By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Recycling and waste ‘supersites’ should be created in a major shake-up of Nottinghamshire’s tips, a council committee has said.
Councillors have backed a report which found many of the county’s twelve current sites are congested, too cramped and cause traffic problems.
Further investigation will now begin into how the sites could be consolidated into larger purpose-built centres.
The changes could save up to £1.7m per year, a report which went before a Nottinghamshire County Council committee on Wednesday (March 27) said.
It is claimed there would be “minimal operational impact”, and changes would still leave 97 per cent of residents within a 20-minute drive of a site.
Councillor Nigel Moxon (Con), who led the review, said the changes were designed to improve service and recycling rates, rather than cut costs.
The review began in 2022 after concerns that some of the centres weren’t “fit for purpose”.
However, some councillors at the committee refused to endorse any plan which could potentially lead to the closure of some centres.
Councillor Richard Butler (Con) said: “Better-designed recycling centres would be preferable, even if they’re further away.”
He said residents could “spend a huge amount of time trapped” in the West Bridgford centre due to congestion.
“It’s quicker for me to travel 17 miles to the large, purpose-built facility in Newark than six miles to West Bridgford due to the sheer inconvenience and hassle.”
Councillor Sybil Fielding (Lab) said backlogs at the Worksop site created dangerous queues on the main road.
No locations have been chosen for supersites yet, although there are a range of council-owned sites available.
Five members of the committee backed the plan, while two Independent members voted against.
Councillor Tom Hollis (Ind) said he didn’t want to see “supersites created at the expense of others”.
“This looks to me like cuts to services, including site closures. We saw a massive rise of fly tipping when they closed temporarily during Covid.
“How can we justify encouraging residents to make longer round trips?”
He asked for assurances that none of the sites in the Ashfield, Mansfield or Broxtowe districts would be closed.
Councillor Steve Carr (Ind) said: “It’s madness to support at this stage. I will not back any reports that make it more difficult to recycle.
“If you vote for this, you are voting for closing recycling centres.”
