File:Everyday Dumping (36312775123).jpg

3 August 2017. A pile of rubbish left on the pavement in High Road Tottenham near Scotland Green. I took this photo at 4:26 pm on a Thursday - a workday.    There are three signs on the lamppost about waste collection. The topmost sign specifies two daily time slots for putting out domestic and commercial waste for collection: 9:00 am - 10:00 am and 9.30pm - 11:00 pm. This rubbish was on the pavement outside those permitted hours, so it counts as dumping.    The middle sign seem to suggest the dumping problem is caused by a group of people described as 'fly-tippers'. We know that there are indeed people whose illegal business is getting paid to cheaply remove and dump other people's trash. The middle sign has a photo of two men with pixillated heads inside red circles, walking along a street and doing a bit of dumping. They represent these 'bad guys'    We're told that Haringey Council's enforcement staff are pursuing these fuzzy figures. Who could "face a £400 fine or get a criminal record."

Here's an alternative explanation. My guess is that the dumpers around the lamppost - as in many other places - are mostly a few dozen 'ordinary' people not in the 'fly-tipping' business. I suspect they are likely to be local residents, traders, and maybe landlords, who regularly leave small items of rubbish. Perhaps one or two bags. Or add some litter to an existing pile as they walk by.    Everyone rightly assumes the waste will be picked-up eventually by someone paid to do it. (Probably not paid very much.) They are right. Twice every day Veolia, Haringey Council's waste contractor stops by.    The out-of-hours trash pile contributors may guess that it's highly unlikely they'll get caught and fined. Especially as Haringey Council has been steadily sacking its enforcement staff, who are needed for the Council to take effective large-scale action and break the cycle.