Anger as Burnley Recycling Centre closes gates

Burnley Recycling Centre, in Balderstone Lane, closed for about an hour from 1-15pm, to the frustration of several residents who drove to the centre with bags of domestic rubbish.

Mr Hamza Raziq (42) was one of those turned away by workers who had closed the gates.

He said: "I had a clear-out of my back yard on Sunday and filled the car with rubbish to take to the recycling centre. Imagine my surprise when I got there at around 1-30pm only to find the gates closed and the staff stood outside.

"When I drove up to one of the workers he explained that since Lancashire County Council took over they had cut the number of trucks or drivers that took the rubbish away. Because of that, all the skips were full and no one was allowed in.

"The worker was unhappy with the situation and said that they weren't allowed to go home but had to hang around even though there was nothing for them to do.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. Fortnightly bin collections, inert waste permits, more pot holes than tarmac on our roads and now this! I had to take the rubbish back home and dump it all back in my backyard for next weekend. I can't believe that we have got to this situation with the amount of money we pay in taxes."

Lancashire County Council, which is responsible for the site, denied it had cut the number of vehicles it uses and apologised for any inconvenience.

Steve Scott, Lancashire County Council head of waste management, said: "We had to close our Burnley recycling centre for just over an hour from 1-15pm on Sunday, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience to anyone who we had to turn away or ask to wait.

"We had to close the site for a short time as we could not provide enough empty containers. Weekends at this time of year are particularly busy for our recycling centres as people have a Spring clean, which has coincided with some teething problems with new transport arrangements which started recently.

"We're working with our transport provider to increase the number of wagons in operation at busy times and are purchasing new containers so that we have spare skips that we can slot in place when needed."