Letter: Is Manning the Recycling Centre Entrances Cost Effective?

Published on: 17 Sep, 2017
Updated on: 17 Sep, 2017

From Charles Hope

In response to: County Council Backtracks On Recycling Centre Closure Plan

Having recently visited the recycling centres at Leatherhead & Guildford, I see that in order to monitor whether chargeable waste is being brought on site, a member of staff is needed full time at the barrier.

I wonder if the cost-saving analysis took this into account?

Responses to Letter: Is Manning the Recycling Centre Entrances Cost Effective?

Jim Allen Reply

September 18, 2017 at 7:33 pm

No less cost-effective than having ten trucks sitting outside the depot with their engines running for hours, waiting to empty and fill. Surely it would be far more rational to schedule them in so they don’t have to queue?
Mike Gibson Reply

September 19, 2017 at 6:40 pm

Yes – I was at the Guildford centre yesterday afternoon and was greeted by an under-employed young man to confirm that I was bringing in no chargeable waste.

This clearly wasn’t properly thought through, rather like the future running costs arising from Surrey County Council’s plan to impose car parking charges at Newlands Corner.
Paul Bridgland Reply

September 21, 2017 at 10:04 pm

The whole concept of the newly introduced waste charges is a complete joke and, stupidity in the extreme – we are currently experiencing an unprecedented crime wave in every sector with an under-funded and grossly under-resourced police force simply unable to cope.

How can it make sense to start charging nominal fees for responsible disposal of rubbish at designated sites resulting in a massive increase in fly tipping. Could they not predict this?.

Apart from the cost of running these sites and the increase in time now to use them, some local councillors are suggesting that they and the police are going to crack down on fly tipping. Really? Would we rather the few police officers we have were wasting time chasing after people dumping rubbish or attending proper 999’s involving rape, robbery and other ‘proper’ crimes?

Just cancel the charges – get rid of half the unnecessary people and barriers at the dumps and encourage fly tippers, whoever they are, to dump their rubbish for free in a responsible manner – let the police get on with proper police work.
Wayne Smith Reply

September 22, 2017 at 12:40 pm

If I’m not mistaken, charging the public for disposal of household waste at recycling centres is contrary to government advice – yet something that Surrey County Council seems to believe it holds supremacy over.

If it hasn’t happened already, it can only be a matter of time before there is a serious accident at Slyfield. With all of the trucks queued up blocking the correct access to the roundabout, cars are frequently “forced” to go around the wrong way – sometimes even directed by the truck drivers trying to be helpful.

Good luck to anyone involved in an accident in those circumstances. It won’t be the truck drivers or SCC that are liable – just the hapless council tax payer trying to do the right thing.