As I was walking up Collingwood today I saw two what looked like dishwashers outside the Community Centre. I was hoping they had been left there to be picked up by someone reputable, alas not.
A few minutes later we saw what we call the ‘rag and bone’ man and it appears the Community Centre had heard the inevitable siren.
I do have a video of that but with my breathing and the wind it is not great quality !
To encourage these people is encouraging a major problem of metal theft. Maybe they thought it would be OK but the more they pick up the more they come around. I admit I used to do this but no longer, we have a proper place for disposal with a very good facility in Aldridge.
Surely they could have took these machines there ethically and in the right way ?
News and Views about Pheasey Park Farm 
It is actually an offence to transfer waste in this manner, without correct paperwork.
Bob (or All):
What’s the gist of the legislation, please.
All:
Two months ago I took an old fridge to the Aldridge facility. I’d decided that I wouldn’t leave it in the road for the tatters. At the start of the road to the tip there were tatters touting for my fridge. That made me feel uncomfortable.
Last time I went there two police were searching there van. It is not an offence to do what they are doing (if not stealing of course) would people want it as in modern times it encourages idleness.
Quite simply, to carry any kind of waste, you need to be a licensed carrier. To convey waste, you need a waste transfer license. To be carrying, and not possess one is an offence, as it is to take stuff and not give a receipt.
My contention on the metal theft hysteria has always been that we’ve had very tight laws, but not enough people to enforce them.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/wastecarriers.aspx
Cheers
Bob
Sorry to drag up old posts, however, what do you class as “someone reputable”? And how is giving scrap to a collector encouraging metal theft?
The majority of “tatters”, “Rag and Bone Men” or what ever you want to call them are nowadays mostly legal! If not, they do not last very long at all. With continuous police roadside checks at and around all registered scrap yards on a daily basis that also incorporate local council officers and HMRC amongst other organisations, those who are not legal are soon brought to book and stopped.
As “itinerant” collectors of scrap they are required to have a waste carriers license, they must carry the waste safely and when they deliver it to the scrap yard a waste transfer note must be issued.
So regarding “reputable”:
rep·u·ta·ble
/ˈrepyətəbəl/
Adjective
Having a good reputation.
Synonyms
respectable – honourable – honorable – venerable
Surely, if they are licensed and as they have to be paid for the scrap by a recorded (none cash method) by law, they pay tax, then surely they are reputable in the widest meaning of the word, especially as they are scrap metal collectors and they are doing what they say they do, collecting scrap metal.
Regarding “encouraging metal theft”, how is that then? They were giving it to them, in the broadest sense this is discouraging them as they have less time to steal. How can just because they are collecting scrap metal make them a thief and criminal? I prefer to see them as enterprising individuals having a go at business rather than signing on!
On the same subject and for peoples information:
The householder does not need to issue a waste transfer note and currently most businesses do not need to do so either when handing over waste. On the same note, however, should a householder or business release any type of waste to a none licensed trader they too commit an offense! The same offense as the “tatter”
So in short, so long as you see the “tatters” waste carriers license, which he should have displayed in his vehicle for all to see, you are safe and he is not breaking the law by taking your waste.
I am sure that most people appreciate these people taking their waste and saving them a drive to the tip, that is of course if they actually have a method by witch which to do so!
Interesting reply Charlie.
I have seen these people search around in skips here for stuff and removed a bike on my drive I was going to take to Aldridge tip which is a very good facility.
It is not like the van has a badge saying it was legal and we get 3/4 a day at the weekend coming round.
Illegal metal theft has caused all kinds of problem as you know and the links are there with some ‘rag and bone’ men. I would always encourage people to take it to the local tip and for an organisation as I have highlighted they should responsibly dispose of the waste.
I hoped that you would have seen my reply as informative and constructive rather than interesting, oh and the name is not Charlie but Chalkie, thankfully, (no offence to anyone by the name of Charles i must add!)
Skip dipping as they call it is not nice, a bit cheeky and can be a nuisance especially when they leave rubbish strewn over your drive etc. That said, it can give you further room in your skip and with the price of a skip nowadays that cannot be a bad thing surely? Is it illegal? Yes, of course it is, especially if they come on to your property and take something without asking permission. What is the answer? Place scrap metal on the footpath and that is tantamount to saying it is free to whom so ever wants to take it, although, beware as this can be classed as fly tipping or causing an obstruction of the highways. So i guess the best advice with scrap is to leave it on the edge of your property, or await the pick up truck playing the bugle and offer it to them.
Good to know that the Aldridge tip is a good facility, however, i would never consider transporting scrap metal there. Why spend time doing so, why spend money on fuel to do so and why generate further pollution in to the atmosphere from my exhaust pipe when it can be collected free of charge.
Yes metal theft has been at atrocious levels, although the cashless scrap metal industry laws seem to be working wonders and it seems to be abating somewhat in recent months.
You say:
“Illegal metal theft has caused all kinds of problem as you know and the links are there with some ‘rag and bone’ men.”
That is very unconscionable of you,indeed! You cannot tar them all with the same brush.
I would say yes, take your refuse to Aldridge tip if needs must, after all you pay your council tax for the facility, however, do not feel guilty when giving your scrap metal to a “rag and bone man” so long as he is registered and licensed and if you are unsure ask to see a copy of his waste carriers license (he is legally obliged to carry it). Even Walsall MBC have acknowledged that scrap metal collectors provide a service and help with the recycling targets in the borough.
I have in the back of my mind that Walsall MBC did actually pass a bye law requiring scrap metal collectors to display their license detail on the outside of their vehicles recently, but i will need to check up on this for you. That would of course make things a lot easier for all concerned, although for now i would say consider only those with pick up trucks rather than vans. The reasoning behind this is that they openly show what they are carrying unlike the white van type who conceal everything including their trade! This of course makes them easier to spot and keep check where the police are concerned, thus meaning they are more likely to be legitimate traders.
I suppose to be fair to anyone reading this post i must admit that i do have connections to the scrap metal industry, although i am not a “rag and bone man”, nor do i trawl the streets collecting scrap.
I also own property on the Pheasey, grew up on the Pheasey and will be resident there once again very soon.
Oh, and i handed out scrap metal to some 10 or 12 different “rag and bone men” on the estate this very week.
Oh dear, a “witch” appears to have invaded the last line of my post … the mother in law is forever keeping check on me!
Rag and bone men pick up metal people leave out, what’s your problem?
Get a life you boring fart