Residents have expressed disappointment after being unable to dispose of recyclable materials at Suffolk recycling centres, despite the council\u2019s eco-pledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suffolk County Council faces criticism after visitors to Ipswich and Foxhall centres reported being directed to discard their recyclables in general waste skips. Typically, these sites guide users to designated skips for materials like plastic and wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These concerns arise despite the council’s commitment to becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, having declared a “climate emergency” five years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council stated: “On the rare occasions that recycling materials are placed in non-recyclable waste, they are not sent to landfill.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resident Frustrations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terry Goldsmith, 74, visited Portman’s Walk recycling centre in Ipswich after carefully sorting his plastics and wood. He found most skips sealed and was told to throw everything into general waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou spend time sorting everything out and then they chuck it all into one skip \u2013 it\u2019s lazy and you feel let down and like you are wasting your time,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone talks about recycling for future generations, but then we just throw it all away in landfill or burn it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goldsmith recalled past plans for a larger facility that never materialized, noting, \u201cIf it was bigger they could have more skips. It\u2019s far too small.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gardener Katrina Hudson, 46, had a similar experience at the new Foxhall Recycling Centre. \u201cA lot of it all just went into the general waste skip,\u201d she said. \u201cI was thinking, \u2018Why is this going to landfill? It is absolutely crazy,\u2019 and it made me a bit mad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suffolk County Council has apologized for the inconvenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson said: \u201cWe\u2019re sorry that Terry and Katrina\u2019s experiences didn\u2019t meet their expectations, and we are investigating what happened during their visits. Our 11 recycling centres processed over 6,000 tonnes of material in May, about 70% of which was recycling, wood, and compost. We\u2019ve had over 900,000 visits in the last year, with 97% of people satisfied with the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the rare occasions recycling materials end up in non-recyclable waste, they go to our Energy from Waste facility in Great Blakenham to be used as fuel for generating electricity. Our commitment to net zero and protecting the environment remains strong. We continue to invest in making recycling easier and safer for Suffolk residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spokesperson highlighted recent improvements, including the redesign of the Foxhall Road site in Ipswich and upcoming plans for a new recycling center in Haverhill, along with a proposal to replace Portman Walk with a new facility on Hadleigh Road in Ipswich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents have expressed disappointment after being unable to dispose of recyclable materials at Suffolk recycling centres, despite the council\u2019s eco-pledge. Suffolk County Council faces criticism after visitors to Ipswich and Foxhall centres reported being directed to discard their recyclables in general waste skips. Typically, these sites guide users to designated skips for materials like plastic …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-waste-news"],"yoast_head":"\n