Farmers in Montgomeryshire fear that plans by Powys County Council to close Machynlleth’s recycling and waste centre will in turn lead to an increase in local fly-tipping.
In a letter to Powys County Council, farmers urged the Council to reconsider its decision.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Montgomeryshire NFU Cymru County Chairman said, “In 2012/13 over 34,000 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in Wales and closing local recycling facilities, such as this one in Machynlleth, will only lead to an upward trend in these figures.
“A lack of appropriate waste provision is often cited as a reason why people fly-tip and whilst we can appreciate that Powys Council has to make significant savings across all services, eliminating this facility is in reality passing the buck to farmers, who in the long-run will have to clear up more mess and pick up a bigger bill for waste illegally dumped on their land, this is totally unfair.
“In addition to the unnecessary cost and burden placed on farm businesses, fly-tipping will certainly incur an additional cost for the Council too, therefore closing the facilities in Machynlleth would not be the most viable option to take and we urge the Council to reconsider its position on this matter.”
