things are hunky-dory

c. he doesn't care

d. he believes everything he himself says

e. the contract comes to an end soon and no-one can be bothered with it

f. he doesn't want to have to question the current One Barnet outsourcing plans based on past factual failures

g. his newspaper columns are ghost written

h. any non libellous idea you may have

May Gurney must be doing that self-monitoring nonsense which is going to be the way of the monster One Barnet contracts as only a thin client will remain who don't have enough time to do the job properly.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard