Residents ‘caught in recycling war’ says MP calling for U-turn on 'ridiculous' residents‑only rule

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has called on Telford & Wrekin Council to reverse the decision to make its recycling centres residents-only.

From today (April 1) residents using recycling centres in the borough could be asked to show proof of address - a move that the council says will help manage demand and prioritise access for residents.

But Mark Pritchard has called the move “ridiculous” and said that it will “increase fly-tipping and reduce recycling rates”.

The MP has raised concerns that residents living in border towns and villages, like Shifnal or Sheriffhales, will have to drive much further to access services.

He said: “It is complete madness to expect people living in places like Shifnal and Sheriffhales to be banned from taking their recycling to Hortonwood and instead being forced to travel many more miles to Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury or Craven Arms.

"This ill-thought-through decision will increase fly-tipping, reduce recycling rates, and have a negative impact on the environment through longer car journeys and more congestion on local roads."

Mr Pritchard said residents were being put in the middle of “a recycling war” between the two councils, and said Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin needed to “work together to reverse this ridiculous decision".

In response, the local authority said the move would improve the experience for Telford & Wrekin Council residents and protect frontline services.

The council’s deputy leader, Councillor Richard Overton, said the facilities and processing costs were funded by local residents and “significant” use by those living outside the borough placed “an unnecessary financial burden” on Telford taxpayers.

He added: “Introducing a residents-only policy helps remove the additional cost of processing non-borough waste, enabling us to maintain free garden waste collections and protect other frontline services. Removing non-resident use also frees up capacity at our household recycling centres for our residents.

“Furthering our commitment to protecting the environment, we’ve recently extended our recycling offer to include a free weekly kerbside collection of cartons in addition to our free fortnightly green waste collections and weekly food waste collections, helping our residents to recycle responsibly.

“Mr Pritchard’s many constituents who live within the Telford & Wrekin local authority boundary will now be benefiting from even better value for money for their recycling service and continuing to enjoy a high-quality kerbside waste collection service.”