Kerbside recycling plea as Shropshire 'bring banks' axed

Receptacles at the sites will start to be removed from the middle of May following the decision to close the service.

But residents are being reminded that the vast majority of materials currently collected at those sites can be recycled as part of the fortnightly kerbside collection.

They can also be taken to one of five Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) across the county – in Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Whitchurch and Craven Arms.

Residents who need advice on what can be left at the kerbside or taken to the HRCs can find out more information by referring to their annual collection calendar or online at shropshire.gov.uk/recycling-and-rubbish, where they can also find information on requesting new or additional recycling and waste containers. Shropshire residents can also call the customer service hotline on 0345 678 9007.

Tim Walters, communications manager for Veolia, Shropshire Council’s recycling and waste partner, said: “This is a great opportunity for residents to re-examine their recycling and to make full use of the kerbside service that we offer.

“Shropshire has an excellent record on recycling, this is an opportunity to further improve our figures.”

Fly-tipping

Currently, there are around 120 bring bank sites across the county. They are typically located in public, village hall and pub car parks.

It is hoped that the move to close them will help reduce fly-tipping and littering at the sites, and increase availability of car parking spaces.

Mr Walters added: “In recent years the quality of material collected from these sites has been low, due to non-recyclable contaminants being deposited in the banks. Each bank is clearly labelled with the waste stream it is designed to accept, but other materials have frequently been deposited into the banks, including general mixed waste.

“The sites were provided for household use but have been increasingly abused by traders who should be dealing with their waste through formal contracts with licensed waste collection companies, rather than relying on council tax payers to provide a service.

“We would urge residents, who used the bring sites, to look to use our kerbside collection service for their recycling where possible.”

The decision to remove the bring bank sites followed a public consultation. The move will save Shropshire Council in the region of £230,000 a year. No jobs will be lost as a result of the decision.