Recently, it was proposed, after recommendation from the Welsh Government, that three more recycling facilities in Flintshire should close. These sites are located in Buckley, Connah’s Quay and Flint.  

Cllr Kevin Jones, Flintshire Council cabinet member for public protection and waste, suggests austerity measures, falling waste prices, and a suggestion that people are willing to travel further to recycle waste, as reasons as to why these proposals should go ahead.*

The cost of waste is more than just a financial cost. If waste is not managed responsibly, it damages our environment, and this is at a great cost to us all. This lack of concern for the environment, and the needs of residents and local businesses is concerning.

People do not want to travel further to recycling facilities. Recently, a recycling centre in Queensferry was closed down, and rather than travelling to the new facility in Sandycroft, it appears that people may have chosen to dump rubbish at Asda car park carton recycling bank (photo above).  The facility at Asda has since been removed, possibly to stop this from happening, and force people to travel to Sandycroft.

Positive impacts on our environment achieved through recycling are not so positive where people have to travel further to use them,  Our collection services could also be improved, so hard plastics and cartons, for example, are included, which could save people having to use their cars to travel to one of the facilities, especially as the number of facilities is reducing, ever increasing the distance needed to travel to get to one of them.

The proposed M4 relief road in South Wales would pump huge amounts of public money into a project that many feel is unnecessary, and would be damaging to our environment, and this money could be spent better elsewhere in Wales to improve our environment, so using austerity as an excuse is a smokescreen. The Welsh Government needs to be held to account on spending, to ensure that money is not wasted on expensive, unnecessary, and damaging projects, and to ensure it understands the needs of local communities in Wales, and important environmental issues.

Local government also needs to better understand people's needs and oppose any measures that make it more difficult for people to recycle waste. We need to put an end to this short-sighted thinking, and push hard to stop the reversal of the achievements made, through hard work, on improving the way that waste is managed, and ensure that decisions about waste management are made based on environmental impact, and the needs of the community.

(* source The Leader, 6th May 2016)