Litter around Potterhouse Lane Household Waste Recycling Centre has been plaguing residents for years. The County Council is responsible for ensuring that the Site company Premier Waste keeps the surrounding area free of litter which blows out of the site. After visiting the site with officers and taking regular photographs there is now a visible improvement. I am continuing to check that the area is cleaned up on a daily basis. If anyone notices that this is not the case please let me know.

OPENING HOURS

The site currently closes very early during the autumn, winter and spring and by the time March arrives it is still light for over an hour after the site closes. I have raised this issue and been informed that the same applies to all 15 sites across County Durham. I believe that these hours must be reconsidered at the earliest possible time and have made these comments to County Council.

CONGESTION

Once there are more than a few cars at the site, it becomes gridlocked and the waiting times a peak periods are a serious problem – for a recycling site to be contributing to global warming through lines of cars waiting seems crazy. The introduction by the Lib Dem-run City Council of plastic and cardboard recycling from home may help to reduce this, although it has been said that where this has been introduced in other parts of the country it has increased the use of Recycling Centres as it has raised the profile of recycling facilities. I hope that improvements can be made to this site in the future to make it more accessible.