By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottinghamshire residents won’t mind travelling further with their recycling if they don’t have to queue, a council leader says.
Nottinghamshire County Council has approved plans to bring in a network of new ‘supersite’ household waste centres to replace its smaller tips.
Some of the area’s 12 sites have cramped layouts which cause long waits and gridlock on nearby roads.
Newark’s recycling centre is being held up as an example of what other ‘supersites’ could be, with a layout to minimise queuing or congestion on the main road.
Opposition councillors have raised fears that people could have to travel further, potentially discouraging people from recycling.
However Councillor Neil Clarke (Con), cabinet member for environment and transport, says he believes people will make a longer journey for a better service.
“It’s a good trade-off. If they had to travel an extra five minutes, it’s better than spending 10 or 15 minutes queuing at an inefficient site where you can’t get to the skip you want to,” he said.
“Newark is a very efficient recycling site. There is a central lane to drive through and immediately get to the skip they want without any unnecessary queuing.
“It has an area for queuing first so they’re not queuing on the street.
“Anything that’s efficient and easy to use, surely residents will welcome it.”
He added: “We’re looking at all of the sites through Nottinghamshire to see if there’s something to be improved.
“If we need to open any new sites, we can use this as a good example of how an efficient site will work.”
The cross-party review began in 2022 after concerns some of the centres weren’t “fit for purpose”.
No locations have been chosen for the ‘supersites’ yet, although there are a range of council-owned sites available.
It’s claimed that 97 per cent of residents would still be within a 20-minute drive, and the changes could save up to £1.7m per year.
However, some councillors fear it will make recycling more difficult, particularly for people without their own transport.
An online petition to keep the West Bridgford recycling centre open has received nearly 3,200 signatures, despite it being rated amongst the most problematic sites.
Ben Gray, the Green Party campaigner who set it up, previously said: “This is a really well-used local centre. It provides a great local amenity and everyone’s keen to keep it open.”
A proposal on how the recycling centres could be reorganised will be presented to the council’s cabinet before the end of the year.
