PLANS to call time on a popular weekend waste collection service at the Wey Hill Car Park in Haslemere has left local residents up in arms.

The cart collection which takes place every Saturday and is funded by Surrey Council Council, is likely to be withdrawn sometime in the next couple of months.

Currently, a mixture of waste is being dumped in the cart collection at the car park.

The aim is to encourage people to use the civic amenity site in Witley which has a dedicated bin for recycling garden waste and is considered a more efficient and environmentally friendly solution.

The move comes at the same time that Waverley Borough Council is launching its new waste reduction and recycling strategy which aims to increase recycling and composting across the borough.

But the Surrey county councillor for Haslemere, Christine Stevens, has hit out at the idea and argued that it is unreasonable to expect residents to travel longer distances to dump their waste.

She also feared that getting rid of a well-used collection point is likely to cause more fly tipping and bonfires.

In a letter to the Surrey County Council's officer for waste management, Patrick Gill, Mrs Stevens outlined her concerns and highlighted a lack of local consultation.

"It is the first time I have heard of this proposal, but it runs counter to the county council's commitment, to work for and with local people to discuss issues of this nature.

"I have no problem with changing the way services are delivered by Surrey County Council and I am sure that people in Haslemere are as prepared as anyone to recycle more and abide by reasonable rules.

"However your decision appears to have been made without any local consultation and before any alternative proposals to compensate have been negotiated."

But defending the decision, Mr Gill argued that this current collection represented an inefficient way of dealing with the town waste.

He highlighted that garden waste, metal and glass are being dumped together into the dustcart and a more environmentally-friendly solution must be sought.

But the concerns of Mrs Stevens have been reiterated by a number of local residents who fear the consequences of losing the service.

"Waverley's encouragement of composting is praiseworthy but much garden waste can not be composted or easily burned," said the secretary of Haslemere Gardening Society, Christopher Skeate, in a letter to The Herald.

"If this facility is removed, there will be a temptation for some people to dump this waste in the woods or try to burn it, often resulting in a lingering pall of smoke for their neighbours.

"I would urge Surrey County Council to continue with the Saturday collection which is compensation for the closure some years ago of the local Sickle Mill and is much valued by the people of Haslemere," wrote Mr Skeate.