Call for ‘common sense’ after man told he can’t use council waste site

A DUNDEE man has said he is being “pushed” into dumping household waste after being told he cannot use a council skip site – because he was planning on using a relative’s van that is registered in Angus.

Garry Anderson, who lives on Clepington Road, is refurbishing his kitchen and was intending to take the waste to the city’s Baldovie Recycling Centre.

He applied for a permit from Dundee City Council, which introduced the policy to prevent people and businesses from outside the city using its skips.

However, the 61-year old was shocked when his application was knocked back because he was going to use his son-inl a w’s v a n , whi c h is registered in Arbroath.

He said: “When I asked what I can do about it, I was told I could hire a van to take the stuff. But what’s the point in that? A hire van could be registered anywhere.

“I’m trying to do the right thing and they just put up another hurdle. There is no common sense in that.

“The waste is sitting in my driveway now. I t ’s pushing me to drive up a country road and dump it there – I won’t do that, of course, but I think this policy will lead to a rise in fly-tipping.

“It should be the resident’s address that is important, not where the vehicle is registered..”

Labour councillor Richard McCready called for common sense to be employed i n situations such as Mr Anderson’s.

He said: “While I generally support t he council’s policy, I think we have a responsibility to do all we can to make sure that waste is disposed of in the right way.

“It seems to me there are ways of doing this with a little bit of common sense rather than sticking to the letter of the policy.”

A Dundee City Council spokeswoman said: “The use of the household waste recycling centre is permitted to residents of Dundee City Council area only.

“To obtain a household waste recycling centre permit, the vehicle must be registered and insured in the applicant’s name. For more information please see our website.

“We would ask this individual to contact the council directly on 01382 432786.”