Westbrook resident Jordan Cross was so furious that his recycling bin had not been emptied, he says for THREE MONTHS, that today (July 16) he hauled it to Thanet council offices and dumped it there.
The 24-year-old, who says he moved to Thanet from Slough in 2017 with his partner “for a better life,” became so incensed at finding the bin still full to the brim after collections that he dragged it from his home, along Margate seafront and to the offices in Cecil Street before declaring he was “starting a revolution” and leaving it at the base of the council’s steps.
The entire encounter was live streamed on facebook and has had more than 2,000 views in three hours.
WARNING: Swear words contained in this video
Jordan said: “If they (Thanet council) can’t be bothered to collect it then they can have it. We have had enough, the people of Thanet are rising up!”
Demanding to know what he was paying his council tax for, Jordan also berated the authority for closing the clocktower public toilets, adding that the public was “left, ignored, forgotten.”
As he dragged the bin along the seafront he urged people to not just write on facebook but to ‘take action.”
He added: “The bottles in the bin come from the two air B&Bs next to us, they aren’t even ours.”
Dumping the bin Jordan told council security he would be back, with more bins!
He even vowed to video viewers to collect the bins of other irate residents and deliver them to the council steps.
He added: “Get out there on the streets and make yourself known. Do your part, put yourself on the frontline and get results. Nothing happens by crying on facebook.”
And, in the spirit of taking action Jordan’s adventure did not end there. After leaving the council offices he went to Athelstan Road and released a seagull that has been trapped in vacant 36 Athelstan Road.
The gull was the third to get stuck inside the building, which has an Emergency Prohibition Order. Athelstan Road Tenants & Residents Association had informed both the RSPCA and TDC who helped coordinate the necessary consent for the RSPCA to access the building the first time when the two gulls were stuck. This process took more than a week.
However, there is now no need to wait for a second rescue as Jordan decided to free the bird before he went home!
He said: “I was never an activist or protester before coming to Thanet but now I am a member of Extinction Rebellion and Thanet Trees. It is time to take action.”
A Thanet council spokesperson said: “We’re doing all we can to resolve this issue and have attempted to contact the resident directly to investigate the circumstances around his missed collections.”
