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Bruce Grove Tottenham on Saturday 22 March 2008, 4:58 pm. Dumped: four mattresses; a bed-base; some carpet; a box; and a plastic rubbish bag.

Like High Road, Tottenham, Bruce Grove has Timed Rubbish Collections. The sign on the lamppost said: "Timed Rubbish Collections. Every morning 9am to 10 am. Evenings 10pm to Midnight".

This system can work well - especially for shopping streets, with flats and rooms above and nowhere outside for waste bins. But in an area like Tottenham with high population mobility and huge numbers of people in temporary housing, it's essential to communicate continually with local residents and traders.

A vital task is to inform and engage people so they understand how the local systems work and their own responsibilities.

And it also means developing good links with landlords, and the housing agencies - public and private - which place people. Owners and agencies must be clear about their obligations: to maintain their properties; properly engage with their tenants; and accept some social accountability to the wider community.

At the time, Haringey Urban Environment Department was plainly hopeless at doing this effectively.

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