Tip visitors in Bradford have called for a review of waste recycling centres, saying cutbacks have left residents with long queues and increased concerns about fly-tipping.
Bradford Council decision makers will be quizzed about the state of the district’s civic tips at a meeting later.
It comes two-and-a-half years after a major shakeup of services, with several tips closed and reduced hours at others, as part of a raft of cost-cutting measures.
Some residents say the situation has left them dealing with “horrendous” queues of up to two hours to get in to some sites, while others worry it could be fuelling a rise in fly-tipping.
At Keighley Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on a warm weekday lunchtime, about 15 cars at a time were waiting to enter the site.
One visitor, Khaliq Hussain, said waits of up to an hour-and-a-half had become common, while his friend Sadman Chowdhury recalled queuing for as long as two hours “all the way down the road” on busy days.
Frustrated by the wait, they eventually parked outside the site and tried carrying bags of rubbish in on foot, but were stopped by staff and told to return to their vehicle and rejoin the queue.
Chowdhury said the queues could be “massive” at times and the local tip was busier than it used to be.
“If everybody comes here, you’ll be queuing day and night,” he said.
Both men urged Bradford Council to reconsider opening the closed tips as they thought it would mean “less queues for everybody”.
