Rubbish tip trial extended by bosses
A trial to keep rubbish tips in Walsall open for longer has been extended by three months by council chiefs costing £110,000.
Walsall Council’s cabinet approved plans to keep its household waste recycling centres in Fryers Road, Bloxwich, and Merchants Way, Aldridge, open for seven days a week between July and September.
The scheme means the facilities will remain open until 8pm on one day a week each – Tuesdays in Aldridge and Thursdays in Bloxwich.
In April, the authority announced the extended hours trial would run for three months until the end of June, as part of a wider crackdown on fly-tipping across the borough.
The extension of the experiment was confirmed by the council’s cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday.
A report to cabinet said: “The original trial to help reduce fly-tipping for the period April 2019 to June 2019 was approved by cabinet on October 24 2018.
“The cost of the extension of the revised opening hours of £110k is to be met from earmarking of reserves.”
Council leader Mike Bird set out his plans to meet election manifesto pledges at a full council meeting on Monday.
He said the results of the extended tip opening trial, as well as the impact of a free bulky collection initiative and free skip days also held in the borough, would be presented to council in September.
His report said: “My administration will continue to make cracking down on environmental crime a key priority.”
Earlier this year, the council announced it would issue the maximum fines possible to people who committed fly-tipping and littering across the borough.
The authority also launched its ‘Most Wanted’ scheme which offered residents a reward of £500 if information they provided lead to a successful prosecution of fly-tippers.
