3,000 sign petition to save tip
OBJECTORS FEAR RISE IN FLY-TIPPING IF CENTRE IS SHUT DOWN
THE battle to save a “vital” Newcastle tip from closure will make its way into the city’s corridors of power today.
The Brunswick Household Waste and Recycling Centre is earmarked for closure under Newcastle City Council’s plans to slash £60m from its budget by 2022.
But more than 3,000 people have backed a petition to keep the site open, amid fears that shutting it down could cause a massive spike in fly-tipping and that the remaining tips in Byker and Walbottle would not be able to cope with rising demand.
Opponents will now present their objections to local authority bosses at a full council meeting this evening, where they will be debated by councillors.
The local authority says that the future of the recycling centre remains “subject to further review”.
Save Newcastle Wildlife’s Rachel Locke, who launched the change. org petition, said: “I cannot understand how it could possibly close in view of the exponential growth across the city. The tip is always busy and, if you take into account that Newcastle is one of the fastest growing cities in the UK, it will only get busier.
“We are already in the midst of unprecedented levels of traffic congestion as a result of all the new houses on the outskirts of the city. If the tip closes in Brunswick, more people will be forced to drive further to recycle their waste.
“This centre provides a vital service, that we, as taxpayers, should not be denied. Perhaps a warning comes from Cardiff, where the council closed one of its three recycling centres in March last year, despite concerns the closure would lead to more fly-tipping.
“Needless to say, fly-tipping incidents shot up around the area following the closure and the council is now looking to reopen a new centre.”
The tip, which the council says gets around 30% of the 475,000 annual visitors to the city’s three recycling centres, is expected to shut in the 2021/21 financial year.
It had been set to close in 2017/18, but has been kept open through the use of extra income the council has generated through increased garden waste collection charges.
The council has also mooted the possibility of creating a “super” recycling centre in the city, but no such plans form part of the budget proposals being voted on this week.
Ms Locke added: “My concern is that a super recycling centre is a pie in the sky idea that would not come to fruition. And how would such a centre be funded by a council with no money? Newcastle City Council committed to become a world leader in waste reduction, with recycling centres playing a big part in reducing waste. Why then undermine this ambition by closing one of three recycling centres in the city?
“The council needs to focus more on income-generating initiatives to provide the services the city needs, as well as changing attitudes towards waste and littering.”
Coun Nick Kemp, cabinet member for environment said: “Newcastle City Council needs to save £60m over the next three years which means making some difficult decisions affecting all our services. We know recycling centres are vitally important to our residents, and how we dispose of waste in the city, which is why we have continually looked at ways to fund this centre and we will continue to do so.
“The Brunswick centre was planned to close last year, but we looked at ways to protect this service – including developing money-saving disposal methods and generating income to keep the centre open.
“There are no immediate plans to close Brunswick – the proposed closure is set out in the budget consultation documents for March 2020 and will be subject to further review.
“Recycling centres are a key part of our services to tackle waste more effectively and efficiently in the city.
“This includes minimising waste, and increasing re-use and recycling, launching a city-wide campaign to tackle littering and fly-tipping, working with communities to improve their neighbourhoods as well as greater enforcement and monitoring to ensure waste is disposed of properly”.