bill_gj
Tired and irritable
- Messages
- 1,423
- Location
- Essex, UK
This morning I went to the local tip. Had a load of cursed polystyrene from the new washing machine, on bag of kitchen nasty and....an old V-twin compressor unit. I guess it was 40 or 5 years old.
Polystyrene, no problem, kitchen nasty, no problem - they went into the 'general' waste. Destined for landfill, I imagine.
When it came to the compressor, I found that the door on the usual 'metals' skip (one of those drops skips that get dragged onto a truck with a big hook) was shut and there was a set of metal steps next to it.
Now, the compressor was fairly heavy, I reckon about 50 lbs or so, and I thought, 'I'm not climbing a slippy metal staircase carrying that lot'.
I enquired of a fat lout masquerading as an employee, lolling on a plastic chair, as to why the doors of the skip were closed. It went like this:
"They've never been open mate"
"I've been coming to this site for 25 years and they were always open"
"Nah, mate, never"
"Yes"
"Nah"
etc.
"So then, you expect the public to carry a significant weight up the metal stairs?"
"Yer. Yew brought it here, yew drop it in"
"But if the skip doors were open I could drop it in at ground level"
"Doors never bin open and we ain't liftin anyfin cos of Elf an Safety"
"But it's OK for members of the public?"
"Grunt"
So I found the supervisor of the site and had a brief discussion with him regarding the merits of running a recycling site for the benefit of local residents.
He decided that my points regarding the quality of his staff and the effects of Council-applied H&S policies were fair and offered to allow me to deposit the 50lb compressor on the floor, adjacent to the 'metals' skip and they'd lift it in with their JCB.
Polystyrene, no problem, kitchen nasty, no problem - they went into the 'general' waste. Destined for landfill, I imagine.
When it came to the compressor, I found that the door on the usual 'metals' skip (one of those drops skips that get dragged onto a truck with a big hook) was shut and there was a set of metal steps next to it.
Now, the compressor was fairly heavy, I reckon about 50 lbs or so, and I thought, 'I'm not climbing a slippy metal staircase carrying that lot'.
I enquired of a fat lout masquerading as an employee, lolling on a plastic chair, as to why the doors of the skip were closed. It went like this:
"They've never been open mate"
"I've been coming to this site for 25 years and they were always open"
"Nah, mate, never"
"Yes"
"Nah"
etc.
"So then, you expect the public to carry a significant weight up the metal stairs?"
"Yer. Yew brought it here, yew drop it in"
"But if the skip doors were open I could drop it in at ground level"
"Doors never bin open and we ain't liftin anyfin cos of Elf an Safety"
"But it's OK for members of the public?"
"Grunt"
So I found the supervisor of the site and had a brief discussion with him regarding the merits of running a recycling site for the benefit of local residents.
He decided that my points regarding the quality of his staff and the effects of Council-applied H&S policies were fair and offered to allow me to deposit the 50lb compressor on the floor, adjacent to the 'metals' skip and they'd lift it in with their JCB.