Supporting Recycling …

After Somerset County Council closed Household Waste Recycling Centres 2½ days a week and brought in new charges in 2011, flytipping increased by 50% across the county. Mendip Lib Dems demanded Mendip to take action in 2012 but we were voted down by the ruling Conservatives. But eventually they gave in and the opening hours were extended to open every day from April last year. The tip also accepted garden business waste from last autumn. We won the argument for restoring 7 day tip opening hours. It leaves no excuse for flytipping and has helped local residents recycle more. I also helped get the carton recycling bank installed at Frome tip in 2011. If re-elected I will push again for general plastics recycling in Somerset, as in Bath. We need to ‘Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle’ as much as possible.

… combatting flytipping

Flytipping at Gypsy Lane and other lanes around Frome has continued and got worse. This is despite promises by Mendip’s ruling Conservatives made at the public meeting last year, which I organised (and jointly chaired with another councillor). At the meeting, attended by over 40 people, residents demanded action, including CCTV surveillance. The flytippers went away for a while, but came back a few months later. The Gypsy Lane area alone has cost council taxpayers £42000 in the last year, a big increase on recent years.

Mendip’s approach is not working, as the Enforcement team has been underfunded. We need a stronger joined up approach. Residents are fed up.

We also need an organised campaign so that local people do not give their waste to organised criminals on the doorstep, as they will simply dump it in lanes and fields around town, as we see here in the fields off Leys Lane now.

Please do report any information you have or concerns on flytipping incidents to Mendip District Council on 0300 303 8588.

For previous articles on this please see here.