Fear recycling centre loss could lead to fly-tipping

A man campaigning to save his local recycling centre has claimed if it closes it will lead to more fly-tipping.

Drew Thompson, from Castle Cary, organised a petition signed by more than 1,600 people who want to protect the Dimmer Recycling Centre near the town.

Somerset Council is looking to cut nearly £1m from spending on waste over the next two years.

In January, it said five sites at Williton, Dulverton, Cheddar, Dimmer and Crewkerne could close but has more recently said it has not yet decided where to make the savings.

Residents and parish councillors have now warned any reduction in service could lead to more fly-tipping in rural areas, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 

Speaking at the meeting where Somerset Council set its budget on 20 February, Mr Thompson said making people travel further to recycle their waste would lead to problems.

"We believe that the closure will increase fly-tipping in our beautiful Somerset countryside," he said.

“Residents from those areas where site closures occur would need to travel further to their nearest operational site, would likely encounter longer queues to enter the sites caused by the condensing of the site network and may choose to fly-tip as a result of either the further commute or access congestion."

Another speaker was councillor Christine Daubney, chair of Dulverton Parish Council.

She said if all the users of their local recycling centre travelled to the next nearest one at Minehead, it would equate to around 250,000 miles of car journeys each year.

In response, Dixie Darch, the council's lead member for environment, told the meeting commercial negotiations with the council's recycling centre contractor were "reaching a critical stage" and could see alternative ways of saving the money come forward.

She said until negotiations are complete she could not "rule in or rule out" closing centres, but if final proposals include the closure of sites there would be a further public consultation before a final decision.

Regarding the risk of fly-tipping, she added: “Experience shows householders rarely fly-tip. It tends to be rogue traders trying to avoid commercial charges, for them the proximity of a recycling site makes no difference.

“If we reach the stage of closing any site, this would be well advertised and alternatives publicised, along with the consequences of fly-tipping."