Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

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sloaney donkey
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Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby sloaney donkey » Tue Jan 09, 2018 10:58 pm

I am registered as partially blind but can see well enough to walk without assistance. I am using special screen to write this. I rely on obstruction-free pavements and disabled-friendly traffic crossings to get around.

I was walking along today and tripped up on a Christmas tree on a road this evening just off Northcote. I grazed my knee very badly indeed, and needed my fiancé to take me home. The tree should not have been there, and poses a risk to the public.

My fiancé knocked on the door of the (very large) house it was outside and the answer was "we put our tree outside because it is the council's responsibility". He protested that they have a duty to ensure the streets are safe and was told to f**k off. The door was slammed in his face. I will not name and shame the number and road (but am tempted to).

All over Wandsworth, there are Christmas trees dumped in the street. There is specific guidance on the Wandsworth website on putting trees out on the days that trees are supposed to be collected.

It also says:- "Leaving Christmas trees on the pavement in contravention of the above advice [ie only after 6.20am on the day of collection] is fly-tipping. This is a criminal offence which may result in a fine or prosecution."

Is it too much to expect the council to collect on the days and owners to be mindful of not leaving trees lying outside their homes for weeks on end?
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oab
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby oab » Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:15 pm

Sorry to hear ...

But I am not sure they are to blame.

The council website says collection on your normal refuse collection day from 5th Jan.
http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/artic ... _recycling

Our collection is on Friday, so on the 6th everyone on the street put their tree out. But the trees were not collected until Monday 9th....
I'd say the problem is with the council not collecting as advertised.
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gail0810
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby gail0810 » Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:36 pm

I agree - it's a complete nightmare - everywhere you go, piles of trees are mounting up on pavements and blowing around in the wind. Some pavements are impassable - I have seen people with buggies and children forced to walk on the road as a result - and the trees are a real obstruction - my children hurt themselves on one today.

Alot of houses that these trees are outside do have front gardens that they could put them in. But agree that the council seems to take ages to collect the trees - often not on the refuse collection day as promised (our collection last week was a day later than normal because of the bank holiday) but no one seems to care and follow the instructions to keep the tree in the front garden until it's collected, nor do they take it in again if it's not collected.

Not sure if it was everyone's responsibility to dispose of their trees and no collection service was offered or it was chargeable, things would be better (suspect not). You should report your injury to the council though, as I do think they need to look at the issue - it happens every year and the trees can be hanging around for weeks and they need to do something.
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windmill26
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby windmill26 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:51 am

Take a photo of the injury and the spot where the tree was left and complain in writing to the council.
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rooting4tooting
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby rooting4tooting » Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:16 am

WBC did not communicate either Christmas Tree collection dates or refuse collection dates via Brightside, or at least not to our home.
BTW we don't dump trees. We prefer environmentally damaging plastic ones..
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Tigger
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby Tigger » Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:56 am

I have to say that I agree with OAB on this. Our collection day is normally Friday but on the council website it said that rubbish collection would be the following day ie Saturday. The other section of the website said that trees would be collected on the same day as your rubbish collection. On my street around 30 trees were therefore taken outside and left on the pavement on the Saturday just gone, in anticipation of them being collected that day. Sadly here we are five days later and the same trees are still on the street.

Whilst I sympathise with the original poster, our front garden (like many in the street) is miniscule and is too small for the tree so the only other option would be to bring the tree back inside which is clearly ridiculous. I also run in the morning and it is a complete pain to have to avoid all the trees and I also sympathise with those who have kids in buggies.

I'm sorry but I really do think that the council need to sort this out - there has been no tree collection last Saturday so I presume it will happen this weekend but honestly, who keeps their Christmas tree up until 13th January...?!!!!!?
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ally30_1998
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby ally30_1998 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:02 pm

Really sorry for the poster that was injured. I agree it is a menace.
However, as others have said, most were following the instructions given on WBC website, which was that trees and rubbish/recycling, would be collected the day after your normal collection day, any time between the 4th and 17th.
They also warned about fly tipping, and said not to leave out on street before 6pm the previous evening.
I took my tree down on the 2nd and put in in the front garden, then we dragged it out on the pavement on the morning of the 5th, as I had seen a van collecting trees a few roads down, so assumed they would be along to our road soon.
I don't know why this didn't happen. Maybe they are struggling with this flu virus at WBC as well.
I've just dragged our tree back in to the from garden as I guess it isn't going to be collected until Friday now.
Have to say this is the first time this has happened to me living here since 2010 although I'm sure we've just been lucky as I always see trees on the pavements around here for what seems like ages each January.
If Wandsworth didn't provide a collection service, we would revert back to a plastic tree. Bringing a tree in to your house is a bizarre custom when you think about it.
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juliantenniscoach
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby juliantenniscoach » Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:37 pm

It's a mess full stop. There is a tree outside our house and it's neither ours or our neighbours. But we had Friday collection day, but now the collection has been the last two Saturdays and they certainly didn't collect last weekend.

Sorry the OP was hurt, and the rudeness put salt in the wound. Not much Festive spirit there.
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NoodleFan
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby NoodleFan » Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:34 am

Sorry you were hurt SP. No excuse for that reaction either - no one seems to want to say sorry these days in case they are sued...

Our tree seems to be the only one on our road not taken away. There’s no hedge and it’s clearly visible, unlike our neighbour’s which has gone. I’m livid.
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SomethingBlue
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby SomethingBlue » Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:08 am

A lot of people live in flats so even if you follow the rules and take the tree down on the collection day's eve, once it is out on the street there is no front garden to bring it back to if it isn't collected.
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szerma
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby szerma » Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:51 am

I am very sorry about your injury.

I live on Mallinson Road (the end near Wandsworth common) and the Xmas trees have not been collected during the last 2 collection dates which means they have been littering the pavement for the past 2 weeks and are clearly a hazard.

I just logged a “missed collection” on the Wandsworth Council website. If there are other residents reading this, and you are in the same boat, would you also log it so the council might take notice? You can just google “Wandsworth missed rubbish collection” to get to the link.

Best regards,
M
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Alchemy
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby Alchemy » Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:54 am

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sophiesophs
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Re: Dumped christmas tree caused me injury

Postby sophiesophs » Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:48 pm

So sorry to hear! I agree it is an absolute nuisance and really puts me off the commercial side of Christmas!! Capitalism at its best!
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