Warning over supermarket recycling site abuse

Officers in the council's waste and recycling team fear that supermarkets may pull the plug on recycling facilities located in their car parks if materials continue to be dumped their incorrectly.

Residents that cannot be bothered to place waste inside bring banks risk losing the recycling facilities altogether, Mendip council fears

Complaints have been made about waste including plastic bottles and cardboard stacking up beside bring banks. Some bagfuls of bottles were even thrown on top of the recycling facilities, with eager householders expecting others to clear up after them.

Bags of items have ended up being strewn across the supermarket car parks with contents spilling out.

David Rosser, Mendip district council's senior waste management officer, said: “If this problem continues, then potentially some of these site owners including a number of supermarkets could tell us that they no longer want the facilities there.”

Thanks to a black box kerbside scheme, new food waste collections and fortnightly residual waste collections, Mendip district council reached a 48.9% recycling rate from April to September this year.

But if the supermarket sites are pulled, the council is concerned that its recycling rates will be significantly hit.

Mendip district councillor Alistair Glanvile warned: “Without these vital recycling facilities within our communities, many people would find it difficult to support the district council’s recycling commitment and we would see more rubbish being piled into landfill sites, damaging the environment, wildlife and the climate.”

Road show
Waste minimisation teams are now touring the problem areas with a road-show, educating people on how to recycle properly and the benefits that it brings.

Mendip is urging householders to take their cardboard to household waste recycling centres where there are no facilities for cardboard at supermarket sites. They are also being asked to make sure items like plastic bottles are pushed through the holes in bring banks properly, to ensure that surrounding areas are left clear.