End in sight for rubbish mountain

A mountain of rubbish which has blighted an area for five years could soon be toppled after the owner of a Wolverhampton skip hire firm today announced it was facing closure.

Discarded building materials, yards of plastic sheeting and rotting wooden boxes are among the junk mounting up at Jones of Bilston, based in the Monmore Green area of the city.

The rotting mound, some of which is due to fly-tipping, is taller than some of the neighbouring factory buildings in Monmore Road, and has been monitored by the Environment Agency amid complaints from residents and nearby businesses.

But owner Ted Alexander said today he is considering folding the 11-year-old firm, leaving eight employees out of work, because of government hikes in landfill tax and a spate of attacks by thieves and vandals.

"For every ton I send to the tip I pay £76, and £44 is in tax — it's gone stupid," Mr Alexander said. "If you try to raise the cost of skips the punters won't pay it. They'd sooner burn rubbish in their back yards."

And he warned: "It won't just be us. There are going to be a lot of skip hire firms closing because people won't pay the prices if the tax increases are passed on."

Mr Alexander said the rubbish is currently being cleared, using a tractor to carve a path through the mound and stack it up to be dumped.

He added: "We've started moving the rubbish. We're trying to get it stacked and shifted but about a third of the pile is fly-tipped and nothing to do with us.

"We've had between 50 and a 100 break-ins over the last year. They steal diesel from the wagons, damage property, steal tools. I'll be glad to see the back of the place."

A final decision on the company's future will be made in the coming weeks.