City tip rules branded rubbish

Wolverhampton City council's refuse tip policy was branded as "rubbish" today after a woman's bid to deposit a mountain of garbage at her local recycling site was outlawed by jobsworth officials.

They blocked the move because the debris was being shifted for Whitmore Reans resident Sue Lloyd in the van of a Cannock friend. Officials refused to give the vehicle a permit to take the load to the council dump in Bushbury near her home as the vehicle was registered to a person living outside the city.

Miss Lloyd, aged 52, said at her two-bedroom terraced house in Hordern Road: "This is bureaucracy gone mad. It is barmy. We are all being encouraged to be green and dispose of rubbish in a responsible way.

"I try to do that and the officials step in to bar me. It is my rubbish and I live in Wolverhampton but that does not seem to matter. All they are worried about is where the vehicle carrying the rubbish to the tip is registered.

"Then they offered to move it for me but said there would be a charge of at least £70. This is a rubbish policy that needs to be rethought as a matter of urgency."

Miss Lloyd's mountain of debris was piled up outside her home after the house was refurbished following her retirement. It was finally moved by another friend who took it to a different tip.

Wolverhampton City Council dumps have height barriers to prevent vans leaving business rubbish at the sites. Permits are issued to vans being used to remove domestic debris after a form is filled in giving details of the owner of the vehicle.

Officials do not want people from outside the city travelling in to leave their deb- ris at sites run by the local authority for its residents.

Council spokeswoman Julia Corrigan confirmed: "We operate a free permit system for any resident of Wolverhampton who wishes to use a van, car with trailer or commercial type vehicle to transport waste. Applications for such permits can only be made by the registered owner of the vehicle.

"A senior manager from the Waste and Recycling Service has now spoken directly to Miss Lloyd about the difficulties she has encountered whilst trying to get her rubbish to the recycling centre in Bushbury and we understand that she has now made alternative arrangements."