Boss hopes new super tip helps cut fly-tipping

A new £32m "super tip" described as the "biggest in Europe" has opened and a council leader says he hopes it will cut fly-tipping in the area.

The centre, on Middlemore Lane, Aldridge, in the West Midlands, opened on Monday with 38 skips across 19 bays to recycle a wide range of materials.

Walsall Council leader Mike Bird said, despite the huge price tag, it was an investment needed in the area.

"Waste transfers and waste stations are a thing of the future, so yes, it's a lot of money but when you think there's £1m a year being spent on picking up fly-tipping, we hope that this will also be a catalyst to see that decline," he said.

"Our cost of landfill is something else we have to look at reducing - every time we go to the landfill site, we have to pay a landfill tax, as everybody does, and so therefore it's an investment saved, as I see it.

"It is the biggest waste transfer station in Europe."

A dedicated reuse shop is also operating at the site, aimed at giving new life to items that might otherwise have been thrown away.

Supervisor Charlie Bladon described it as a chance for unwanted items to be given a facelift and sold.

"[We want to] try and reshape the mind to not buy these very cheap, throwaway materials that are filling up the planet and reuse things that are good, sturdy, and things that we've had for many years," she said.

Staff will be able to upcycle and repair items at the workshop into a safe and usable condition, so they can be sold at a low cost to residents, Bladon added.

Proof of residence is required to make use of the site, in the form of a driving licence, recent council tax letter or utility bill.

The Fryers Road tip in Bloxwich will remain open to residents ahead of planned redevelopment, a council spokesperson confirmed, details of which have yet to be provided by the authority.

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