Complain

We are writing to complain about North Somerset Council's waste disposal policy following a visit to Portishead household refuse depot. We had a trailer load of waste from a DIY construction project, which consisted of a window frame, chipboard, roofing felt, timber and glass. We were refused permission to tip this by the operative who was on a private telephone call when we arrived. After waiting for him to finish his call he informed us that we would have to take the load to Weston to tip or bring it back in several small lots. How much more fuel use and congestion is caused by this ludicrously inefficient policy? If we were irresponsible citizens we might have been tempted to dump the rubbish in the countryside somewhere, as is increasingly happening.When the tip finally re-opened after eight months closure we had no notification that household waste was to be further restricted. We are getting less and less value for our ever increasing council tax. We will now have to mix our rubbish in a skip which we were going to use for rubble only so making a nonsense of separating out our waste products. We normally produce about half a bin of rubbish per week from our household of four - the rest we recycle or compost.After the consultation process by North Somerset Council to reduce waste for landfill, why have the council put a stop to selling servicable items from the tip? Surely this is the best form of recycling. No energy is wasted and landfill is reduced. And where are the plastic recycling facilities promised for supermarket car parks in Portishead? Even Bristol City Council is doing this now. While plastic may not have much weight, it is the most polluting rubbish, as it does not degrade.When are we going to get joined-up thinking from this council?Anthony and Diana Dowling - Via e-mail