"Swanage rubbish must go to Wareham" - Conservative Dorset County

CAMPAIGNERS CAUSE A STIR IN SWANAGE:

MILLION MILE MARCH TO SAVE RECYCLING CENTRE !
Monday 13th October saw angry residents of Swanage proving to Dorset County Council’s Cabinet, just how difficult it really will be to get to the Household Recycling Centre in Wareham, should the existing centre in Swanage be closed down and not replaced.
The County Council claim that it would cost £ 2 million to build a new centre that meets altered health and safety requirements. But Steve Burdis, head of waste management at County Hall, indicated at a recent specially convened meeting of Swanage Town Council that there are 25.000 visits every year by Swanage residents to the current recycling centre in Panorama Road.
Multiplied by the number of households in Swanage that makes a million miles, for annual visits to the Wareham tip – a 24 mile round trip. And this despite the County’s aim in the Draft Waste Management Strategy to take sustainability into account in future policy developments.
“Expecting people in Swanage to make this journey several times a year is simply ludicrous” says Ros Kayes, newly selected Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for South Dorset, herself an experienced environmental campaigner.
“What about those people without a car ? It’s a £ 5 round trip on the bus – plus 2 ½ hours of their time. When they get to Wareham there’s a 45 minute walk to get to the centre and back – all this carrying their rubbish. It’s hideously impractical.”
“The County Council must put their money where their mouth is. If they are committed to the environmental principles behind effective waste recycling, and they say they are, then it makes no sense at all to take away an existing centre if it’s going to increase car use in this way. They need to commit to providing an upgraded centre in Swanage & commit to it quickly.”
Cllr Kayes, also Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems at West Dorset District Council said that they aim to physically demonstrate to Dorset County Council, whose waste forum meets in Dorchester on Monday, just how “impractical, awkward and environmentally unsound” closing this recycling centre would be “Just think of the carbon footprint of that million miles “ she added.
Residents, complete with bin-bags, travelled by bus to the Wareham centre, where they were interviewed by a reporter from BBC South, explaining that they felt fly-tipping would be increased by the proposed closures.
The County Council Cabinet is likely to make a decision on the issue on Wednesday November 5th.