St Albans tip closure causes anger
St Albans waste recycling centre is closed for a week - Credit: Archant
A ST Albans man was left fuming when he hauled a load of garden waste to the city tip, only to be turned away because the site was closed for redevelopment work.
To make matters worse he was unable to take his rubbish to nearby Harpenden on Monday as the town’s tip was closed too.
Herts county council (HCC) has apologised for the problem, brought about when the waste depot at Ronsons Way, St Albans, was shut for a week from Saturday, April 20.
It had recommended that residents instead dispose of household rubbish at its recycling centre in Harpenden or the Waterdale tip near Garston.
But the man, who did not wish to be named, said that he was told by a “grumpy” worker at the St Albans tip on Monday that Harpenden’s site had been forced to close because it could not cope with the increased volume of visitors from St Albans.
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He was told to travel instead to either Garston or Hemel Hempstead – which would have meant a round trip of up to 14 miles.
The man said: “I had to come back home with my boot full of garden waste. What would have happened if I was elderly?
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“They should have publicised the closure better.”
A spokeswoman for HCC apologised to residents for “any inconvenience that the temporary closure of St Albans household waste recycling centre may have caused.”
She added: “We are delighted that with the recent good weather people have been encouraged to recycle their household waste but this in turn has meant a busier than anticipated period.”
The spokeswoman said the council had been doing its best to ensure the suggested alternative sites remained open but increased usage had forced the temporary closure of Harpenden’s tip on Monday afternoon.
She said that as the town’s tip was located in a residential area, Harpenden has restrictions which only allow container exchanges to place during opening hours.
The St Albans site is being closed temporarily to allow for redevelopment including a new layout to improve accessibility and capacity.
The work is a joint venture between HCC and St Albans district council.
