Action taken on recycling site dumping
Wealden District Council has taken to task a Wealden resident who dumped cardboard at a recycling bring site.
A Wealden Street Scene officer noticed a large box full of cardboard had been dumped at the Croft Road recycling bring site in Crowborough. This site does not take cardboard. Cardboard should have been taken to the Household Waste Recycling Site at Farningham Road, Crowborough.
The officer was able to trace it back to the home of a Wealden resident who admitted leaving the cardboard. She agreed to pay a £75 fixed penalty notice fine rather than be summoned to court where fines of up to £2,500 could be ordered.
“We do want to encourage residents to use our recycling sites, particularly where they do not enjoy the benefits of a full CROWN kerb-side collection. But the recycling sites should be used properly. They are not dumping grounds for any unwanted material,” said Councillor Sylvia Tidy, Cabinet member for Community Development. “We know only too well that once something is illegally dumped at a recycling point, it immediately attracts more dumping, leaving a useful community facility looking like an eyesore.”
To help maximise what we can recycle, residents are asked to squash plastic bottles, cans and beverage cartons before placing them in the banks and to check each bank for available space. Any recyclables left on the floor when the banks are full, are likely to be landfilled.
For further details on what can be recycled at each site can be found on the Wealden website . Or contact Waste Management on 01892 602626. Please note that at present plastic bottles can be recycled at some of the sites, however no other types of plastic packaging can be recycled in Wealden. Recycling sites are frequently visited by the Wealden’s refuse and recycling teams and Street Scene officers.
Every Wealden resident produces, on average 315 kgs of household waste a year, according to the latest figures from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Last year Wealden recycled or composted 30.3 per cent of this waste, which was the highest recycling figure in East Sussex. However national recycling levels continue to improve. The national recycling rate for England increased last year from 27 per cent to 31 per cent
