Ungreen implications of the Clean Neighbourhoods Act August 3, 2007

I’ve just been contacted by my local council to warn me that I should be liable to a fine of £75 per poster (I put up loads over 3 months) for advertising a local no-profit power party event. I had no idea, and I’m sure nobody in my community had any idea, that it is now illegal to put a little poster on a tree. Our community thrives on using trees as noticeboards. I was feeling a bit miffed when I started to notice that as soon as I’d put up a poster, it would get taken down. I’d assumed somebody was being antisocial. But it was the council workers, who clearly had nothing better to do than to sabotage our event. When the council rang me, they suggested a less offensive mode of publicity would be to flier every house. Now, most people I know get annoyed at the endless shower of pizza leaflets through their doors. It’s much greener to put up a poster on one tree in every road. One positive outcome of the conversation with the man from the council is that he agreed to put up a community noticeboard.