New bid to reopen recycling sites
Council chiefs are coming under increasing pressure to open recycling tips in Renfrewshire, as two more elected members have called for restrictions to be lifted.
Fears of a spike in fly-tipping incidents have led residents and councillors to push for people to be allowed into the region’s five household waste recycling centres (HWRCs).
Conservative councillor Alistair Mackay recently suggested tips in Linwood and Paisley - which have a separate entrance and exit - would lend themselves to social distancing and asked for them to be reopened.
Meanwhile, the suggestion of an appointment system being introduced to allow people to get rid of their bulk waste safely has been offered up by Independent councillor Andy Doig.
And now two more Labour elected members - Derek Bibby and Alison Dowling - have added their voices to the debate, meaning bosses are now facing calls from almost every party to let people into tips.
However, the local authority says it is continuing to follow national guidance in keeping amenity sites closed for the foreseeable future.
Councillor Bibby, right, who represents Johnstone North and surrounding villages, said if B&Q could open its stores, then he feels there is no reason why recycling centres should remain closed.
The DIY firm opened 155 of its UK stores at the end of last month with social distancing controls in place, such as capping the number of customers in-store.
Councillor Bibby said: “Over the last seven weeks I have had constituents and community groups in Johnstone, Kilbarchan and Howwood contact me regarding fly- tipping which is increasing by the day and, for which, there is absolutely no excuse.
“I call upon those responsible to stop it.
“Despite the calls for the recycling centres to be reopened, I initially agreed with the council’s position.
“The decision by B& Q to reopen its stores has led me to change that view. If the criterion is good enough for B&Q to operate, and the council considers this to be acceptable, then it’s good enough for the recycling centres to re-open with safety measures in place.”
Initially, attempts were made to keep tips at Paisley and Linwood open, but due to a struggle to maintain social distancing, the local authority was forced to close them alongside sites in Renfrew, Johnstone and Erskine.
Council bosses have said discussions are being held with the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Au t h o r i t i e s [COSLA] about how amenity sites can reopen safely.
Councillor Dowling said special uplifts of bins - which were pulled in a bid to keep other collections going - should also be re-introduced.
“Until recently, I fully supported changes to waste services,” she said.
“However, we are now at the stage that it’s looking likely we will be taking preventative measures for some time. It’s not sustainable to keep special uplifts and the recycling centres closed indefinitely.
“We have had to prioritise our resources on weekly bin uplifts. But, life goes on. Constituents will not be able to avoid generating waste if their washing machine needs replacing, for example.”
A council spokesman said: “We continue to follow the national guidance on the reopening of recycling centres and a working group between Scottish Government and local authorities continues to examine how and when these centres can be reopened safely.
“Fly- tipping is illegal and should not take place at any time, even if our recycling centres are closed. It damages our local environment, uses the valuable time of our teams in the wrong manner and we would ask everyone to report any instances to us via 0300 300 0300 or online via our website.
“Our collection teams are still maintaining a full collection service at this time, so we would encourage people to reduce any excess waste by recycling as much as possible and using all of their bins correctly.
“We thank residents for their patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
It’s not sustainable to keep special uplifts and the recycling centres closed indefinitely