Nearly 500 back petition to reinstate Whisby waste facility

A petition has been set up to reinstate Whisby waste facility following fears that the closure has put “enormous pressure” on the remaining waste disposal sites.

The waste facility, which was owned by FCC Environment on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council, closed on Thursday, March 31, despite previous petitions to keep the facility open.

City and county councillor for Birchwood Rosanne Kirk has set up the latest petition due to fears that the closure will be “detrimental” to the environment.

In two weeks, the petition has received almost 500 supporters, with many citing concerns over flytipping.

In the days following the tip’s closure, piles of waste have been dumped at the gates.

Councillor Rosanne Kirk

Councillor Kirk said: “The facility provides an essential service to a very large number of people in the city of Lincoln, the surrounding villages and countryside.

“It is an easily accessible site, very well organised and its closure will have adverse effects and put enormous pressure on the remaining waste disposal site in a very busy part of the city of Lincoln, causing disruption on the approach roads and surrounding main roads, which in turn could deter its use resulting in fly tipping and rubbish elsewhere.

“The decision to close Whisby waste facility is a false economy and will be detrimental to the environment. We want Lincolnshire County Council to reconsider its decision and reinstate Whisby waste facility.”

Di Harris from South Hykeham commented on the petition: “We need this facility, we have already noticed flytipping.

“People are not going to travel through town to their nearest waste facility, not how our roads are so congested. We are south of the city and at times takes 30 minutes to travel that distance.

Councillor Reg Shore, Executive Member for Waste and Recycling, said: “Our funding from central government is reducing and we need to scale back our spending on services by £170 million over the next four years. As part of this, waste services needs to play its part by cutting its annual waste and recycling budget by £400,000.”

“Our policy is to make sure that 95% of residents are within a 12 mile radius of a recycling facility, and the closure of these two facilities won’t affect that.”