Tip users told to 'put recycling with general waste'

Ipswich Recycling Centre, in Portman's Walk, is not big enough, says one Suffolk resident

Residents felt “let down” after not being able to dispose of recyclable materials at recycling centres in Suffolk, despite the council’s eco-pledge.

Suffolk County Council has been criticised after visitors to its Ipswich and Foxhall centres were reportedly told to chuck their recycling in the general waste skips. People who use the sites are usually pointed towards designated skips for plastic and wood.

The concerns raised come in spite of the authority’s ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2030, having declared a “climate emergency” five years ago.

The authority said: “We can reassure users on the very rare occasions recycling material goes into non-recyclable waste, this is not sent to landfill.

Terry Goldsmith was left frustrated after his recycling went into a general waste skip

Terry Goldsmith, 74, headed to the council’s Portman’s Walk recycling centre in Ipswich after spending time sorting his plastic and wood into separate bags.

He said: “When I got there I saw most of the skips were sealed off and they said everything has to go into general waste, which I was a bit peed about.

“You spend time sorting everything out and then they chuck it all into one skip – it’s lazy and you feel let down and like you are wasting your time.

“Everyone is going on about recycling to make sure future generations have a world to live in, but then we are just chucking it all away in landfill or burning it.

“Years ago the waste centre was going to move to a bigger and better place but that didn’t materialise. If it was bigger they could have more skips. It’s far too small.”

Foxhall Recycling Centre opened last year

Gardener Katrina Hudson, 46, had a similar experience when she visited the new Foxhall Recycling Centre, on the outskirts of Ipswich, to throw away plastic and wood.

“When we got to the recycling centre a lot of it all just went into the [general waste skip],” she said.

“I was thinking ‘Why is this going to landfill? It is absolutely crazy’, and it made me a bit mad.

“We live in nature, it doesn’t live in us, and I think we need to look after the planet we are living on. If we are going to chuck it into landfill we are going to kill the planet."

'We're sorry and we're investigating'

Suffolk County Council has apologised.

A spokesman said: “We’re sorry that Terry and Katrina’s experiences didn’t meet their expectations, and we are investigating what happened when they visited.

“However our 11 recycling centres are operating successfully, with over 6,000 tonnes of material going through them in May alone, about 70% of which was recycling, wood and compost.

"We have had over 900,000 visits to our centres in the last year, with a recent survey showing that 97% of people were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall service.

“We can reassure users that on the very rare occasions that recycling material goes into non-recyclable waste, this is not sent to landfill.

"If it cannot be reused, it goes to our Energy from Waste facility in Great Blakenham, where it will be used as fuel to generate electricity.

“Our net zero ambitions are not in question, one of the council’s core ambitions is to protect and enhance our environment.

"Regarding recycling in particular, we continue to invest to make it easier and safer for residents across Suffolk.

"The Foxhall Road site in Ipswich recently underwent a significant redesign and improvement, we are shortly opening a brand new recycling in Haverhill, and have recently proposed plans replace the Portman Walk centre with a new purpose-designed site on Hadleigh Road in Ipswich.”