At last, a nice, long weekend at home. We’d been away most weekends this year, so it was good to spend four whole days chez nous, with nothing to do except…. spring clean the house!
Whoopee, I thought to myself. No leisurely reading of the daily papers with my feet up. You can probably gather that this inspired choice of Bank Holiday pastime did not originate entirely from me. Well at least it didn’t involve painting and decorating, and even more positively, queuing for hours on the M4 along with thousands of other people.
Once I’d got used to the idea, it was rather fun, and to be fair, spring cleaning the house was well overdue, as we’d already missed out on summer cleaning, autumn cleaning, and winter cleaning. It had to be done.
Spring cleaning generates junk. As we cleared up each room in the house, an impressive pile of rubbish began to accumulate in the garage. This made spring cleaning the garage itself somewhat tricky, so we decided to pile it all in the back of my car, in anticipation of the inevitable “trip to the tip.”
Bank Holiday Monday came, and the clear out was finished. Should I take the rubbish to the tip on Easter Monday? It was certainly open for business. What would everybody else in Hertfordshire be doing on a Bank Holiday (at least, those not stuck on the M4), I asked myself.
Doing exactly the same as us, I surmised. Bank Holiday Monday would be a bad day to visit the tip, as everyone would be doing exactly the same thing. Best go on Tuesday, when everybody is back at work, and it’ll be nice and quiet.
Pat on the back, and off to the pub.
Flawed logic, as it turned out. I’d failed to factor in that it was school holidays, and vast numbers of people would be taking time off from work.
Those same vast numbers who had decided to do a spot of spring cleaning.
Those same who’d also assumed, just like me, that Tuesday would be a better day to visit the tip.
Cole Green Tip was unusually quiet as I approached along the A414, my car overflowing with waste, carefully sorted into paper, glass, hard plastic etc. etc. Great, I thought to myself, I’ve beaten the masses!
Incorrect!! I’d forgotten that Cole Green Tip is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
So I turned around and drove up the A414 to the Ware tip.
I didn’t get within a half a mile of it, as that was where the queue of the like-minded “Tippers” ended. Next on the list, Stevenage tip. Same story.
It would seem that everyone had applied my logic to the problem; I’d have been better off going on the Monday after all. I turned around and returned home, two hours wasted, and the car still fully laden with junk.
I finally managed to dispose of it on Wednesday afternoon, presumably after those who’d camped out overnight with their car loads of rubbish had finally unloaded it into the skips.
So, let’s make sure you don’t make the same mistake as me. And to help you along, here are the opening times for your local (and slightly not so local) Household Waste Recycling Centre (“Tip” to you and me):
Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Summer 1st April – 30th September: 10am – 6pm
Winter 1st October – 31st March: 10am – 4pm
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
Summer: 10am - 6pm, Winter: 8am - 4pm
Open Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
All year 10am - 6pm
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
All year 10am - 6pm. Saturdays (Summer only) 8am - 6pm
Good luck on your next visit!
