Closure of recycling facility at Sheffield supermarket due to fly-tipping is postponed after outcry

The closure of a recycling facility at a Sheffield supermarket – blamed on ‘persistent fly-tipping’ has being postponed after residents and councillors called for a rethink in the Telegraph.
More objections to Waitrose's proposal to develop an 'e-Commerce depot'.More objections to Waitrose's proposal to develop an 'e-Commerce depot'.
More objections to Waitrose's proposal to develop an 'e-Commerce depot'.

Waitrose on Ecclesall Road hosts a well used recycling facility, run by Sheffield Council with contractor Veolia providing the maintenance, and is thought to be one of the few places where Tetra Pak plastics can be recycled in the city.

Last week a formal removal notice was placed there, saying it would close permanently from Sunday June 20.

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It read: "Due to persistent fly tipping this site has been identified as not achieving the required level of service to ensure its safe operation.”

Shoppers who use the site said closing it down was punishing those who use it properly because of a minority who do not.

One shopper said online: “I use this a lot, fly tipping from local cheap takeaways constantly, why not put cameras up and punish the culprits instead of punishing the masses, as usual!”

And another added: “This is not good news. For one thing, it's the only place in Sheffield where people can take Tetrapaks (I believe).”

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The news also came after figures obtained by the Sheffield Telegraph last week showed the scale of fly tipping across Sheffield – with the equivalent of 33 incidents recorded every day.

Shoppers also said several recycling sites in the city have closed due to problems with fly-tipping.

Several Sheffield councillors called for the decision to be reversed or rethought.

“The recycling point is heavily used by customers and local residents, the vast majority of whom use it tidily”, said Coun Peter Garbutt and Coun Maroof Raouf, who represent Nether Edge and Sharrow, in a letter.

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Waitrose, which provides a space to run the facility, said on Friday that the safety of customers was ‘paramount’ and after a series of incidents of misuse and fly tipping the recycling bins had been removed.

However the retailer contacted the Telegraph today to say the closure was now postponed.

A spokesman added: “We have agreed to keep the site open for a couple more weeks on the understanding that significant changes are made and will review this on an ongoing basis.”

The changes will be implemented by Veolia and the council, which maintain and run the site.

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A Veolia spokesman added: “Veolia is committed to providing Sheffield with the best possible recycling service and offers a wide range of facilities across the city for residents to dispose of excess recycling and waste.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there has been a significant increase in the use of local recycling sites, and we recognise the importance of keeping these available to residents. To meet the demand, collections at recycling sites have been increased to six days per week, and as a temporary measure some severely impacted sites, including Waitrose, are receiving a seven day collection.

"We have also added extra containers at Waitrose and other locations to provide additional capacity for residents. It is important that these containers are used for the correct materials by residents only and that businesses make proper arrangements for the disposal of their waste. “We’ll continue working with Waitrose to monitor use of the site.”