Latest news with #HWRCs
The Courier
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
Should Stirling's waste recycling booking system be binned?
When a new booking system for household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in the Stirling Council area went live in May 2024, it was hoped waiting times would decrease for locals. It was also thought the council could save money in the process, to the tune of £80,000. A year on, users of the tips at Lower Polmaise, Callander and Balfron are still required to book a timeslot online before turning up. But the system isn't popular with everybody, and some councillors are calling for it to be scrapped. During a recent meeting of Stirling Council, Conservative members pushed for the policy to be changed, dubbing the booking system an 'inconvenience'. Trossachs and Teith councillor Martin Earl said: 'We believe that there should be no booking required for ordinary, domestic use of an HWRC.' He argued that while the amount of commercial waste illegally dumped at the centres had decreased since May 2024, it was not equal to the dip seen in domestic waste disposal at the facilities. Stirling's Conservative councillors proposed changing the booking system to only affect commercial vehicles. In response, Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee convener Jen Preston said: 'On a personal level, I would rather spend about a minute booking online, because it's not a very lengthy process, than have to queue in my car for 10 minutes.' Ms Preston, who is also Labour councillor for Stirling West and deputy council leader, told fellow members she had received a letter of complaint from a constituent when the booking system was first brought in. However, this was later followed by a message in support of the scheme after the same constituent found it to be an improvement. Ms Preston argued the booking system was primarily introduced to increase efficiency and lower the cost of HWRCs. She said abandoning the project before data is available to assess its effectiveness would be disrespectful to the council officers who implemented it. It was confirmed that the booking system would remain in place for now. A report containing a full year's worth of data will be presented to Stirling Council's Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee in September. A Stirling Council spokesperson said: 'Stirling's recycling rate is among the higher-performing local authorities in Scotland. 'The household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) booking system has resulted in a 2% increase in recycling performance and a reduction of 1,500 tonnes of residual waste. 'We remain committed to advancing waste management strategies and collaborating with stakeholders to promote a circular economy.'
BBC News
18-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Second hand shops open at Cornwall's rubbish tips
Reuse shops have opened at four Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) across Cornwall.A change in the rules means household items can now be sold if they are in good enough shops have opened at the sites run by waste contractor Suez at Truro, St Austell, Falmouth and United Downs, near Redruth, with more to follow later this Council's waste leader Carol Mould said: "This great initiative is all about preventing waste and giving pre-loved items a new lease of life." Carol Mould, the council's portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, said: "Initially Suez use the money they get from the shops to recoup the set-up costs and then it will go on and be cost neutral."The community engagement team lead for waste at Cornwall Council, Esther O'Bearagh said it was an exciting change."People have been asking for ages why we don't do this and there are some very good reasons but now we've made some changes and now we're able to do it," she said."Some people are a bit concerned but we're not taking away from charity shops , this is stuff that's been bought to the dump already." Speaking at the opening event for the Longdowns site near Falmouth, Becky Parry from Suez, who runs the shops, said there had been a great response to the initiative."We get everything from wine glasses to vases, plates and crockery and pots and pans which are really popular with the students in Falmouth," she said."We also have a large selection of toys and games and kids' items."We check them all to make sure they all have a CE mark for safety then we clean them up and put them out."Any weird and wonderful things that come in we'll put out on display." Cornwall Council said people could drop off pre-loved items for the shops at all of Cornwall's HWRCs. Donated items will be sold at the Reuse shops or given to charity Reuse shops will be open between 09:00 and 16:00 seven days a week.
BBC News
17-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cornwall: Staff 'punched in guts' by mooted recycling centre cuts
Workers at household waste recycling centres in Cornwall say they feel they have been "punched in the guts" after finding out about potentially having their working hours reduced.A representative of some of the staff affected said the council had not warned them some of the centres faced being closed two days a comes after news that nine of the county's 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are likely to no longer open seven days a week, according to budget council's cabinet has recommended the decision as part of almost £50m of savings it needs to make in its 2025/26 budget, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. If the cuts are approved by full council later this month, HWRCs in Bodmin, Bude, Connon Bridge, Helston, Newquay, Redruth, St Day, Tintagel and Truro would all see their opening hours reduced from seven days a week to five at Launceston, Saltash, St Austell, Falmouth and St Erth will "initially" remain open seven days a week but will be "subject to further modelling and future consideration".The news comes after a booking system was introduced at a number of the proposed cuts are an attempt by Cornwall Council to save £200,000 a year, documents show. 'Very sombre mood' A member of staff at one of the affected centres, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's very naughty of the council – no one had warned us this may happen. "There was no consultation with staff. Nothing."We all feel like we've been punched in the guts. There's a lot of worry about what will happen next. There was a very sombre mood this morning."When asked if it had warned staff about the recommended cuts, Cornwall Council said the information was outlined in budget documents.A council spokesperson said: "Details of our draft budget proposals including how we operate our household waste recycling centres were outlined in our recent draft budget consultation."
