Cardboard recycling depot to be removed

By Daniel Collins

A notice appeared last week at the Little Common collection point to say the facility will close on September 3.

The recycling centre has been a controversial issue in the village for several months.

The containers are often left overflowing with cardboard.

Users say Rother should put on more collections to deal with the rubbish left at the depot.

Any rubbish left outside the recycling bins is taken to landfill.

Instead Rother has said problems in providing "an adequate frequency" of collections has led to the closure.

One angry resident has scrawled in red pen above Rother's notice the words, 'council tax !!?'

A more offensive message has been scrawled on a second sign, such was the writer's disbelief at the news.

The Observer was approached by several members of the public on a visit to the recycling point.

One woman said: "Where are we going to take our cardboard now ?"

"We are asked to recycle and they do this," said another.

A writer to the Ask the Leader section of Rother's website said: "Why, when we are all being asked to recycle almost everything, is the cardboard recycling facility at Little Common being withdrawn?

"How the devil are OAPs, etc supposed to get to Mountfield with their bits of cardboard? Shame on you and whoever decided on this disgraceful course of action."

Rother leader Cllr Carl Maynard replied: "The practical aspects of getting the cardboard bin emptied regularly, coping with the volumes of cardboard being deposited by shops and keeping the area free of excess material overflowing from the bin resulted in numerous complaints.

"We have tried for some months to find an alternative unsupervised cardboard recycling service but ultimately the head of amenities has reluctantly decided that the facility must be withdrawn.

"This was always a pilot scheme and cardboard recycling has not been offered anywhere else within Rother other than Little Common.

"We accept that demand for cardboard recycling is high so as soon as a manageable system is available cardboard recycling will be introduced at all bring sites. In the meantime a new tetrapac recycling facility is being introduced."

This enables residents to leave such items as fruit juice cartons.

Head of amenities, Madeleine Gorman, says in the notice: "We apologise for this inconvenience but having investigated all the other cardboard collection options currently available none have proved suitable for this site."

Effectively, cardboard can be taken to Pebsham or Mountfield sites for recycling or left in black wheelie bins for landfill collection.