Published on 1st August 2013

Residents are asked to dispose of their recycling carefully at the local ‘bring bank’ sites or risk a flytipping fine.

Cheltenham Borough Council, in partnership with its environmental services provider Ubico Ltd, is reminding residents that they need to put their materials into the correct recycling banks or risk a substantial fine and even imprisonment.

To complement recycling collections from home, a wide range of recycling banks are available across a number of locations across the borough, including supermarket car parks.  A greater variety of household materials can be recycled at the banks and as such they are a popular way to dispose of unwanted items without harming the environment.

Several of the sites however have suffered with incidences of flytipping, with residents dumping their recyclable waste next to the banks rather than putting their items in to the banks for collection.  Others then assume the banks are full and do the same, leading to problems with safety and hygiene.  There has also been a recent incident at a bring site where someone had illegally left large amounts of household items possibly from a house clearance.

Beth Boughton, waste and recycling manager for Ubico Ltd said:  ‘’It’s great that people take the effort to visit bring bank sites but it’s concerning that once they are there, some are happy to just dump the waste instead of ensuring it gets recycled properly.  When recycling and any other type of waste is left inappropriately, this can be classed as fly tipping which is the illegal dumping of waste.  The council’s enforcement officers visit the sites regularly and will issue fines where necessary.’’

Recycling banks are emptied on a regular basis, however, if the banks are full, residents are asked to take their recycling to another site. To report any concerns with the banks, contact 01242 262626.

Businesses are reminded that these bring sites are for household items only. Businesses should make their own arrangements for their waste to be recycled in accordance with their duty of care as a registered company. Failure to do so can lead to a fine of up to £300.

Find out more about recycling

 

For press enquiries, contact:
Katie Sandey, communications team leader, telephone 01242 775050, email [email protected]