The gardening groups on Camposol have to deal with many different plants, some wanted and some unwanted. Unfortunately, B Clean Gardening Group has now acquired a plant that they never wanted and are saddened to have it. It’s called ‘the last straw’ and has come about courtesy of the garden waste skips in the lower car park on Camposol B’s commercial area.
These three metal lumps have been the focus of problems for some years, with residents using them for non-garden waste (we’ve actually found a wardrobe in one!!), building rubbish and waste of varying kinds in plastic bags. Whenever possible, B Clean’s small group of volunteers have turned out and cleaned up the mess to ensure that the skips are in the condition required by the council staff that empty them.
A while back, as we understand, the council gave permission to contractors to use these skips and the volume of dumped waste increased to the point that residents were constantly finding the containers full to overflowing. It seems highly likely that word of this ‘free waste disposal service’ has got around the locality and the area has become an appalling eyesore likely to attract vermin. It is already attracting fly tippers who have been dumping other controlled waste at the site.
In early October, council contractors visited after a 3 week gap, but the skips were not emptied and were filled up again just a short time later. Under the circumstances, B Clean volunteers will no longer attend this site as this is not what the group was set up for and it is both dangerous and unreasonable to expect members of the public to become involved in a potentially hazardous clean-up operation. We would suggest that anybody who is unhappy about the situation download the Linea Verde app and contact the council as and when the skips require attention; eg overfilled or vermin sighted. B Clean will be placing notices reminding skip users that the containers are for domestic garden waste from Camposol only and that ‘Professional gardeners’ are required BY LAW to have a contract with a commercial waste management company for their waste disposal. These notices will be in 4 languages.
Needless to say, the volunteers have been working elsewhere trimming the trees on the rambla road and getting ready for the huge task of hedge cutting now that Summer is over. Checks will also be made as to how many plants that were provided by the group, have been removed and if it is practical or worth replacing them.
Sadly this is probably the most negative report we’ve ever had to make and we hope it won’t be needed again.