Recycling centre closes after repeated fly-tipping

Zac Sherratt
BBC News, South East
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council A pile of green and black rubbish bagsReigate & Banstead Borough Council
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council says fly-tipping at Stubbs Lane has potential to contaminate recyclable items

A recycling centre in Surrey will permanently close because of ongoing fly-tipping problems, a council has said.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council said it had been trying to reduce fly-tipping at the site in Stubbs Lane, Kingswood, with fixed-penalty notices and signs introduced last year warning that the site could close if problems continued.

But the authority now says it will be closing the facility on Monday to prevent non-recyclable items contaminating rubbish which can be recycled.

The council said it would continue to monitor the Stubbs Lane site after its closure to deter any future fly-tipping.

Hannah Avery, the council's executive member for neighbourhood services, said: "We're grateful to the many residents who do the right thing when recycling their waste.

"Unfortunately, fly tipping at our recycling sites, which can contaminate this recycling, undermines the efforts of the responsible majority."

She said: "I want it to be easy for residents to recycle as much as they can, so am really pleased that all households in the area local to Stubbs Lane can now use our full collection service and are able to recycle all the materials collected at Stubbs Lane, with the exception of textiles, from home."

Residents with additional recycling can use the council's other sites in the borough or the community recycling centres operated by Surrey County Council.

Fly-tipping can lead to a £400 fixed penalty notice and anyone who witnesses it is asked to report it to the council.

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