Mail readers slam propsals to charge for green waste collections in Hartlepool

The council revealed it was considering bringing in the charge to make savings and balance its budget alongside proposals to close the town’s Household Waste Recycling Centre, in Burn Road, for two days a week.

Introducing a new green waste charge would raise an estimated £256,000 in the 2020/2021 financial year, the council say, while shutting the tip on Mondays and Tuesdays would save more than £50,000 a year.

The proposals will go before the Neighbourhood Services Committee meeting on Friday, October 18.

Mail readers have slammed the plans on social media, saying introducing the charge is “inviting flytipping” – and that the service should be covered through council tax payments.

Others have expressed concerns about those who can’t afford to pay, and the impact the two-day closure of the tip could have on those who work there.

According to national figures, 65% of councils charge for green waste collections, including seven out of 11 in the North East.

Here is how you reacted on the Hartlepool Mail Facebook page:

Terry Hegarty: “Here’s an idea, sell the stuff that comes through the recycling centre and use the revenue to subsidise the service. You used to be able to go and buy old doors, furniture, garden bits and bobs. All that stopped years ago.”

Michaela Hill: “Are they going to start emptying all our wheelie bins weekly again? No I doubt it.”

Carole Carter: “The tip will still be open on a weekend when it’s most used. The employees will probs still work a five-day week like most people.”

Jenna Purcifer: “Others might charge but their council tax is nowhere near as high as ours!”

Lee MacPherson: “If we have to pay to get our green waste taken away then maybe we should look into a private company rather that pay the council.”

Kerry Blenkinsop: “Don’t we already pay for the collections on our council tax so this would double the charges.”

Jon Whitfield: “How much will it cost for the additional clearance of flytipping against the £51,500 proposed saving?”

Amanda Roberts: “While you close for the two days would you please send operatives out to clean estates up as [they] are a disgrace all over the town.”

Mike Fellows: “Sounds to me that they're inviting flytipping to happen.”

Kevin Guffick: “What about people that cannot afford to pay.”

Andy Glover: “I don't see how this is going to save money? The money saved from closing the recycling centre two days a week will soon be hoovered up sorting out what will become a worsening flytipping issue around the town.”

Richard Dickie Banks: “Are working families going to be subsidising those who DON'T or won't work.”