Dudley Council claims axed pop-up tips will not result in extra fly-tipping

Budget plans for the next financial year include a saving of £120,000 by removal of the facility, prompting fears there would be a rise in illegal dumping of rubbish especially in the north of the borough where there is no permanent household waste recycling centre (HWRC).

Councillors debated the plan at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on January 22.

Cllr Cathryn Bayton asked: “The pop-up tip was a late answer to the issues we had around the loss of Anchor Lane for the north of the borough.

“Does that mean all waste facilities for the north of the borough are now lost and we all worry when we close a facility there will be an increase in fly-tipping in the area.”

Dudley’s director of environment, Nick McGurk, said: “It is with a heavy heart the closure of the pop-up tip, everybody is well aware of how well used it has been however we have to take into account the council’s overall financial position.

“We do not believe it will produce more fly-tipping but that is something we will of course monitor.”

Pop-up tips were introduced in October 2022 in response to the collapse of a deal with Wolverhampton Council allowing Dudley residents to use a site at Anchor Lane in Coseley.

They were hailed as a big success, especially for making a contribution to the council’s aim of hitting net zero.

Speaking in June 2023, Dr Rob Clinton, Dudley cabinet member for climate change, said: “Recycling as much waste as we can at the pop-up tip helps us to get closer to our overall goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Dudley.

“I hope residents will continue to use this valuable facility and keep on doing their part to make our borough cleaner and greener.”

Pressure to fill a £42m black hole in the council’s finances now means pop-up tips, which received around 100 tonnes of waste each month, could now be thrown into the bin.

Dudley cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Damian Corfield, told the committee: “The statutory duty that the council has got is to supply one HWRC which is at Stourbridge at the moment.

“The pop-up tips were an extra to that, certainly something I wanted to drive forward more and roll out further across the borough.

“We are in unprecedented times at the moment, unfortunately that temporary provision has been taken away but in the background we are running a full strategic review.

“Taking that provision away certainly isn’t a decision I have taken lightly but I hope as we get the council’s finances better that’s a service we can look at again.”

He added fly-tipping is a national problem driven by organised criminals where smaller operations collect waste in vans and dump it at the side of the road.

Cllr Corfield also revealed the authority had dealt with three cases in the last 12 months where articulated trailers full of waste had been illegally abandoned in the borough.

Dudley Council will vote on the budget for the next financial year at the end of February.