Opinion: Why the plan to close tips is rubbish

In March 2020, I organised an emergency meeting of Ashfield District Council to discuss measures to prepare Ashfield District Council’s response to the emerging threat from COVID-19.

It was at this meeting that I pledged that we would work as hard as possible to maintain a full bin collection service for however long the pandemic lasted. That’s why for the duration of the pandemic, Ashfield District Council was the ONLY Council in the whole of Nottinghamshire to maintain a full bin collection service.

The same commitment couldn’t be made by Conservative run Nottinghamshire County Council. They couldn’t wait to shut our recycling centres across Nottinghamshire. What we saw as a result was a huge rise in fly-tipping. In response, Ashfield District Council actually enhanced its waste collections. We arranged for additional waste collections including flying skips, collected extra bags of waste and rolled out free bulky waste services.

Under my Leadership of Ashfield District Council, we have shown that we are serious about continuing the war on waste. Prosecutions for fly tipping have risen dramatically as we continue to restore pride back into our communities.

That’s why news that Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council are planning to axe smaller recycling centres like the ones in Hucknall, Giltbrook and Kirkby is a major concern. Independent Council Colleagues across towns like Beeston, Eastwood, Hucknall and Kirkby agree. By axing our smaller tips, the County Council are giving the green light to fly-tippers.

That’s why, Independent Councillors across the County have join forces and have launched a petition against the closure of our smaller recycling centres. The petition is already gaining significant support across Nottinghamshire.

Conservative and Labour Councillors have already voted to start the process of closing our smaller recycling centres – its aim? To save money.

Talk about going against public opinion! – residents can sign our petition here

Let me be very clear – that we will not stand to one side and let the big parties close our tips. They are too important and creating these ‘super sites’ could put an hour onto your journey to get rid of excess waste.