A few words from Rob Mansfield

I did something for the first time yesterday - I freecycled something!

For those of who you haven’t heard of it, it’s a way of getting rid of unwanted items that aren’t worth selling, but are too good to go to the dump!

Our local Habitat is closing down and by chance we went on Saturday to discover that the 4 dining chairs we’ve been toying with buying for almost a year were in the clearance sale at 50% off - bargain!

So what to do with the old, slightly creaky and wobbly set of 4 that aren’t actually that old? C was all for loading them into the car and taking them to the dump, but I’ve always wanted to use freecycle and now seemed an opportunity too good to miss.

So I posted my chairs on my local group and within 10 minutes of the post being approved, I had 4 takers.

I democratically chose the first person who replied (although that’s not necessary, according to freecycle guidelines) and at 9.30 last night, I proudly said goodbye to our old dining chairs and watched them driven away in the back of a van.

I feel good knowing they’ve gone to a good home and also feel environmentally satisfied that they were saved from landfill. Now, what else can I give away?

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Interesting article in today’s Guardian G2 section about the problems we have as a country with waste and how to dispose of it.

The government’s pledge to increase recycling and lower waste has meant a confusing raft of implementations that many people can’t keep track of.

There are countless reports of people being fined for what seems like a minor transgression and increasing frustration as different councils do different things.

I’m all for being green. No-one can be perfect, but I try as hard as I can to recycle, drive minimal distances, use public transport, I haven’t been on a plane in more than 2 years, the list goes on…

The one area I find myself with problems, though, is with packaging. Where I live farmers’ markets are a rarity and we don’t have the luxury of lovely butchers and grocers nearby, so as with much of the population, we have to make do with Tesco or Sainsbury’s.

And it’s the supermarkets I have the issue with. Their crusade to reduce plastic bags seems to be a bit of a smokescreen. If they really wanted to do their bit for the environment, they’d do something about plastic packaging.

There are almost 50 types of plastic and it may surprise many people to know that all of them are recyclable. Yup, all of it!

Sadly, only 7% of plastic is being recycled at present, mainly because the majority of councils don’t have the ability.

Now, somewhere along the line there’s a problem. Part of it seems to me to be down to local councils, but surely it makes more sense to try and do without most of the plastic packaging.

Supermarkets have to try and do loose produce more. Yes, it may be more convenient to pick up a punnet of pre-packed mushrooms, but it’s not eco-friendly and not cost-effective.

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I’m a man of words - that’s my stock in trade and has been for many years. As an example, I prefer “hirsute” above “hairy”, and “belligerent” above “arsey”, although there’s a place for both.

So it’s always a nice surprise to come across a word I’ve never used before, let alone even seen. However, it’s a huge shock when this word was used on my local council’s website.

Yup, I was looking for info on recycling collection in the London Borough of Bromley, where I’m about to move to and came across this fantastic sentence:

“Your waste will not be collected if it is not placed at the edge of curtilage”

Eh? I had to stop and think for a second. “Edge of curtilage” - what the hell does that mean?

Fortunately, Bromley Council has anticipated my confusion and added this helpful explanation.

“Your curtilage is the area of land within your boundary surrounding your property. The edge of your curtilage is on your land at the front within arms’ reach of the pavement but not on it.”

So, basically, they mean the edge of your property, or boundary, or even garden or yard. So why not say that? I’m all for expanding the use of our rich language, but not on a council website. For goodness sake, talk in plain English and not some legal mumbo-jumbo.

I know we live in litigious times, but I’m sure no-one will sue their local council for lack of curtilage explanation, will they?

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