DANGEROUS levels of traffic outside Witley tip have prompted Waverley Borough Council to introduce extra green waste collection points in the area. A fortnight ago The Haslemere Herald revealed residents' fears over the tip, in Petworth Road, which is being flooded by local people dropping off their rubbish since the alternate weekly bin collections were brought in. The idea behind the collections was to save the council money on landfill and waste disposal costs, but residents say the knock- on effects have been maggot-infested bins and extra traffic going to the tip. The borough council heard these worries during the public question time of a recent executive meeting. Although council chiefs tried to pacify the residents by telling them how well the alternate weekly collections (AWCS) were working, they did agree that the problem at the tip was worth investigating. They will now introduce extra collections in the Milford or Godalming area, following the popularity of the garden waste collection point at the Fairground car park in Haslemere. Farnham councillor Vic Scrivens said: "We have listened to the issues raised by the community and believe that an additional facility would be one way to ease the burden on the Witley tip, and ease some of the local traffic congestion. "We are actively investigating potential sites. This would be a great opportunity that would support the environment by increasing the recycling of garden waste that will be taken and turned into compost and would assist residents with their waste management." However, the council's response has not found favour with everyone. A weekend meeting between residents of Petworth Road and members of Waverley Borough Council failed to ease all the concerns. Jack Lee, who lives almost opposite the tip, believes the extra drop-off point will only go part-way to solving the problem. He said: "We are still arguing that the site is over-used, and the idea of putting one vehicle somewhere between Godal-ming and Milford is not going to make much difference. "The tip is a borough-wide problem, but this is not a borough-wide solution." Mr Lee added that some extra problems had arisen since the excessive use of the tip was revealed in The Herald two weeks ago. He claims that one driver - fed up with waiting in the long queue - parked his car on a grass verge and walked to the site, leaving a young child in the back. Another rumour is that many residents from outside the Waverley Borough Council area, including Liphook, because the site is nearer than those provided by neighbouring councils. Although Mr Lee said these were just rumours, a spokes-man for East Hampshire District Council admitted there was no way of knowing where East Hampshire residents were going to recycle their rubbish. David Feltham, EHDC's contracts manager for recycling and refuse, told The Herald: "We only carry information on Hampshire County Council waste recycling sites so we could not advise people on where to go outside the county. "However, if someone in Liphook had local knowledge and thought it was easier to go to the Witley tip, they could." "From an environmental view, if they are getting access to a recycling point, and provided all the material is recyclable, it is a good thing." The borough council's plans to increase the recycling rate have already been stepped up with the addition of kerbside collections for plastic bottles. Boxes have been sent out to the remaining 15,000 residents who were not already part of the scheme. Collection of the boxes will start on Monday. l Blocked in by traffic: See page 3.
