Have Your Say
Closure of Wiggenhall Road waste depot
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I saw the story about the Watford waste depot closure.
Every time i visit the depot in Watford it is packed full of people that are doing the right thing and getting rid of waste in the right way. Closing it would not mean that locals would travel to the next nearest one (Ricky? Bricket Wood?), it would encourage lazy people to dump rubbish wherever they want.
One day the government wants us to recycle and lead greener lives, the next they want to close a huge well-used waste and recycling depot. Mixed message?
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I run my own learning and development company and have worked with a number of local authorities. We recently ran a development day for the Cambridgeshire CC Waste Management team, 'Sharing best practice' and 'Effective problem solving' being two key themes.
There appears to be a considerable lack of consistency in terms of how different local authorities deal with waste and recycling. For some it seems to be a pain in the neck whilst others see it as a challenging but essential service to the community. The latter is certainly true of CCC who not only run a very efficient waste management service but go out of their way to educate people and make it easy for them to do the right thing in environmental terms.
They have a very proactive approach and have one person who spends most of his time going round schools showing children how to build model cars etc from waste products a la Blue Peter. The kids love it and more importantly learn about the importance of effective recycling.
Surely if Herts CC want to persuade people to become more responsible about such a key environmental issue they need to adopt a dual approach. Educate everyone, particularly the next generation, so we all understand the importance of recycling our waste AND make it as easy as possible for everyone to comply.
I think this is an incredibly naiive and short sighted action to propose, the wider consequences of which do not appear to have been fully considered. I suggest that before proceeding any further, those responsible within the council seek some alternative measures to solve whatever problems they perceive will occur if the site remains open.
We have always found the staff at Wiggenhall to be most helpful, they set an excellent example to the public in terms of helping and encouraging us to dispose of our waste in a sensible and organised way. We hope those based in head office who are responsible for determining the future of the site will follow their lead.
James and Nicola Smallwood
