Don't know what came over me today, I was in the garden collecting the ash from my mega bonfire, soon realised that I had way too much for my own use so I bagged up an old compost bag and left it at the end of the drive with a note on it saying 'free potash please take', a couple of hours later and it had gone.
Never done anything like this before, but for some reason it felt kind of good.
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Try Freegle or Freecycle.
I know someone who got rid of bags of lawn moss to someone who keeps tarantulas. Some people will take anything if it's free and it means you don't have to transport it to the tip.
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I dragged my old washing machine to the end of the driveway (I live in a cul-de-sac) and wrote "SCRAP" on the side in black marker. It vanished while I was walking the school run that afternoon.
One of the neighbours has frequent visitors arriving by Transit or Japanese double-cab pick-up. I think the two facts are connected.
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Scrap metal now has some value again. We often get someone driving around with a speaker on the van asking for scrap metal etc. On the way into the local tip, there is often a lorry wanting scrap metal.
There was a time when you had to pay to scrap a car (recently)... but now you probably get something.*
* and ask your fire brigade if they want to practice taking the roof off the car first. They might pay.
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The lads in their transit (or similar) helped themselves to a spare set of wheels and my ramps off my drive a few weeks ago....scrap certainly has a value these days. Grrrr....
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>> * and ask your fire brigade if they want to practice taking the roof off
>> the car first. They might pay.
They wont pay its full price, not by a long way. Its 150 quid/ton taken away, 200 quid if you deliver.
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Worth pointing out that genuine scrap dealers need to be licensed, both to deal with the stuff and to carry it.
One surefire way of getting rid of the ever-growing number of cowboys is to ask for their Waste Carrier's Licence; if they demur, make a show of noting their registration.
The local authorities can impose sizeable fines, and confiscate vehicles from offenders.
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>> One surefire way of getting rid of the ever-growing number of cowboys is to ask
>> for their Waste Carrier's Licence; if they demur, make a show of noting their registration.
And perhaps they'll return the compliment by noting your address.
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...make a show of noting their registration...
Registration?
There's still a one or two scrapmen around here using a horse and cart.
People in towns and villages in the North East tend to leave old fridges and washing machines in their back lane on the correct assumption a dealer will swing by and collect them.
I once spoke to one of these guys - he had a Transit - who told me there was a bit of money to be made, but only because the scrap appliances were free to him.
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>> I once spoke to one of these guys - he had a Transit - who
>> told me there was a bit of money to be made, but only because the
>> scrap appliances were free to him.
I wondered what had happened to the balloons and whistles...
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The doorstep is far easier than the tip.
(I confess to sometimes collecting bits of copper/brass I find in the street and putting them in my scrap box. Well, you'd pick up a 5p piece, wouldn't you, so why not a copper plumbing fitting or an abandoned padlock?)
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Well, you'd pick up a 5p piece, wouldn't you,
No. I would probably pick up a 20p, possibly a 10p, but would walk on if it was any less. The last I picked up (about a month ago) was a crisp fiver.
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...It was mine...
Trust you not to have grubby ones like the rest of us.
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We have a big chestnut tree in the garden and I don't like chestnuts. The first autumn we were here I collected them and put them outside the gate with a sign saying 'please take some' (in French of course...).
No-one did and my French neighbour said it was because everyone would think I had kept the best and had put out the rejects. He said if I had put a price on them they would have gone.
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anything left out here will kick about for weeks until the Council get around to shifting it, but chain it up and lock it, and it will be gone before you`ve had your tea!
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>> anything left out here will kick about for weeks until the Council get around to
>> shifting it, but chain it up and lock it, and it will be gone before
>> you`ve had your tea!
>>
I called my local council to arrange for a 3 piece suite to be collected vie their "Bulky Waste Collection Scheme" .
No problem said the council man but we now charge £15 for collection
unless you are receiving Council Tax benefit in which case it's free!
So Council Tax payers who have already paid for services (and wages of the staff) have to pay again - but people who havn't paid anything get free services.
Incidently before contacting the council I had offered the suite (which was in good condition SWMBO just wanted "a change" ) to 4 or 5 charities who advertise that they refurbish and supply furniture to disadvantaged families etc. Most didn't return my callls or emails and the one that did (20 miles away) said that they would take it off me if I delivered it and then only if it met the latest Fire/Safety regulations and was appropriately labelled as such.
Perhaps I should it have put it outside with a For Sale sign and let (human) nature take it's course.
J
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>> I called my local council to arrange for a 3 piece suite to be collected
>> vie their "Bulky Waste Collection Scheme" .
>> No problem said the council man but we now charge £15 for collection
>> unless you are receiving Council Tax benefit in which case it's free!
Bargain - they charge £62 here. I assumed it was a typo on the website so called them, but alas no.
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I put anything I no longer want on Freecycle and Freagle, it's quick and collected so no problems at all, and it also does someone else a bit of good.
I don't fare very well with the 'Wanted' bit though.
I've been after a loud hailer/tannoy system of some sort for our truckfest stands but no-one seems to have one.
I lose my voice for a coule of days after each one.....resist the urge to say it, please:)
Pat
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We are a charity devonite, I was hoping not to have to buy one:)
Pat
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Back in the days before you could take it to the tip, a mate used to put his old engine oil into a very clean can in a carrier bag he'd from wherever he'd just got his clean oil and leave it near the top of his drive. He reckoned it soon disappeared.
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Iffy Towers is not far from the tip.
Actually, some days it's not far off a tip, but that's not important right now.
People often dump all sorts of tip-type rubbish in the back lane.
I think it's sometimes because there's a queue at the proper tip and they can't be bothered to wait or take the stuff home.
Another problem is builders' trade waste - ripped out bathrooms, kitchen cupboards, etc.
That is dumped because there's a charge at the tip for anything that has been produced in the course of a business.
Dumping the stuff works well for these selfish 'tradesmen'.
They are never caught, and they avoid the proper fee which they've probably already charged the customer.
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Should re-name you Stig then iffy ! :-)
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...Should re-name you Stig then iffy ! :-)...
Read that at school, as I'm sure a lot of us on here did.
I've long thought what I really need is a house boy.
Need to find someone who's got a 13 or 14-year-old they want to sell into service.
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No - I think iffy's just fine !
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...No - I think iffy's just fine !...
Agreed, I've just tried Stig - just didn't feel right.
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we do extremely well on freecycle. had some vry good items over the last few years. some pretty valuable stuff
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Freebies left outside house - bathtub tom
