Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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It takes a lot to make me cross, but sat in a long queue of cars with a boot-full of garden waste needing to be dumped at my local civic amenity tip, is not a way I like to spend a hot sunny day. I’d not expected it to be busy either, since it was late morning, mid-week… most people would have been at work.
The hold-up was partly caused because of the stringent checks made by the ‘gate-man’ to ensure we were indeed locals and that we were not dumping waste that we shouldn’t be. I can recall thinking that I’d had an easier time getting into some of the old Eastern bloc countries before Perestroika… It turned out that as well as the checks, he was handing out leaflets about a public consultation on reducing the tip’s opening hours.
The idea is, that the tip is shut completely for two days a week and that opening hours are further reduced. Other, smaller Surrey tips are earmarked for closure, meaning more people than ever, are going to be trying to dump waste at my local tip, which is to have its open hours drastically cut.
It used to be open until 20:00 in Summer. It was open every day apart from Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. Now it shuts at 16:00. Who amongst us (who doesn’t work from home) can join the queue that early in the day?
So – more traffic travelling further across the county, polluting our environment, and more time spent by residents sitting in queues, hoping they’ll get to the front before the gates are shut. Oh yes – and more illegal dumping, blighting our countryside.
And this is happening all over the country, as councils try to reduce costs…
I spoke to one of the workers inside the dump who said everyone was worried for their jobs. Yes, there was a likelihood that they’d be redeployed but no-one was sure and many were sick with worry.
As usually happens, I lost the leaflet explaining the changes and with it the web address I need to visit to be able to comment on the proposals, but thought I’d be able to easily find the consultation on the council’s website.
OK, I’ve only spent a few minutes looking for it but I’m yet to uncover it. I wonder why?
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Yours,
13th July 2017