Environmental wardens’ award beggars belief

Apr 2 2009 by Our Correspondent, West Lothian Courier

I WAS astonished to read in a recent edition of the Courier that the council’s environmental wardens had apparently won a top award.

I visited the council’s website and sure enough it was true.

One phrase in the story, which jumped out and caught me right between the eyes being “tremendous achievement”.

Was it possible I thought that these wardens had actually managed to raise more from fines than it costs to employ them? Alas no, what they had actually achieved was to recruit 3000 pupils and 500 adults who between them had collected over 1000 bags of litter. Or about one bag of litter for every three and a half people taking part.

Given that the adults present should have been capable of more than the children, that probably equates to about one bag of litter for every two adults.

Given that there are 22 environmental wardens employed, is it possible that they themselves collected a number of bags of litter at least into double figures or is it possible that they were just present to stand and watch and point where necessary. And of course be paid for doing so.

I’ve often seen these wardens as they drive around on patrol. They look so self-important that | cannot believe that they would dirty their hands or rubber gloves picking up litter.

I actually live quite close to where they are based, in Waverley Street, Bathgate and can easily observe them as they come and go during the day.

In these troubled times, with people living in fear of losing their jobs and their homes and with money saved in the bank effectively losing its value with every passing day, might I suggest to anyone who would like a bit of a laugh, that they access the West Lothian Council website and check out what it has to say about environmental wardens.

First up the site asks “what is red and black and very very green?” Aye right, that must be the environmental wardens, whose job largely appears to involve driving around the area generating greenhosue gas. It also goes on to describe them as “hard working”. Well if what I’ve seen is hard work, I’ll bet all those unemployed and disabled people whom the government have decided are going to have to work for their benefits, will be hoping that they are given similarly hard work.

The website reveals that environmental wardens patrol from 8am until 8pm seven days a week. Clearly it’s better to wait until later to go fly-tipping.

Actually they may be at their base at 8am but it can be two hours later before they hit the road for some allegedly hard work.

Around midday they return to base presumably for a meal break before returning to wherever they are patrolling, perhaps having generated 20 miles worth of greenhouse gas in the process.

Would it not be greener just to set out in the morning with sandwiches and a flask of tea as millions of less privileged workers have to do? Around 2.30pm they can often be seen back at base having a smoke whilst they wait for their shift to end.

A continental market was held in Bathgate the other week. A good place for the wardens to be on patrol with the possibility that someone might carelessly discard the wrapping from a purchase.

But no, I actually saw them patrolling an otherwise deserted road near the Five Sister’s Bings at Westwood. Perhaps it was deemed just too cold to be walking the streets or perhaps with their recent award for tremendous achievement they had decided just to have a nice drive in the countryside.

The employment of these wardens illustrates just how insulated the public sector is from the woes affecting those outside of it.

It is able to operate year in and year out running at a loss which would be catastrophic for any normal business, and yet can claim to have achieved something tremendous.

I would suggest that the award is actually as worthless as those that are given to unemployed people simply for turning up at courses.

The council publishes adverts telling how important our council tax is and gives carefully selected examples of just what it helps pay for.

I expect that given the cost of employing environmental wardens in comparison to the income raised in fines, they won’t be an example given in the foreseeable future.

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