A skipful of fines

Henry A. Grima

Mar 26th 2009, 21:59

@ John Schembri

It only needs a comment like your last sentence to bring out all the anti clerical comments from some readers, who seem to forget that if it were them with the rubbish bag they would, in all probability, have still put it in the full bin.
Then we read about their whining against the cash cows wardens!!
But because it was a priest then the warden was quite right in fining him.

s.caruana

Mar 26th 2009, 19:40

I forgot to mention that the bachelor is a priest!! does that exclude priest from receiving a fine from a warden in the future, i thought the law is laid down for everyone men & women(including nuns) to abide with, regardless. Sue Caruana

Joseph Sammut

Mar 26th 2009, 15:58

John Schiberras: I read through your blog feeling fully sympathetic towards your story, only to be thrown off by your last sentence. Why did you have to point out that the poor gentleman was a priest; what difference does it make what the person is or was: if it were you, th eincident would have carried less weight?

Tanja Cilia

Mar 26th 2009, 15:57

What is the criterion that distinguishes "full" from "too full"? Is it the fact that the lid would no longer fit snugly were another rubbish bag squeezed in? Is it that the lid would open and fall over at the back, thus giving the stray cats meals on wheels? Is it the fact that there is no room for domestic garbage since the skip is already full of merchandise packaging, offcuts from carpenters' workshops, discarded IT equipment, prickly pear skins, hog heads and trotters, bits of car engines, and fish entrails... as well as builders' debris?

Mark Galea

Mar 26th 2009, 15:41

In St.Julians where I live, 3 skips were removed because neighbours complained of smell and noise. I don't blame them. Some people just let the lid bang shut at all hours of the night. Now, however, we have a door to door refuse collection at 7.00a.m. If anyone takes his garbage bag out at 7.05a.m, the garbage collectors would have passed by already. This is obviously very inconveniet to all as 7.00a.m is extremely early for most. So most residents are dumping their garbage in the site where the skips stood before. The rubbish mound just builds throughout the day.....and there are no green wardens there! They'd have a field day!

joe scerri

Mar 26th 2009, 13:24

Why, are priests above the law?

What nonsense.

marius zulgis

Mar 26th 2009, 12:15

Think about it. The "Green" Warden scouts the area looking for an over-filled skip. When he or she finds one, skulks in the shadows waiting for "victims". When a likely candidate (one not likely to fight back like a pensioner/priest etc.) he waits until the garbage is deposited before pouncing and fining the person.

Firstly - spending hours waiting in the shadows doing nothing can hardly be termed "productive" now can it.

Secondly, this is "entrapment" and is illegal in civilised countries.

Thirdly - the so called "Green" Warden is reneging on a commitment to educate.

Those of you who state that the warden is doing the right thing think again please! Use your common sense.

H Dempster

Mar 26th 2009, 11:47

I believe i once heard a prominent and arrogant minister state that the wardens are there not to squeeze us from our hard earned cash, but they are there to TEACH US. I t seems that this particular warden was never listening.

Eric Camilleri

Mar 26th 2009, 11:31

@J. Baldacchino
Granted, I withdraw the sexist generalisation comment however rest assured the typical bully would be let off scott free. Traffic wardens / Green wardens pick on easy prey. We have seen it and witnessed it ad nausium.

Wardens are granted subjective and not objective powers. This cowardice can only be eradicated if councils and wardens themselves are fined for each case they loose in order to compensate contesting victims.

Phil Humphries

Mar 26th 2009, 11:23

We cannot know how the gentleman concerned spoke to the warden, but was it really necessary for the warden to issue a fine in this case? Clearly, the elderley gentleman was seeking to do the right thing, so would it not have been more appropriate and respectful for the warden to inform him of the correct way to dispose of his waste? Wardens and their bosses need to remember that they are PUBLIC SERVANTS and respect is a two-way thing.

lgalea

Mar 26th 2009, 10:38

This is simply a show-off by the warden.
Why should skips be allowed to remain full and not promptly replaced by the contractor?
You know why? because otherwise the wardens companies and the local councils will not continue to milk the citizens of their hard-earned money.
Remember this when you go to vote and write your message on your ballot paper.

Paul Pace

Mar 26th 2009, 10:31

It seems that this is another source of revenue to the council and wardens company.
Last Sunday TOM there was an article of a similar incident http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090322/local/resident-fined-for-dumping-rubbish-says-he-was-tricked
There might have been others fell victim of this green wardens, who after all are doing their duty, who do not bother to write on the newspapers.
It is the duty of the St.Julians Local Council that instead of trapping people to generate revenue, to increase the skips or empty then more frequently. By the way if the locked skip is privately owned then it should be placed infront of the owner.
Apart from this area, I suggest to the wardens to go around Paceville where litter is the norm of the day. The litter bins are being used as skips by shop owners

J. Baldacchino

Mar 26th 2009, 10:27

@Eric Camilleri
How can you take it for granted that the warden would not have approached a 'young skirted lady' or a 'cigar totting [sic] bully'? This is a sexist generalisation and is completely unfounded - you are not the green warden in question and cannot say what he would have done or not. A full skip is quite obvious to the naked eye. So alright, I was not present either and need to give the benefit of the doubt as to how full the skip was - but once again, this depends on the situation and i trust the warden's judgement.
@Ramon Casha
You are definitely right - with an argument like this, I would have given Mr. John Schembri a full ten points with regards to his complaint. However basing his complaint on the fact that the person was a bachelor, priest, or whatever, totally debases the argument in question.

PAUL BUSUTTIL

Mar 26th 2009, 10:24

MY DEAR CHAPS IF ALL THE SKIPS, REFUSE TRUCKS AND CONCRETE MIXER TRUCKS THAT PASS THROUGH OUR ROADS OVERFLOWING ONTO THE ROAD AND UNCOVERED WERE TO BE FINED I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU, BUT THEY ARE NOT AS OUR GREEN WARDENS ARE AFRAID OF THESE TRUCK DRIVERS, SO THEY PICK ON UNLIKELY TROUBLSOME PEOPLE TO FINE JUST LIKE OUR WARDENS . COWARDS. SO IS THE LAW FOR ALL AND SUNDRY ??????????

Ramon Casha

Mar 26th 2009, 10:13

Local councils should take the responsibility of ensuring that skips are NEVER too full to take more garbage. If people are fined for leaving their garbage next to overflowing skips, people will simply start dumping their garbage elsewhere - far from the skips where the wardens are ready to pounce.

We want measures to ENCOURAGE people to use the skips, not discourage them. The last thing we want is to return to the past situation where every bus shelter, country lane or field ended up as a garbage dump.

Eric Camilleri

Mar 26th 2009, 10:12

Mr Baldacchino, Ms Mary Pace
Priest, bachelor, etc is not the issue here although presumably a young skirted lady or a cigar totting bully would not have even been approached by this warden, let alone fined. The essential point Mr Schembri is raising is that the "said" warden in question has granted himself powers to decide subjectively when the "said" skip was full or not.

J. Baldacchino

Mar 26th 2009, 09:58

Can someone please enlighten me as to where the problem in this e-mail is? Green warden did the right thing. Where does priesthood, being a bachelor, or anything come into this argument?

mary Pace

Mar 26th 2009, 09:48

I'm sorry for the priest, BUt the Law is for everyone Priest or not