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Talking Rubbish column: 3rd April
Last week I took a load of cardboard I had been hoarding for ages down to my local mini recycling site.
When I got there I saw other people had also taken the trouble to take their waste there - unfortunately they weren't intending for it to be recycled.
There were half a dozen black rubbish bags. A fox had got in to one of them and spilled its contents. It showed that this was regular household rubbish.
I went past the next day and found that the sprawling row of bags had been joined by a broken bike and a box of empty beer bottles. One thoughtless act had encouraged another and now this green space on the edge of my community was an eyesore.
There are hundreds of recycling bring sites across Wiltshire which are invaluable in helping householders recycle. They're situated in convenient spots, are easy to use and it saves on car miles because you don't need to drive all the way to a household recycling centre.
This also means they are very attractive to people who can't be bothered to dispose of their rubbish responsibly or legally. That might be traders, a minority of whom find it convenient not to follow the law but dump their waste at these sites. Even leaving your recyclables alongside a recycling bin - rather than putting them inside - is officially flytipping.
The Environment Agency estimates that there are approximately 50,000 incidents of fly-tipping each year at a cost of between £100 and £150 million to clean up.
And that cost is borne by council tax-payers.
Looking at the mess around my local bring site what struck me was how much could have been recycled. The metal frame of the bike and the glass beer bottles were all resources that could be reclaimed. There was also some paper, a car battery, some half empty paint tins and broken pieces of wood.
All these could have been taken to the household recycling centre just 20 minutes away. If the district council traces the owner he or she could face a fine running into thousands of pounds.
The misuse of bring sites by householders or traders affects us all and, in the worst cases, could lead to them being removed.
If you spot any fly-tipping then please contact your district council or ring the Environment Agency's hotline number on 0800 807060.
This column is written on behalf of the Wiltshire Waste Partnership - consisting of county and district councils working to tackle waste in Wiltshire. We also work with contractors Hills Waste Solutions and in partnership with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Email us at wastemanagement@wiltshire.gov.uk or log onto our website at www.recycleforwiltshire.com.
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