1:20pm Sunday 9th March 2008
The proposed closure of a recycling depot in Watford attracted further criticism this morning, this time from residents queuing to use the site.
The Wiggenhall Road household waste and recycling centre has been marked for closure by Hertfordshire County Council, despite having collected more than 5,000 tonnes of rubbish last year.
Already unhappy to be in a line of cars queuing around the corner, many of Sunday's recyclers were angry to hear about the plans.
Mrs Simpson, from South Oxhey, said: "Closing it down would be terrible. It would just encourage fly-tippers.
"I used to live in Tolpits Lane and people were forever dumping things in the woods. I don't see how they can close this. We're meant to be helping the environment not closing recycling sites."
Another regular user of the depot, Manos Tank, from Northwood, said: "I've lived in Northwood for the past 20 years and I've always come here. Closing it is not a good idea as people will just throw things in the general waste.
"Places like this have to be everywhere. Recycling has to be made part of our lifestyle. If you make people travel miles they are not going to have any incentive to recycle."
The decision to close the dump was made due to a lack of space and the proximity of other facilities. If it goes ahead it is set to save County Hall £115,900 every year.
John O'Conner, of Bradshaw Road, Watford, had a further problem with the closure of the site, the possible loss of helpful staff.
He said: "You couldn't find nicer people than the ones who work here. There's never any shouting or pushing. They always help everyone.
"If you're elderly and need help they're straight out there to help you. Closing it down would be against everything proper."
To read more about the planned closure, including comments from Watford Observer readers, use the link below. To leave your own comment, fill out the comment form.
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