Mike Owens reports on the current situation regarding Hayling’s waste site.
As any of you will know Haylings tip is particularly vulnerable to closure because it is ranked by HCC as the 2nd least busy site and is “only” 6 miles from the Havant HWRC facility. To put this in perspective the £1.55M savings HCC is looking for could mean that 10 out of Hampshire’s 24 HWRC sites could be permanently closed which really does put Hayling in the firing line.
Hayling is unique within Hampshire because it the only island based site. We all know that a round trip to Havant will take most of us an hour; and in the summer this could take much more!
Currently, Havant has been forced to temporarily close several times this winter because it has been overwhelmed by local demand, so what happens when islanders make 65,000 visits every year? Temporary site closure could happen at any time (and without warning); it is more likely to happen during the summer months when peak demand occurs. So what would happen if you turn up and it’s closed? Return home with a vehicle load of rubbish and come back later? I don’t think so!
Closure of the Hayling tip will inevitably lead to increased fly tipping. It will inevitably lead to residents incinerating waste in their gardens. It will inevitably lead to residents ramming their recyclable waste into their bi-weekly wheelie bin destined for landfill instead of improving HCC’s recycling performance. Fly tipping and ad hoc burning of waste is not going to make our island a better place to live.
The good news is that we can collectively do something about this. Please don’t rely on others to do it, that will probably not be good enough! We ALL need to sign the petition with FULL details www.change.org/p/hampshire-county-council-stop-the-closure-of-hayling-island-s-waste-and-recycling-centre …and crucially we ALL need to complete HCC’s questionnaire which will drive their decision making https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=145769850180 (please be sure to answer question 8).
To keep up to date on developments go to www.facebook.com/savehaylingstip .
