Council says recyclers should not fear tip changes

Leaders say Nottinghamshire residents should have “no fear” recycling services will worsen with the introduction of new "supersites".

At a meeting on Wednesday, the county council's cabinet agreed to move forward with consolidating congested household waste recycling centres into larger "supersites".

The Conservative-led council has promised sites which are no longer fit for purpose will only be closed once better alternatives are in place.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said no new sites have yet been named, nor have any specific closures been confirmed by the council.

Environment portfolio holder Councillor Neil Clarke agreed to implement the recommended changes, which had been drawn up by a cross-party task group.

“The sites need to be fit for the future – there must be improvement to the service", said Mr Clarke.

“Residents should have no fear there will be a reduction in service.

"No centre would close unless and until there is an improved alternative open and available.”

The council also promised "large scale engagement" with residents and other councils would take place before any detailed changes are confirmed.

Out of the 12 tip sites run by Nottinghamshire County Council, LDRS said there has been no mention of how many could close, and how many "supersites" could replace them.

The cross-party review said the new supersites would be easier to use, save £1.7m a year and still leave 97% of residents within a 20-minute drive of a centre.

At a full council meeting on 18 July, a motion was passed to urge leaders to give careful consideration to how far residents would have to travel to new centres.

Conservative councillor Keith Girling said: “When the centre first moved to Newark, many people were dead against the move, saying there would be rats and congestion.

“Now it’s an exemplar of what we want.”

Council leader Ben Bradley said: “The task group saw for themselves the difference between the gold standard at Newark versus queues and congestion at other smaller places.

“We have to get everywhere up to that gold standard, not leave them on bronze.”

LDRS said the council will now investigate how to deliver the promised changes.

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