Householders with vans could be given access to West Lothian's recycling centres
Householders with vans could soon be given access to West Lothian's recycling centres .
The head of Operational Services said he was prepared to consider 'tweaks' to rules which have so far barred those who drive vans or towing trailers to the five recycling centres.
But he stressed that trade waste remained banned from the sites and must go to commercial sites.
The council's Governance and Risk Committee heard that the perception of fly-tipping was that it was growing, and one councillor said she believed it was.
Pauline Orr the SNP member for Linlithgow said: 'The public perception out there is still very much that fly tipping is on the increase. It's certainly something I'm aware of as I travel from Linlithgow to Livingston, there's an increase on the back roads.'
David Maule, Head of Operational Services, which includes waste services acknowledged fly-tipping was 'certainly still an issue', but he stressed that fly-tipping largely was of commercial nature and featured large amounts of waste.
He added: 'There is a public perception that it is a growing problem. From a council land point of view statistics don't show that it's increasing. What we are most concerned about is the types of material found fly tipped.
'The majority of fly-tipping is of a commercial nature. We are very concerned when we see materials like asbestos at the side of the road or in fields.
'We work very hard to trace fly-tippers. When we find evidence we will take them to Fixed Penalty Notice or to prosecution.'
Councillor Orr added: 'I've also had a number of complaints about the inability of commercial operators and of people who may just changed their bathroom or kitchen themselves but cannot get access to council recycling centres [in vans or with trailers]. If we could make space available there would be less that gets dumped.'
Mr Maule replied: 'The first point to make is around commercial waste. There are lots of commercial operations that will deal with commercial waste. In terms of households there are five sites operating and there is a booking system. You may not get your first preference, but you will get a booking.
'We are happy to look at any tweaks we can make, particularly looking at households who have vans or trailers to give them a bit more opportunity to use the sites.'
That was welcomed by Councillor Orr and committee chair Councillor Damian Doran-Timson
Councillor Orr said 'Just so we are clear. Commercial vehicles should not be coming to CRC sites even in unmarked vans. Where is that they need to off load their rubbish?'
Mr Maule agreed and replied: 'There are any number of private waste disposal companies that operate up and down the land.'
A full list of what can and cannot be disposed of at CRC sites in available of the council's website.
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
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Edinburgh Reporter
5 hours ago
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Householders with vans could be given access to West Lothian's recycling centres
Householders with vans could soon be given access to West Lothian's recycling centres . The head of Operational Services said he was prepared to consider 'tweaks' to rules which have so far barred those who drive vans or towing trailers to the five recycling centres. But he stressed that trade waste remained banned from the sites and must go to commercial sites. The council's Governance and Risk Committee heard that the perception of fly-tipping was that it was growing, and one councillor said she believed it was. Pauline Orr the SNP member for Linlithgow said: 'The public perception out there is still very much that fly tipping is on the increase. It's certainly something I'm aware of as I travel from Linlithgow to Livingston, there's an increase on the back roads.' David Maule, Head of Operational Services, which includes waste services acknowledged fly-tipping was 'certainly still an issue', but he stressed that fly-tipping largely was of commercial nature and featured large amounts of waste. He added: 'There is a public perception that it is a growing problem. From a council land point of view statistics don't show that it's increasing. What we are most concerned about is the types of material found fly tipped. 'The majority of fly-tipping is of a commercial nature. We are very concerned when we see materials like asbestos at the side of the road or in fields. 'We work very hard to trace fly-tippers. When we find evidence we will take them to Fixed Penalty Notice or to prosecution.' Councillor Orr added: 'I've also had a number of complaints about the inability of commercial operators and of people who may just changed their bathroom or kitchen themselves but cannot get access to council recycling centres [in vans or with trailers]. If we could make space available there would be less that gets dumped.' Mr Maule replied: 'The first point to make is around commercial waste. There are lots of commercial operations that will deal with commercial waste. In terms of households there are five sites operating and there is a booking system. You may not get your first preference, but you will get a booking. 'We are happy to look at any tweaks we can make, particularly looking at households who have vans or trailers to give them a bit more opportunity to use the sites.' That was welcomed by Councillor Orr and committee chair Councillor Damian Doran-Timson Councillor Orr said 'Just so we are clear. Commercial vehicles should not be coming to CRC sites even in unmarked vans. Where is that they need to off load their rubbish?' Mr Maule agreed and replied: 'There are any number of private waste disposal companies that operate up and down the land.' A full list of what can and cannot be disposed of at CRC sites in available of the council's website. By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
8 hours ago
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West Lothian considers relaxing rules on access for vans at recycling centres
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Householders with vans could soon be given access to West Lothian's recycling centres . The head of Operational Services said he was prepared to consider 'tweaks' to rules which have so far barred those who drive vans or towing trailers to the five recycling centres. But he stressed that trade waste remained banned from the sites and must go to commercial sites. The council's Governance and Risk Committee heard that the perception of fly-tipping was that it was growing, and one councillor said she believed it was . Pauline Orr the SNP member for Linlithgow said: 'The public perception out there is still very much that fly-tipping is on the increase. It's certainly something I'm aware of as I travel from Linlithgow to Livingston, there's an increase on the back roads.' David Maule, Head of Operational Services, which includes waste services acknowledged fly-tipping was 'certainly still an issue', but he stressed that fly-tipping largely was of commercial nature and featured large amounts of waste. He added: 'There is a public perception that it is a growing problem. From a council land point of view statistics don't show that it's increasing. What we are most concerned about is the types of material found fly-tipped. "The majority of fly-tipping is of a commercial nature. We are very concerned when we see materials like asbestos at the side of the road or in fields. "We work very hard to trace fly-tippers. When we find evidence we will take them to Fixed Penalty Notice or to prosecution.' Councillor Orr added: "I've also had a number of complaints about the inability of commercial operators and of people who may just changed their bathroom or kitchen themselves but cannot get access to council recycling centres [in vans or with trailers] . If we could make space available there would be less that gets dumped.' Mr Maule replied: 'The first point to make is around commercial waste. There are lots of commercial operations that will deal with commercial waste. In terms of households there are five sites operating and there is a booking system. You may not get your first preference, but you will get a booking. 'We are happy to look at any tweaks we can make, particularly looking at households who have vans or trailers to give them a bit more opportunity to use the sites.' That was welcomed by Councillor Orr and committee chair Councillor Damian Doran-Timson Councillor Orr said 'Just so we are clear. Commercial vehicles should not be coming to CRC sites even in unmarked vans. Where is that they need to off load their rubbish?" Mr Maule agreed and replied: 'There are any number of private waste disposal companies that operate up and down the land.' A full list of what can and cannot be disposed of at CRC sites in available of the council's website.
Edinburgh Reporter
a day ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Call for end to booking rubbish recycling slots in West Lothian
The need for resident to book time slots to visit West Lothian recycling sites has been questioned by a local councillor. A booking system was introduced during the Covid pandemic for reasons of social distancing. The council's Executive decided two years ago to introduce a full-time booking system for the sites to coincide with the reduced hours at the recycling centres. Broxburn's SNP councillor Mike Carlin said the question of the continued need for booked slots to use the recycling centres had been raised by constituents at a community council. Questions he had been asked why the slots were needed post Covid. Discussing the work of Operational Services which includes the CRC sites and cleansing team at the Environment and Sustainability PDSP Councillor Carlin asked: 'Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres.?' He added: 'This question came up at a community council. Now we're through Covid and going through a quiet period. Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres?' Fellow SNP councillor Veronica Smith asked: 'The feedback is that the centres are very quiet so that's why the questions were asked about why we need to book.' Head of Operational Services David Maule, said: 'The reason for having a booking system is to ensure we have a safe environment for staff and members of the public, with moving traffic.' 'I've looked at the usage figures, they are all fairly busy. I'm not sure they get too many quiet times. I think there are very good reasons for safety that we should maintain the booking system at centres.' The current booking system was confirmed in October 2023, at the same time as hours at the five recycling centres were reduced as part of cutbacks to save £330,000. Councillors have also argued that many people without transport are losing out on the service because they cannot access the recycling centres on foot. At local area committees recently the surge in fly-tipping around communal bin areas has also been highlighted Mr Maule's predecessor as head of Operational Services had argued at the time that the service would be improved because people would not have to sit in traffic queues to get into the centres. Following initial closure during the Covid lockdown some centres notably Oakbank at Livingston saw massive traffic tailbacks which needed police control. Councillor Carlin's local CRC suite at Broxburn, along with neighbouring Linlithgow, had its opening hours cut back considerably. Across the county the centres are open for 144 hours a week – down from 280. Both Linlithgow and Broxburn are only open one day during the week and on afternoons or mornings at the weekends. For Broxburn the opening hours are: 10am to 6pm Thursday, 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 2pm Sunday. The changes were met with sustained complaints initially. However, in June last year the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported: 'Despite the cut in hours introduced last October and the introduction of the booking system there's been no loss of customers with 191,000 bookings made between October and April. More than 13,000 people booked slots at West Lothian's recycling centres but never turned up with their rubbish. By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
