Today I went to drop some items off at Yeovil Recycling Centre and was disheartened to see so many good items that could be reused thrown in the skips.

I run a gardening club for children and saw a perfectly good wheelbarrow with a punctured tyre in the scrap metal. When I asked if I could take it, I was told that I wasn’t allowed due to the possibility of me suing the council if an injury occurred after I use it. It was then crushed in front of my very eyes! What a terrible waste. 

I was also told that brand new toys in sealed boxes are dropped off at this recycling centre and instead of being distributed to children they are burned for energy.

Somerset County Council you have declared a climate emergency and yet you are burning and destroying perfectly good items that can be repaired and reused to benefit the community. 

Recycling should be the last process after items are reused. Think of all the unnecessary energy you are using, crushing, sorting and extracting when those items can be reused.

I am asking that you set up a shop on site or nearby and sell these good items at a cheap price. The money raised can pay a member of staff to run the shop and any profits can go back into community projects. 

Thank you for your cooperation.